Is Someone Drowning College Men?

[JonoBN41]

Is a serial killer drowning college men? Eight young men have died in Wisconsin alone - many in La Crosse. Now there is new evidence that may link some of the drownings.

NEW YORK - Two detectives say they believe serial killers are targeting college aged men around the country. The retired New York City police officers have looked into 40 cases, including some of the suspicious Wisconsin cases. Eight young men have been found drowned in Wisconsin in the last decade, many in La Crosse. Thus far, police have ruled all the deaths accidental. Others have been found dead in the Mississippi River or other bodies of water in Iowa and Minnesota. One of the cases is Matt Kruziki. The Waukesha County native was found dead in East Dubuque, Iowa. His father, former Waukesha County Sheriff and U.S. Marshall Bill Kruziki, always felt there were unanswered questions. "Until we have all the answers, close all the doors, like I've always said, I don't think we'll ever be satisfied," Kruziki said. The detectives believe these cases may be related to deaths in 11 states. They say markings left at the scenes prove that link. In at least five states, Kevin Gannon says a smiley face with devil horns was painted or drawn near the spot where the men went in the water. An even more eerie coincidence may tie Kruziki's death to another case. Gannon says among other markings found at the scene of a drowning in Michigan was the word "sinsiniwa." It didn't make sense to detectives until Kruziki's body was found. He was last seen on Sinsiniwa Avenue in East Dubuque. "Oh my God! How can that word be written somewhere at a crime scene 450 miles away and not be related?" said Bill Kruziki. He's convinced a murderer is on the loose. Kruziki wants the FBI to reopen many of the drowning investigations. The Chief of Police in La Crosse issued a statement saying they are always looking at new, relevant information. At this point, however he does not believe the La Crosse drownings are linked to any other deaths.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24367936/

[macallan25]

I read a big article about that yesterday. Pretty messed up stuff.

[GeekyPenguin]

This is really messed up. I went to high school with two of the men who drowned in the river. It's so scary and awful.

Here's a blog that covers some of the issues...

http://footprintsattheriversedge.blogspot.com/

[jon1856]

WOW-While all of them may not be connected, would be/could be that a fair amount are.
While out in Northwest, I saw several of these cases investigated over the years.
Never a good thing for family and friends.
Even when killer is found.

Best wishes and thoughts.

[PiKA2001]

This was in the news today...

A body recovered by emergency personnel searching a river was identified Monday as a missing Wisconsin college student who had been out celebrating his 21st birthday over the weekend, authorities said.
Stevens Point Sgt. Dan Wheeler said officials removed the body of 21-year-old Eric Duffey around 1:10 p.m. from the Wisconsin River, which goes through the city about 110 miles north of Madison. The coroner's office made a positive identification after meeting with Duffey's family.

http://news.yahoo.com/police-missing...211758489.html

From an article circa 2008

They learned about a string of student drowning deaths, many of them involving young men who attended colleges along the Interstate 94 corridor in the Midwest -- in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa.

Nine of the deceased attended the University of LaCrosse, in Wisconsin. Three attended colleges in New York state.

In all, the investigators say they've connected the bizarre drowning deaths of at least 40 college-age men across the country.

http://articles.cnn.com/2008-05-21/j...er?_s=PM:CRIME

I find this to be throughly bizarre and it NEEDS to be investigated by the FBI and not just written off as drownings by local LE. There was an interview on Coast to Coast AM a few months back with an author who is investigating these drownings and she had mentioned that the toxicology reports on most of these men came back negative for drugs or alcohol and that some of the bodies were found in rivers out of the way of the route they were supposedly walking. What strikes me as odd is how most of these are in the MN, WI, IL area, always college-aged men, smiley faces found near the body, and it damn near always happens in the late fall or winter.

What do you guys think?

ETA- You can find more cases and theories by google searching "smiley face killer".

[FSUZeta]

it's a terrible thing and something that should be investigated-too much coincidence.

[amIblue?]

That's utterly frightening.

[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

[Leslie Anne]

This is all really creepy. I'm not one for conspiracy theories but there are just too many coincidences to brush this off. I think Jen hit the nail on the head with the idea that many of these deaths are assumed to be just a matter of typical college kids getting too drunk.



BTW, nice to see you around, Jono.

[PeppyGPhiB]

A young man from Western Washington University in Bellingham (near the Canadian border) disappeared while walked home from a college party a few years ago, and he was found the next day or two in the Bay. I recall there being discussion then about the link to other deaths around the country.

[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

[Cheerio]

A relative who lives in northern Illinois tells me there are still several college-age and slightly older men missing from her area since 3-7 years ago who have never been found, including a 26-year-old from the Maple Park/DeKalb area. His family and police have been able to search creek areas this winter due to the warmer than normal weather. He was last seen, you guessed it, at a bar.

[PiKA2001]

Jono-

This news clip might interest you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VdX5gQoXuQ

ETA-after watching this I'm pretty certain there is a serial killer following guys home from the bar. Not to say that all of these drownings are homicide, but a good number of them probably are.

[AGDee]

http://www.cbs8.com/story/17186498/p...llege-freshman

I know a couple people who know this kid and his family personally because he's from a suburb of Lansing, MI. It made me think of this story, which is frightening.