MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL
a division of the
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

Troop C Headquarters- 891 Technology Drive, Weldon Spring, MO 63304


News Release

For further information please contact: Corporal Jeff Wilson
636-300-2800 ext. 3334
C010179
October 15, 2010

EMPHASIS: Troop C Pilot Killed In Helicopter Crash

Colonel Ronald K. Replogle, Superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, regretfully announces the death of Sergeant Joseph G. Schuengel, age 47, of St. Louis, Missouri. Sergeant Schuengel joined the Highway Patrol on August 1, 1993, and served as the Troop C pilot for seven years. On October 15, 2010, Sergeant Schuengel was fatally injured in a helicopter crash in St. Louis County. Sergeant Schuengel was returning to the Spirit of St. Louis Airport in Chesterfield, Missouri, following a traffic enforcement operation in Jefferson County.

Sergeant Schuengel leaves behind his mother, Georgiana Schuengel, and three sisters Barbara Azzam, Suzanne Shoemaker, and Adrianne Miller, all from the St. Louis area.

Law enforcement officials attending are requested to wear their Class A or Dress Uniform. Missouri State Highway Patrol Personnel attending will wear their Class A uniform with memorial pin.

Visitation will be held from 1400 to 2100 hours on Tuesday, October 19, 2010 at Hoffmeister Colonial Mortuary, 6464 Chippewa, St. Louis, Missouri 63109.

The funeral mass will be Wednesday, October 20, 2010 at 1000 hours at the Catholic Basilica, 4431 Lindell Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri 63108. Interment will immediately follow Mass on Wednesday at Resurrection Cemetery, 6901 Mackenzie Road, St Louis, Missouri, 63123
The family requests memorials be sent to the MASTERS (Missouri Association of State Troopers Emergency Relief Society), 5287 Highway 67 North, Poplar Bluff, Missouri 63901

If there are any questions pertaining to lodging, transportation, or the aforementioned information, please contact Lieutenant Robert Wolf at Troop C Headquarters, telephone 636-300-2800.

On Friday, October 15, 2010, at approximately 11:10 a.m. Sergeant Joseph G. Schuengel, the pilot for Troop C, Weldon Spring, was returning to Spirit of St. Louis Airport after completing an aircraft speed enforcement operation in Jefferson County when the Bell Jet Ranger helicopter he was piloting crashed near the intersection of Clarkson and Kehrs Mill Road, in St. Louis County. Sergeant Schuengel was pronounced dead at the scene. Sergeant Schuengel, 47, was a 17-year-veteran of the Highway Patrol and had been a Patrol pilot for seven years. Sergeant Schuengel is survived by his mother and three sisters. Sergeant Schuengel is the 29th member of the Missouri State Highway Patrol to die in the line of duty.

The crash is currently under investigation and more information will be released when the investigation is completed.



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