FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — After ten years, Steven MacKrell’s body was found in a Boca Raton lake.
Local 10 News spoke to MacKrell’s parents Monday as they left the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, where they went to pick up what could be salvaged of their son’s belongings.
After more than a decade of hoping and praying this father, son, and brother would somehow come back home, Steven’s parents — Astrid and Don MacKrell — finally got the call from police.
“I’m just ― I’m still kind of numb,” said Astrid MacKrell. “I can’t think. My mind won’t be able to see it. It’s something you don’t want to believe.”
Fort Lauderdale police told the family Thursday that Steven’s body and car had been found in a Boca Raton lake along Peninsula Corporate Circle.
“We will finally bring him home,” said Astrid MacKrell.
As this grieving mother wiped away tears, she and her husband said they’re still coming to terms with what happened.
“Closure,” said Don MacKrell. “Because for 10 years your mind can wander and speculate. Even though we don’t know the full details — we might never know — we know he was found.”
Steven left behind a daughter who was just a toddler when the 25-year-old went missing in 2015.
“His daughter has also been numb,” said Astrid MacKrell. “She doesn’t want to say anything. She’s 11 now.”
“She’s been asking questions, looking online now that she’s older,” said Astrid MacKrell. “Now she just doesn’t want to talk about it, but I know it’s going to hit later on — like all of us.”
Steven was last seen at a gas station on West Sample Road in Pompano Beach with another man in his vehicle.
Divers from Sunshine State Sonar, a private company, located Steven’s car and helped recover his remains. His family is grateful for their work and the closure it’s brought after ten long years.
“I was always hoping he was gonna knock at the door, that police would find him somewhere,” said Astrid MacKrell. “Now we can put an end to all this — 10 years of suffering.”
The MacKrell family said they plan to hold a memorial service to honor Steven’s life soon.
Police have not said how Steven and his car ended up in the lake. The investigation continued as of Monday.
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