tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1766322694484209381.post9203527200350626092..comments2024-03-01T02:28:15.472-06:00Comments on Footprints at The River's Edge: 05/20/12: Nathan Bihlmaier, 31, Portland, MELisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11452662850165426833noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1766322694484209381.post-63189373771344981662012-06-20T18:18:54.339-05:002012-06-20T18:18:54.339-05:00Yes, I also found problems with the CHR study. And...Yes, I also found problems with the CHR study. And from what I saw researching it on my own, the statistics are incredibly hard to find and not all that well organized. But I agree with what you found--almost all drownings were the result of a recreational activity and actually, most didn't even seem to be in this age group.Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11452662850165426833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1766322694484209381.post-70418258331395996722012-06-18T16:52:46.529-05:002012-06-18T16:52:46.529-05:00Well, except for the sham database cobbled togethe...Well, except for the sham database cobbled together by the Center For Homicide Research in their 2010 effort to debunk the 'Smiley Face' serial killer theory, there really is no authoritative non-recreational drowning database to rely on. That's because, outside of suicide and bath accidents, such deaths are virtually nonexistent.<br /><br />When I researched this issue myself--the serial drownings in the northland--I examined many different resources for my report. For instance, the Center For Disease Control compiles drown statistics and they consistently find that only about 4000+ water fatalities and related emergencies occur annually in the USA. The vast majority of these involve small children and occur in backyard pool settings in warm weather. But, most importantly, ALL of the drown events are the product of recreational activities...<br /><br />(I've posted a more lengthy forensic analysis of a true drowning event on my weblog, should anyone want to compare a particlar victim's recovery condition, etc. with what are the norms for such corpses. Of course, all of us already know this one small detail: that the norm in the I-90 and I-94 Corridor is NOT to drown in spring or winter!) <br /><br /><br />E.R.<br /><br />P.S. I think if you click on my 'KillingKillers' tag above this post it'll take you to that page.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1766322694484209381.post-89283892404763936542012-06-18T10:51:23.855-05:002012-06-18T10:51:23.855-05:00A note regarding drownings and recreational activi...A note regarding drownings and recreational activities:<br /><br />I try to post cases of young men who go missing mysteriously after leaving a bar alone at night. Under these circumstances, it would be unlikely for them to be the victim of drowning during a recreational activiity. Other times, I post cases about missing people after they have been found, which in almost all the cases, has been a drowning case. So this would also account for why there aren't more drownings due to recreation on my site. To get a clear picture, we would need to compare recreational drownings in a particular state to non-recreational drownings. <br /><br />I have briefly looked into drowning statistics for Minnesota only going back several years. In all of the drowning cases reported by the DNR, all were the result of a recreational accident (e.g., swimming death), household accident (e.g., bathtub death), or suicide. There were only a couple of cases in which a person was found drowned for a reason that wasn't readily apparent. (Two of these cases are listed on this site--Chris Jenkins and Dan Zamlen.) I would like to compare the MN results to other states to see how the numbers compare.Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11452662850165426833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1766322694484209381.post-12195560726246867542012-06-18T10:31:00.422-05:002012-06-18T10:31:00.422-05:00Great points! As a skilled swimmer and certified l...Great points! As a skilled swimmer and certified lifeguard, Bihlmaier probably would have had a healthy respect for water. It seems hard to believe he would have been walking close to the water's edge--intoxicated or not--in the dark when he was alone.<br /><br />The Boston Herald reported on May 24 that at family members’ request, the police showed them where Bihlmaier’s body was found to help provide them with more information for closure. Perhaps this information will lead the family to investigate further with a private investigator.Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11452662850165426833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1766322694484209381.post-64597503271486753212012-05-30T18:09:39.367-05:002012-05-30T18:09:39.367-05:00Nicely written.
Besides not being intoxicated en...Nicely written. <br /><br />Besides not being intoxicated enough to topple into the water and die, Bihlmaier was also a highly-skilled swimmer and a certified lifeguard in his youth.<br /><br />It would be informative in these questionable cases, and critical in determining foul play or not, if police and rescue divers would kindly report the posture of a victim at the time of their recovery. True drowning victims are always found at the bottom in a semi-fetal position, or else floating face down when putrefaction has caused them to resurface again. Anything other than these poses is flat out suspicious. Let alone that none of these men were engaged in water recreational activities at the time of their cold weather "accidental" drownings.<br /><br />Putrefaction, by the way, plays an important role in refloat and is dependant upon water temperature and depth. So pinpointing when a body finally surfaces (usually in the vicinity it went under) is also vital in ruling against or in favor of foul play. The colder that water is then the longer it will take for the corpse to rise. But, with the exception of very deep bodies of water, like some oceans and the Great Lakes, it will never take months, as has happened in these cases a number of times. <br /><br />Just saying--<br />E.R.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com