Missing Ind. Couple Found Dead After Anniversary Celebration

Jan. 21, 2009— -- The bodies of a missing East Chicago, Ind., couple who disappeared nearly two weeks ago after celebrating their wedding anniversary have been found in an area creek, confirming their worried family's worst fears.

Arthur "Shonteau" Joshua, 39, and his wife Latavia, 35, were found Tuesday in their SUV by a construction worker who was in the area on a bulldozer, East Chicago Police Sgt. Juan Beltran told ABCNews.com.

The worker noticed a snow-covered vehicle protruding from a creek in Gary, where the Joshuas were last seen, Beltran said..

"She was on top of him, frozen," Beltran said of the couple who had two teenage children.

Charlene McFerson, Shonteau Joshua's mother, told ABCNews last week that her worst fear was "that they're on the side of the road, frozen."

Andria McFerson, Shonteau Joshua's sister, said Tuesday that the family is stunned but grateful to have an answer about what happened to her brother and sister-in-law.

"They completed each other," she said. "They're going to be buried together."

Police are waiting for the bodies, which were frozen, to thaw before autopsies are done to determine whether the couple died from the impact of the crash or if they drowned.

Temperatures in the area have dropped to below freezing in the time the Joshuas have been missing.

Beltran said the car was nearly completely flipped over on its roof. From the way they were found, it appeared Latavia Joshua wasn't wearing a seatbelt, he said, but it was unclear if she had unbuckled the seatbelt trying to escape.

"We're glad that they were located to bring closure to the family," Beltran said. "And our hearts and prayers go out to them."

McFerson said the family was working out guardianship for the Joshuas' children, Paris, 15, and Shonteau Jr., 17.

"This week has prepared them to accept there might be a bad outcome," she said.

A Desperate Search

Beltran told ABCNews.com last week that the Joshuas celebrated their anniversary at a Gary lounge called Beer Belly's, leaving between 12 and 1 a.m. before stopping at an ATM to take out money.

After leaving the lounge, Latavia Joshua then placed two phone calls -- one to their daughter, Paris, and another to a co-worker requesting a wake-up call to make sure she was at work by 6 a.m.

That's the last anyone heard from them. Family members reported them missing after Latavia Joshua failed to show up for work as a nurse assistant at Community Hospital in Munster, Ind.

"That's very unusual for her, according to her supervisor and her work record," Beltran said.

The couple may have been headed to El Norteno, a Mexican restaurant also in Gary.

"According to the family, they usually go to that spot after going out partying," Beltran said.

Shonteau Joshua's brother, DeAundre Joshua, had offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the couple's discovery.

At the time, she was also worried they had met with foul play.

McFerson said the couple met in high school and have been "joined at the hip" ever since.

"They are fun, outgoing," she said. "They meet no strangers."

Shonteau Joshua has coached children's basketball in the past, she said, and the couple both helped distribute turkeys and hams this past holiday season.