On the morning of Saturday, November 8, 2014, a search party discovered the body of 64-year-old Terry Dale Dalton in Elk's Lake, located north of Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Concerns had been raised by his family the previous day when he failed to return home from work, leading to a search effort that culminated in the recovery of his body from the water just after midnight.
Initially, the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department treated the situation as a suspicious death, prompting a
thorough investigation by local authorities to determine the cause and manner of his passing. Law enforcement officials processed the scene at the lake, looking for evidence that would explain how the Cape Girardeau man ended up in the water.
The investigation concluded following an examination by Cape Girardeau County Coroner John Clifton, who ruled the death a suicide. It was determined that Dalton had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and the handgun used in the incident was subsequently recovered from the bottom of the lake. Due to the nature of the findings, no suspects were sought, and no arrests were made in connection with the case.
Terry Dale Dalton was a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps and a long-time employee of the U.S. Postal Service, where he had worked for 32 years before his passing. He was known in his community as an avid sports fan and was survived by his wife, Glenda Basler Dalton, as well as children and extended family members who held a memorial service in his honor at the local V.F.W. post.
