Police confirm body found at Rocky Neck State Park is that of missing Stonington woman
Editor's note: This version corrects when Stonington High School Principal Mark Friese sent an e-mail to parents.
East Lyme — Police have confirmed that the body found this morning at Rocky Neck State Park is that of Christine McGugan, who had been missing since Thursday.
Stonington Capt. Todd Olson said police are investigating the cause of death, but added there were no signs of foul play. He thanked the public for assistance in the search for McGugan.
McGugan, a married mother of three from Stonington, was last seen Thursday at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital after attending a counseling session. Since then, her image and information about her disappearance also has been shared on numerous television and newspaper media sites, the Town of Stonington Connecticut Community Forum, local and out-of-state police departments and numerous realty groups, including the Eastern Connecticut Association of Realtors. Posters also started to appear around Stonington.
State police along with police from Stonington and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection were at the park early this morning searching for McGugan. Her body was found at 7:45 a.m.
The park was closed for more than three hours to allow an official from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to process the scene, a DEEP official said.
McGugan's vehicle was found Tuesday night in the parking lot of the Bride Brook Health and Rehabilitation Center near the Rocky Neck Connector.
Two employees of the facility called police with a report of an abandoned vehicle but said there was no sign of McGugan inside.
McGugan was a Realtor with Randall Realtors, and her husband's family owns Gwenmor Marina in Mystic.
Late Wednesday afternoon Stonington High School Principal Mark Friese sent out an email to parents saying that it is “with great sorrow that we have learned of the passing of the parent of one of our students.”
“We anticipate that students will become aware of this situation over the next day; therefore, we are developing a plan that will attend to the needs of our students during school hours. Please be assured that our mental health team will be available to all students during this difficult time,” Friese wrote.
He added that Stonington Human Services also would be providing drop-in counseling hours on Thursday from 1 to 3 p.m. and Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. to assist those who may be affected by McGugan’s death. Anyone with questions about the free counseling services can call Molly Kunka at (860) 535-5015.
Twitter: @larraneta
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