I keep thinking I'm going to run into him around school
Travis told me at dinner last Wednesday. I haven't been quite the same since. We had a little service and then an Irish funeral (drinking to his memory until it doesn't hurt anymore).
01/26/2008 Officials identify body of missing college student By: Jamie Nash , Courier staff
Zachary Carpenter
At 18 years old, Zach Carpenter had a life most would envy. He was intelligent, goal oriented, attractive and attending the University of Hawaii to achieve his dream of becoming a video game designer. But on Jan. 5, while home for Christmas break, he walked out of his parents' house on Brook Forest Drive in the Forest Hills subdivision off of FM 1488 and seemed to vanish into thin air.
But when survey crews discovered a body behind the Glen Eagles subdivision off of Texas 242 near Interstate 45 Jan. 18, there were concerns it was Carpenter.
Those fears proved true Friday, when the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office reported that the Southeast Texas Forensic Center in Conroe had determined the remains were Carpenter.
He died from a gunshot wound to the head, according to the Sheriff's Office release.
Lt. Dan Norris confirmed a gun was found near the body but said a final ruling of suicide had not been made as of Friday afternoon.
Carpenter's parents filed a missing person report with the MCSO after he failed to return home Jan. 6. Family and friends began to scour the area and post fliers asking anyone who saw Carpenter to call the Sheriff's Office or the family. They also ran ads in the newspaper, but nothing produced results.
Among those waiting in anguish was Carpenter's best friend, Josh Fasnacht. The pair met in Junior ROTC at Conroe High School.
"I've only known him since my freshman year, but it seems like forever," Fasnacht said.
In addition to JROTC, the friends shared their love of videogames, which they played for hours on the computer.
When Carpenter disappeared, he and Fasnacht had plans related to a new videogame that was about to debut. They spent a week of the break together before Fasnacht briefly left to visit his mom in Tennessee.
"When I came back and called, he didn't sound well - he was upset," Fasnacht said.
Two days later, Carpenter's sister called to say he was missing.
He said he would remember his friend as someone with a great mind who always put the needs of others before his own.
As part of the JROTC program, Carpenter participated in numerous charity events, including the HOG Toy Run and repainting the Veterans of Foreign Wars' hall.
"Whatever anyone needed, if he could do it, he did," Fasnacht said.
He was one of the poeple I was most looking forward to seeing. He was the best hug here. Everytime I saw him he would smile, swipe his bangs to the side, and hug me.
01/26/2008 Officials identify body of missing college student By: Jamie Nash , Courier staff
Zachary Carpenter
At 18 years old, Zach Carpenter had a life most would envy. He was intelligent, goal oriented, attractive and attending the University of Hawaii to achieve his dream of becoming a video game designer. But on Jan. 5, while home for Christmas break, he walked out of his parents' house on Brook Forest Drive in the Forest Hills subdivision off of FM 1488 and seemed to vanish into thin air.
But when survey crews discovered a body behind the Glen Eagles subdivision off of Texas 242 near Interstate 45 Jan. 18, there were concerns it was Carpenter.
Those fears proved true Friday, when the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office reported that the Southeast Texas Forensic Center in Conroe had determined the remains were Carpenter.
He died from a gunshot wound to the head, according to the Sheriff's Office release.
Lt. Dan Norris confirmed a gun was found near the body but said a final ruling of suicide had not been made as of Friday afternoon.
Carpenter's parents filed a missing person report with the MCSO after he failed to return home Jan. 6. Family and friends began to scour the area and post fliers asking anyone who saw Carpenter to call the Sheriff's Office or the family. They also ran ads in the newspaper, but nothing produced results.
Among those waiting in anguish was Carpenter's best friend, Josh Fasnacht. The pair met in Junior ROTC at Conroe High School.
"I've only known him since my freshman year, but it seems like forever," Fasnacht said.
In addition to JROTC, the friends shared their love of videogames, which they played for hours on the computer.
When Carpenter disappeared, he and Fasnacht had plans related to a new videogame that was about to debut. They spent a week of the break together before Fasnacht briefly left to visit his mom in Tennessee.
"When I came back and called, he didn't sound well - he was upset," Fasnacht said.
Two days later, Carpenter's sister called to say he was missing.
He said he would remember his friend as someone with a great mind who always put the needs of others before his own.
As part of the JROTC program, Carpenter participated in numerous charity events, including the HOG Toy Run and repainting the Veterans of Foreign Wars' hall.
"Whatever anyone needed, if he could do it, he did," Fasnacht said.
He was one of the poeple I was most looking forward to seeing. He was the best hug here. Everytime I saw him he would smile, swipe his bangs to the side, and hug me.