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Police To Search Pond In Tech Probe

June 26, 2007

By Rex Bowman

The Virginia State Police said yesterday that they will return to Virginia Tech to search the bottom of Duck Pond, currently being drained, during their investigation of the April 16 mass murders.

Tech spokesman Mark Owczarski said the school had planned to drain the pond to shore up retaining walls, cut trees and remove debris but started the job earlier than planned at the request of state police.

"It's called cooperation and teamwork," Owczarski said, "but I would not have you believe that this is something we were planning to do now."

Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said investigators aren't looking for anything in particular.

"We're just dotting the i's," Geller said.

"They're draining it, so we'd be foolish not to take a look."

Geller said divers had previously tried to search the pond but gave up because the water was too murky.

Tech student Seung-Hui Cho, 23, of Centreville, killed 27 fellow students and five faculty members before killing himself.

The week after the massacre, teams of searchers scoured the area around the pond.

They said they weren't looking for anything in particular but wanted to make sure Cho had not left or dropped anything in the area.

Last week, a source told The Washington Post that Cho had apparently removed the hard drive from his computer.

Geller would not comment on that aspect of the case or respond to speculation that Cho might have thrown the hard drive in the pond.

Owczarski said the pond could be drained in a day or two, barring rain.

Contact Rex Bowman at rbowman@timesdispatch.com or (540) 344-3612.