Body of Publisher’s Widow Found in Lake

PHOENIX — The wealthy 65-year-old widow of a California newspaper publisher was found Wednesday floating in a lake, hours after her husband of six months awoke to find her gone from their remote campsite.

Collin Thorstenson, 38, told police he searched for his wife for hours before calling authorities from an aid station about four miles away.

Margee Thorstenson was found in Bartlett Lake, wearing only her underwear.

An autopsy Thursday found that she drowned, but authorities were unable to say whether her death in the lake was accidental or an act of foul play.

“There is nothing right now that would lead us to believe that foul play occurred, but there are still people we need to talk to,” said Maricopa County Sheriff’s Deputy Dave Trombi. He said there were no obvious signs of trauma on Thorstenson’s body.

In 1995, she sold the newspapers--including the Contra Costa Times--that had been owned by her previous husband, Dean Lesher, for $360 million.

Collin Thorstenson, a buffalo and wolf trainer and son of a wealthy South Dakota rancher, told police they had gone to sleep about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday after setting up their camp in an area 30 miles northeast of Phoenix.

He said he noticed his wife was gone about 3:30 a.m. and searched until dawn before calling for help.

Their 12-foot jet boat was seen later in the morning about 2 1/2 miles from the campsite. Margee Thorstenson’s body was found a few hours later. Some of her clothing was on the boat.

“We’re just completely devastated,” said Margee Thorstenson’s daughter Roxanne Gibson. “We really don’t know what’s going on. We’re just in shock.”

The couple were married in November. It was the third marriage for the former Margaret Lesher, who changed her name to Margee last year. They lived in suburban Scottsdale and had a ranch in Texas and a home in California.

The sheriff’s office said the birth date on the dead woman’s California driver’s license indicated that she was 55. However, friends said she was 65.

Dean Lesher, her second husband, was one of California’s richest men, publishing a string of newspapers in the San Francisco Bay Area until his death in 1993.