Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 6, 1991                   TAG: 9103061199
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                                LENGTH: Medium

BODIES OF TWO MISSING BOYS FOUND; FOUL PLAY SUSPECTED

A search party found the bodies of the two boys Tuesday afternoon. The pair had been missing since Monday night.

Police, Navy and civilian searchers emerged from the woods about 5 p.m., some with clenched fists, cursing and tearful, after the grim discovery of the bodies of Christopher "Scot" Weaver, 7, and Daniel Geier, 9.

The two playmates were found lying side by side covered with leaves and debris.

"It does appear that this was a homicide. We do believe foul play was involved," said Virginia Beach police spokesman Lewis Thurston.

Police declined to give the cause of death but said the boys were not sexually assaulted.

As the 24-hour search ended, Valerie Geier and her husband Gary stood outside their home still hopeful after a sleepless night. A Navy officer approached them and told them their son was dead.

Valerie Geier buried her head in her husband's shoulder and started to collapse as her husband caught her and held her up. "No, no, it can't be," she said. "They've got to be OK."

Chaplains, Navy and rescue workers helped the family into a nearby house.

Robert Weaver was told of the discovery moments later. Scot Weaver's mother is serving on a Navy ship in the Persian Gulf.

The boys disappeared Monday afternoon shortly after 4 p.m. while bicycling near Birdneck Lake. Their bicycles were found Monday night, one submerged in the lake, another stuck in the marsh surrounding the shallow lake.

Neighborhood children described the area as "our playground" and said there were old skateboard ramps, forts and treehouses in the woods and around the lake. Adults say they have frequently complained to authorities that the area is dangerous and frequented by derelicts and vagabonds.

"Dan was a real good little kid," said Kenneth Lester, 14, who lives nearby. "He was always happy. You could tell he had a real nice family. He was always happy, and he always had a smile on his face. He was just a real good kid."

The boys were schoolmates and lived on the same street.

Throughout the evening Tuesday, as police continued to search for clues, neighbors and neighborhood children expressed their fears. "We're scared," a group of children said in unison. "We used to play in those woods all the time, but not anymore."

Police did not say whether they believed the children were killed where they were found.

The bodies were discovered just before search units were about to give up with night approaching. On the hunch of a supervisor, about 50 searchers lined up for "arm's breadth search" in an area not previously searched.

Emergency Medical Service rescue divers had searched the lake for the bodies all day, and tracking dogs had combed the area. Police on horseback searched other areas of the woods. Between 150 and 200 people searched for the pair Tuesday, Thurston said.