Charlotte Schilling, Owen Schilling Bodies Found In Iowa State Park

Two bodies found in a state park in western Iowa have been identified as missing Nebraska woman Charlotte Schilling, 41, and her 10-year-old son, Owen.

OMAHA, Neb. — Police, neighbors and friends struggled Tuesday to unravel the mysterious deaths of a Nebraska woman and her 10-year-old son that began with them appearing to go on an excursion and ended with their bodies found deep in the woods of an Iowa state park.

Charlotte Schilling, 41, of Plattsmouth, Neb., and her son, Owen, had been missing since May 10, when the mother checked the boy out of his elementary school. It wasn't unusual for Schilling to surprise her children with short road trips to parks, zoos and other nearby attractions, relatives said.

But the woman always called home and the excursions never lasted long. Her family grew worried when neither she nor Owen returned home, and Schilling's cellphone went unanswered.

"None of this makes sense," said Polly Best, who lives next door to the Schillings. "It's just tragic. There was never a hint of anything wrong there."

Best stood outside the family's home Tuesday holding a roast she had cooked for relatives gathered inside. Yellow police tape blocked the Schillings' driveway and front steps from reporters trying to talk to family members and neighbors wanting to offer condolences.

Surveillance video from a convenience store in the area where the woman and boy's bodies were found Sunday showed Owen hugging his mom and Schilling kissing her son on the head. KETV in Omaha aired the store video footage.

"I just can't believe it," Best said. "That did not look to me like a woman who would hurt her child."

But that appears to be what investigators believe may have happened.

Police in Council Bluffs, Iowa, said Tuesday they "do not suspect any outside foul play" in the deaths of Schilling and her son. Their bodies were found Sunday evening in Lake Manawa State Park, south of Council Bluffs in western Iowa, about 20 miles north of Plattsmouth.

Investigators stopped short of labeling the case a murder-suicide, saying they must wait for further autopsy results before determining the cause of death.

Council Bluffs Sgt. Dave Dawson said he expected to announce the cause of death by the end of the week. Investigators are leaning toward the belief that the bodies had been in the spot where they were found since May 10, the day that Schilling checked Owen out of Wade Robin Elementary School in Bellevue, Neb., and they went missing.

The day after they disappeared, police found Schilling's vehicle at the same park where the pair would eventually be found dead. Schilling's cellphone and wallet were in her car.

Nine days after the discovery of the vehicle, a passer-by found the woman and boy's bodies in thick woods about a half-mile from where the car had been parked. Authorities had to rely on autopsy results to confirm the identities because the bodies had decomposed.

"I just about went to my knees," said the family's neighbor, Naomi Raposo, 50, describing her reaction to news of the deaths. She just found out Tuesday, not realizing that earlier reports of bodies being found were about Schilling and her son.

"They've been very peaceful neighbors. They're very friendly," Raposo said.

The night before the woman and boy went missing, another neighbor, Athena Meneses, said she spoke to Schilling at a local Cub Scout meeting, where Meneses had taken her own son and Owen. Owen had wanted to join the group, Meneses said.

"I didn't really know her very well, but she seemed upset. She had a bump on her head," Meneses said of Schilling. "She didn't seem like she was really happy that night. She said she wasn't feeling well and that she'd like to go home. She told me that she had fallen down earlier that day."

Meneses and her family moved to Plattsmouth about two years ago, just blocks from the Schillings. She said Owen was a playmate to her four oldest children, ages 6 to 14.

"We had a trampoline, and he would come over almost every day to play on that," she said.

Owen was closest to her 8-year-old son, Christian.

"I think my son said it best: He was energy-filled, and a very happy little boy," Meneses said.

School officials said students were having difficulty coping with the fifth-grader's death. Tuesday was the last day of school before summer break.

"There's a lot of sadness and a lot of confusion," said Bellevue Public Schools Superintendent Frank Harwood.

Cody Johnson, a clerk at the Lake Manawa convenience store where surveillance video captured Schilling and her son shortly after she checked him out of school, was one of the last people to see them alive.

Schilling bought a pack of cigarettes for herself, and apple juice and snacks for Owen.

"The kid came in all hyper, like a normal kid would be, and went around looking at stuff," Johnson said. "Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. They were just like any other mom and son. There was nothing that showed me anything bad was going to happen."

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Comments

[dymentia629]

12:04 PM on 05/29/2012

The Police will always jump to the easiest conclusion first. I don't think the mother did it at all.

[Marles Chanson]

09:31 AM on 05/25/2012

children of the corn

[FreeSwingingSoul]

02:03 PM on 05/24/2012

The article states "It wasn't unusual for Schilling to surprise her children with short road trips..."

The obvious implication here is that Charlotte Schilling had more than one child. Why is there no mention of the other children in this article? And the father? This article raises more questions than it answers.

[jadeaic]

10:52 AM on 05/24/2012

Sounds more like someone else was involved - this doesn't sound like someone who would kill her child.

[amgnme]

04:37 PM on 05/23/2012

Don't know what story this is a post for so,,,
Caylee's law should be federal. There are deadbeat parents in all states that need to be held accountable. And for the responsible parents it won't affect them, so why not?

The Schilling case will have to wait until autopsies are completed and other evidence is released. So sad to see so many people, especially children, dying for whatever reason or by whatever method. Increasing life expectancy was a great thing knowing that the older generation could live longer and have more time to enjoy their children and grandchildren. But with the increase in deaths of young adults and children, living longer just means extra years of pain, sorrow, and loneliness without those loved ones. Bittersweet!

[raine221]

04:17 PM on 05/23/2012

He doesn't look so happy in the picture.
My prayers go out to the family.

[Talkingjunky]

10:59 AM on 05/23/2012

I heard Curt did it to save his video game company

[LaLaLand1972]

10:57 AM on 05/23/2012

the boy's school picture just looks so sad to me....
The most heart-wrenching thing that I have seen with children is that even though the parent is abusive or neglectful, the child still loves that parent and they yearn for any form of love from that parent.
I do not presume to know what happened here and everyone should wait for the investigation to be finished, but again, I look at that child's picture and it makes me sad

[raine221]

04:18 PM on 05/23/2012

I felt the same way when I saw it.

Are you really a silly rabbit?

[LaLaLand1972]

04:42 PM on 05/23/2012

on some days, yes, I can be quite silly

[MelanieGagnon]

10:23 AM on 05/23/2012

This type of news is so hard to take in. My son is 10 years old and I just think of his vitality and how he's always moving, laughing and asking questions. I can't imagine what goes through a parents mind to think that a child is better off dead. Child and death are just 2 words I can't stand seeing together.

[mikey09]

09:42 AM on 05/23/2012

Autopsy report will be very important, right now anything is possible, maybe the boy was hurt somehow and mother decided to end her own life as well...we wont know till the autopsy report, but sad for this whole family.

[SLuG1972]

08:51 AM on 05/23/2012

How tragic....my sympathies to the family

[zaniah]

08:48 AM on 05/23/2012

SO SAD

[ebanks84]

07:50 AM on 05/23/2012

What a shame. We might never know why this happened at this point. Another child lost because of another messed up adult. This is so depressing to hear.

[smoknjoe]

04:49 AM on 05/23/2012

It seems like, after the economy tanked, a lot of parents started killing their children and themselves. I think we are missing the social networks we used to have that would help correct the skewed perspective these people get into.

[Ystorm]

08:06 AM on 05/23/2012

the social networks of family are missing. it used to be that you had an extended family, now everyone is divorced and remarried (or shacking up with someone) so much that instead of having a huge family, they have nothing. there is much to say for being old fashioned, but today, anything goes. i agree with you.

[mikey09]

09:40 AM on 05/23/2012

For some research I have been reading newspapers from the 1880 to 1900's...wish I could say really horrible stuff didn't happen back then, but this stuff has always happened

[cj7874]

02:12 PM on 05/23/2012

That is a great point. It is scary looking at the missing child pics. I wonder what percentage of children go missing every year??

[TBro61]

04:43 AM on 05/23/2012

Have the police interviewed the boy's father ? Not that he is considered a suspect but you still have to check that out