Missing St. Louis ballet dancer found dead in rural Missouri lakeBy Erin Heffernan and Denise Hollinshed St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Nov 15, 2018 ST. LOUIS • The body of a missing St. Louis ballet dancer was found Wednesday morning in a rural Missouri lake.
Raffaella Maria Stroik, 23, was reported missing Tuesday after a state park ranger found her unattended vehicle at Mark Twain State Park, about 100 miles northwest of St. Louis. A search was launched for the woman, with more than 100 people, including air and water rescue teams, checking the area where the car was found about 9 a.m. Wednesday, according to Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Eric Brown.
A private plane pilot who was volunteering his time spotted what he believed to be a person in Mark Twain Lake, and Stroik’s body was found in the water about 9:40 a.m., according to the highway patrol.
Highway patrol investigators did not yet know Wednesday why Stroik was in the park or if she had a connection to that area, Brown said.
Stroik became a dancer with the St. Louis Ballet in September 2017.
“She was a wonderful dancer and a beautiful person,” the ballet’s executive and artistic director Gen Horiuchi said in a statement Wednesday. “We extend our condolences to her family. We are so very sad.”
Stroik appeared in a St. Louis Ballet video profiling new dancers published in September.“I grew up watching the 1993 version of New York City Ballet’s ‘The Nutcracker,’” she said. “And so coming to St. Louis to dance with this person I had watched growing up was so exciting.”
She was last seen alive about 10:30 a.m. Monday at Whole Foods Market at 1160 Town and Country Crossing Drive in Town and Country.
Authorities asked anyone with information about Stroik’s death to call the Highway Patrol at 660-385-2132.