Aryn Sanderson
asanderson@mustangdaily.net
UPDATE July 4
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Wednesday that Stefan Wagner’s body was found on June 28 at Montaña de Oro State Park.
Wagner’s body was found in the water by people walking in the area, according to the San Luis Obispo Tribune. An autopsy will be performed, and a toxicology report is expected to take three to four weeks.
Original story
Members of the Cal Poly community are mourning the loss of 21-year-old biomedical engineering rising senior Stefan Wagner. As most students and families were beginning their summer vacations, Cal Poly was struck by news of a missing swimmer at Spooner’s Cove in Montaña de Oro State Park, a spot known for treacherous waters. This past Friday, Wagner was officially declared dead, although his body has not yet been recovered.
“They’ve checked the area over the last couple of days, and we have not found anything new,” supervising park ranger for the San Luis Obispo Coast District Lisa Remington said. “The search is being continued periodically by the sheriff’s dive team as conditions permit, and rangers continue to patrol the area.”
Wagner’s parents, Bryan and Jill, said their son was “engaged with life,” “charismatic” and “just a really fun, loving, sweet kid.”
Jill Wagner, a nurse, and Bryan Wagner, a lawyer, divorced in 2002, and their son split his time between both parents in Fresno.
“He was fun-loving,” Jill said. “He was never a kid that anyone ever would say was depressed. He was polite, kind-hearted, thoughtful, interested in other people. I know I’m his mother, but honestly if you look at his Facebook page, you’ll see everyone saying what a beautiful person he was.”
Bryan agrees that his son’s personality was magnetic.
“My girlfriend had a cocktail party last Christmas, and Stefan was the bartender for all these 40 to 50-year old women, and, at the end of party, he had to drive a lot of them home because they drank too much,” he said. “They all wouldn’t stop talking about him afterwards — how handsome he was, how great he was. They all wanted to take him home. He was just a kid that everyone loved.”
Wagner was the oldest of four children and will be remembered by his younger siblings.
“They miss their brother,” Jill said. “He was always the leader of the pack. Everyone’s devastated.
“There are no words,” she said.
Despite the tragedy, Wagner will be remembered smiling, recreation, parks and tourism administration rising senior Brooke Felger said.
The two students were both from Fresno and part of a close-knit group of high school friends. Of their group of approximately 12 friends, five attended Cal Poly together.
“In high school, he was the one in our group that was always happy-go-lucky, never had an issue with anyone, down for anything,” Felger said. “The best way to describe him is like a golden retriever. He was the most loyal friend, and he was always the one to bring everyone together.”
Wagner was a deep conversationalist, Felger said, and a great listener — someone who was easy to talk to and enjoyed people relying on him.
“He gave me a lot of really good advice,” she said. “If I was into someone and he didn’t think it was a good idea, he’d say, ‘No.’ He was kind of like a big brother in that sense. He was very protective of all the girls in our group.”
Wagner was an avid outdoorsman, Felger said. He played water polo in high school and loved skiing and hiking.
The Wagner family has just begun the process of planning a memorial service and is also looking into hosting a service at Cal Poly in the fall.
“He loved Cal Poly,” Bryan said. “He loved that school, and he loved the area. He had a lot of close, close friends.”
Jill and Bryan ask Cal Poly students to be careful and look out for one another.
“We are suffering a terrible grief, and we just want to implore these students to never let this happen to any other family,” Bryan said. “It was a horrible accident, but his judgment was impaired from partying. It’s nothing he would have done if he was acting as himself. Everyone has to take a thought, a moment, before they go to the ocean and drink or party. Be careful. Take a moment, and think about the consequences.”
University President Jeffrey Armstrong and Vice President for Student Affairs Keith Humphrey wrote in an email that Cal Poly Health and Counseling Services is available to students during the summer and can help students locate counseling in their hometowns.
“We’ll be here for you throughout June, July and August and we look forward to bringing the Cal Poly community together again in September,” they wrote.