DPS Dive Team Finds Body In Irving Lake Where Missing Wife, Mother Lashun Massey Was Last Seen
UPDATE: Medical Examiner Confirms Body Found In Irving Lake Was Missing Wife, Mother, Lashun Massey
IRVING (CBSDFW.COM) — An Irving wife and mother went missing after going out for her morning walk two days ago, today officials in the city have recovered a body.
Beauty queen Lashun Massey, wearing a black hoodie and checkered pajama pants, was last seen around 7:30 a.m. near Lago de Claire -- a small lake in the Las Colinas -- on April 27. There has been no confirmation that the body found is Massey's.
At a late morning press conference Irving PD Public Information Officer Robert Reeves confirmed a body was found submerged in the water around 9:45 a.m.
While the official identification will be made by the Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office, Reeves did give some information about the deceased person. "I can say that the person recovered [had] clothing [that] does match that of our missing person's identification... that she was last seen wearing."
In addition to being a wife, mother, and businesswoman, Massey is also the reigning Mrs. Dallas and was scheduled to compete for the Mrs. Texas America crown this week.
On the morning Lashun Massey went missing witnesses reported seeing her walking on the edge of the lake. "They had asked her if she was okay and she said she was, so they carried about their business," firefighter Robert Keeker said on the first day of the search. "After that, they said they saw her exit the water and then we later received a tip someone else had seen her walking in the water again a couple hours later."
LaShun's husband, Jeff Massey, spoke with CBS 11 News on April 28 as he held out hope. "She's my world and she's going to come home."
Jeff Massey said for the last two years his wife has taken a 7:00 a.m. walk by the lake and checks in, but said he became worried after he hadn't heard from her. "So at about 7:15 [a.m.], I got a little nervous and I texted her. I gave her a call and she didn't answer so at the time I found our security guard down here and said that they had seen her or somebody over in the canal," said Massey.
RELATED: Search Is On For Missing Irving Mom Lashun Massey
Investigators with the Irving Police Department have only been able to confirm that a dive team with the Texas Department of Public Safety (TxDPS) assisted with the recovery of the body.
"We did receive different tips and different investigative leads that made us want to come back out here and do a dive team in assistance with a sonar to try and verify that up in the canal ways here of Lake de Claire and the body of water... to double check just to make sure that we had done our due diligence," Officer Reeves said.
Reeves said foul play is not suspected in the death of the person found.
According to her website, Massey, a civil engineer, owns an environmental engineering firm and is a program manager for research at the University of Texas at Dallas.
While there's no foul play suspected at this time, Massey's family says they won't rest until they get answers.
"We really don't understand exactly what happened," Mary Ross, the mother of Massey, told CBS 11. "She was my only daughter."
Ross said she's living a nightmare after learning about the news of the body found in the lake.
"I don't know how to feel right now. I have screamed and hollered ever since I heard it on Tuesday but I know God is good and is going to take care of our family," said Ross.
Ms. Ross said her daughter would never get close to the water.
"She was very afraid of the water. Plus she did not know how to swim. There's no way she would have played or gotten your the water," said Ross. "We really haven't gotten any answers but I think God we have found our daughter so we can all have closure."
"This year was her year and that's going to be hard not seeing the things that she was supposed to accomplish get accomplished," said childhood friend, Kelly Andrews. "We've lost some thing that is a part of us."
