Fishermen find missing Marine’s body

[thedrifter]

May 19, 2004

Fishermen find missing Marine’s body

By Laura Bailey
Times Staff Writer


A group of fishermen found the body of a Marine in a Camp Lejeune, N.C., creek last weekend, almost three days after his wife reported him missing.
Three men and a woman discovered the body of Pfc. Thomas C. Rozensky II, 21, under a railroad trestle in Northeast Creek the evening of May 15, said 1st Lt. Christopher Wilson, a spokesman for the base.

Rozensky, a food specialist, was a new father on paternity leave when he disappeared. His wife, Candice Nichole Rozensky, gave birth to a daughter on May 5.

Base and local law enforcement officials had been searching for Rozensky since last Thursday, when his wife reported him missing to his unit, said 1st Lt. Kate VandenBossche, a base spokeswoman.

Candice Rozensky said she last saw her husband shortly after midnight on May 13. She said he went out for a late night run but never returned, VandenBossche said.

Medical examiners on Tuesday performed an autopsy on Rozensky, and will not rule on the cause of death until toxicology results return in three to eight weeks. No external signs of trauma were noted during the autopsy, and foul play is not suspected, VandenBossche said.

Naval Criminal Investigative Service officials and local law enforcement began searching the creek around noon May 13 after finding Rozensky’s 1997 Jeep Cherokee on a Highway 24 bridge that crosses over the creek, VandenBossche said.

A native of Broken Arrow, Okla., Rozensky served with Headquarters and Support Battalion, Food Service Company, 2nd Force Service Support Group.

A memorial was scheduled for Wednesday morning at the French Creek Chapel on base.

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=0-292925-2933119.php


Ellie

Rest In Peace

[Phantom Blooper]

'He was a great kid - he always made you laugh'
May 19,2004
ERIC STEINKOPFF
DAILY NEWS STAFF

Thomas and Candice Nichole Rozensky celebrated the birth of daughter Kelsey just two weeks ago. It was the couple's first child, and Kelsey's birth signaled new life, new hope, Thomas's mother Laurie Barnes said Tuesday.

But the celebration ended last week when Thomas Rozensky II, a 21-year-old Marine Corps private first class, was first reported missing. On Tuesday, Marine Corps officials confirmed Rozensky was the man found dead Saturday night in Northeast Creek adjacent to Camp Lejeune.

Barnes said her son was last seen when he was going to work out early Thursday morning.

"He used to like to go running at night," Barnes said.

The cause of death remained unknown Tuesday. Results of further tests are still pending, military officials said.

Rozensky's family remembered him Tuesday as a friend who knew how to get and give a laugh. A memorial service is scheduled for 10:30 today at the French Creek area chapel.

"He was a great kid - he always made you laugh," Barnes said. "He would pick up elderly people and take them where they needed to go. He'd loan money to people who needed it, (and) he also helped out at the Midway Park Community Center."

Rozensky, a cook from Broken Arrow, Okla., was assigned to Food Service Company, Headquarters and Support Battalion, 2nd Force Service Support Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force. He joined the Marine Corps after his 2002 graduation from Broken Arrow High School.

Rozensky entered the Marine Corps at roughly the same time his twin brother, Chris, joined the Army. After the pair completed basic training, both ended up at the same military food-service school at Fort Lee, Va., in October 2002.

"They have a few differences, and people have mistaken them for each other, but once you got to know them, you could tell them apart," Barnes said.

Rozensky married Nichole in September 2002. While stationed at Camp Lejeune, they encountered few problems until an automobile accident on July 23, 2003, Barnes said.

Barnes said Rozensky was in the process of buying a new Ford Mustang, so the dealership let the couple take it home. On the way, they were broadsided.

"They were still closing on it and they were driving around Â… when someone smashed into them," Barnes said. "It was amazing that they both walked away - it was a miracle."

Barnes said her son broke his hand and Nichole still suffers from back pain.

The young couple spent the following months recovering from injuries. Nichole, meanwhile, was pregnant with Kelsey, who was born on May 5.

Barnes said that like many young couples far away from their family and hometown, Tommy and Nicky made friends easily with the people they met at the housing area they called home.

Barnes said they used to visit with the friendly staff at the Midway Park convenience store and joke with the employees who they considered almost like a second family.

Rozensky worked at the French Creek mess hall in building FC-420 aboard Camp Lejeune. Rozensky's wife called military police when he failed to return home Thursday morning from his run. Their 1997 Jeep Cherokee was later found near the N.C. 24 bridge over Northeast Creek.

Four fishermen discovered Rozensky's body in the water on Saturday.

At least eight NCIS agents have been involved in the case, following up on calls from local residents. But they say it is too early in the investigation to release details of their findings.

Investigators have asked anyone with information to contact the base Provost Marshall's Office at 451-2555 or Camp Lejeune's NCIS office at 451-8071.

In addition to his wife, mother and daughter, Rozensky is survived by sisters Rosalie, 24, and Lindsy, 17, and brothers Chris, 21, and Cruz, 11.

Those who wish to make donations to the family may call Midway Park Community Center volunteer Michaelynn Hanson at 355-7230.

Contact Eric Steinkopff at esteinkopff@jdnews.com or at 353-1171, Ext. 236.