A body recovered from the Clark Fork River on Oct. 13 has been identified as Eva Masin Prather, a 43-year-old mother of two who had been missing for more than nine months.
After Prather disappeared from her Missoula home in the early hours of Dec. 30 last year, organized search parties spent weeks looking for her. The Facebook group “Search for Eva” jumped from several hundred members to around 2,300 in less than two days. She’d left while her husband and two children were asleep, without wallet, phone or keys, and it wasn’t even clear if she had shoes on despite the frigid, snowy weather.
It was clear, however, according to her husband, Dave Prather, that she had been experiencing a manic episode in the days leading up to her disappearance. And so Missoula Police issued a Missing and Endangered Person Advisory in consideration of her mental health condition. Dave had said her heightened mental states sometimes led her to worry she was being tracked and potentially endangering her family by proximity.
“We’re worried she may not want to be found at the moment,” he told The Pulp at the time.
The search for Eva continued for months, in Missoula and beyond, and the “Missing: Eva Masin Prather” fliers in shops around town, and the banners with her smiling face on the side of the road, became familiar.
A few weeks ago, the remains of a body were found in a logjam near the Kelly Island fishing access off Mullan Road. This morning, Nov. 1, the Missoula Police Department announced they had identified the body as Eva’s.
“Our hearts broke with this news as we held out hope, however slim, for a different outcome,” Dave Prather wrote in a statement posted by the Search for Eva Facebook page. “While the coming months will be difficult, we are certain that this news will eventually lead to some closure for our family and for those close to Eva.”
“Words are inadequate in times such as these,” Prather continued, “but we are forever grateful for the support and kindness that we received and continue to receive from extended family, friends, neighbors and the greater community.”
The police department wrote: “Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Eva M. Prather. We recognize that her case touched many people within our community who showed remarkable support and care throughout the search efforts.”
The cause of death remains under investigation by the coroner’s office.
As the news is shared across social media, one friend summed up what many others are also expressing: “So many emotions this morning … We needed answers, no matter how hard it is to hear she is no longer with us.”
The Pulp will have more on Eva Masin Prather in the coming days.
