Is Someone Drowning College Men?

[JonoBN41]

It's rather eerie that this thread I started almost four years ago was revived today, since I haven't been on GC in quite a while. I saw a promo for the local news earlier this evening, but missed the story. I found it online. Here's an excerpt:

OREGON, Ill. — Investigators in northern Illinois are trying to determine what caused the death of an Illinois Wesleyan University student from New York.

Authorities say 18-year-old Brandon Landau was found Sunday after a party thrown at White Pines State Park outside Oregon, about 85 miles west of Chicago. He was pronounced dead after being airlifted to Rockford Memorial Hospital.

Illinois Wesleyan spokesman Matt Kurz says Landau was from the Bronx and was a member of the Sigma Pi fraternity.

Winnebago County Coroner Sue Fiduccia's (fih-DOO'-shuhz) office says an autopsy Monday was inconclusive and investigators are waiting for toxicology and other tests.

The coroner's office says when Landau was found his lower torso was in a stream and his upper body was on a log. He'd suffered superficial cuts and abrasions.

http://online.wsj.com/article/AP45ea...1094312c4.html

I was about to check GC just to see if there had been any additions to the thread, when I saw the email alerting me to PiKA2001's post. I was pretty shocked at the coincidence.

This stuff is very strange. As many times as I walked home drunk while in college, I never felt the inclination to head for a body of water.

Thank you all for thinking about these strange happenings.

Jono

[PiKA2001]

Originally Posted by JonoBN41

This stuff is very strange. As many times as I walked home drunk while in college, I never felt the inclination to head for a body of water.

Jono

What...you never decided to take a dip in ice cold water in the middle of winter?

I grew up in Michigan and many a times we would jump in the lake or pool after a few beers without any incident and I don't ever recall anyone falling by accident into the water.

What gets me is that other than the few incidents happening in the Pacific NW these are all happening in the same general area of the country. I don't buy the "drunk kids being drunk kids" explanation because this isn't happening in Texas, Alabama, Florida, etc like it is in the upper midwest.

Lastly, did you hear about the son of Green Bay coach Joe Philbin body being found in a river near Oshkosh, WI?
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/74...hilbin-drowned

[JonoBN41]

PiKA2001, thanks for the story about Eric Duffey. And yes, I did just hear about Michael Philbin too. Both of these are odd.

Leslie Ann, great to hear from you too, and thanks for posting. Like you, I am not a conspiracy theorist by any means - in fact I usually try to debunk them.

There's something about these drownings, however, that just doesn't seem right. And as PiKA2001 said, why only in the north?

Here's the way I see it: We've all been to college and seen what can happen when college kids get drunk. Consequently, we, of all people, should understand that walking home drunk can lead to drowning. Why then do we think it's so strange? That in itself says something.

Maybe they are all just accidental - I don't know. If they are, maybe college students should be warned about it, just like drunk driving.

Jono