04/13/99: Jeffrey Geesey, 21, La Crosse, WI

Jeffrey Geesey, 21, disappeared after a night of partying in downtown LaCrosse, Wisconsin with friends. He was last seen at Club Millennium (121 3rd Street) in the early morning hours talking to two girls. Police said Geesey was drinking with two friends who were so intoxicated that they could not remember what bars they had frequented. His body was found the following month in the Mississippi River by fishermen.

The Investigation
An autopsy was performed by Dr. Lindsay Thomas of the Minnesota Regional Coroner's Office (MRCO), who said Geesey probably drowned. Authorities suspect it could have been suicide based on four shallow, self-inflicted scars on his arms. Geesey had been hospitalized overnight in the past, but Geesey's father said psychologists told him that his son's behavior was not a genuine suicide attempt, rather a call for attention. His friends and his family insisted that the young man was not suicidal and that there had to be more to his death than authorities were willing to admit.

Suspicions
According to news reports at the time, Richard Geesey, Jeff’s father, believed the alcohol-related deaths might be related. He suspects someone might be pushing drunken, young men into the Mississippi. "I have no proof of that (of a serial killer), but that's the way it seems," Geesey said.

Facts in this Case
Name/age: Jeffrey Geesey, 21, La Crosse, WI
College: University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse (mechanical engineering major)
Physical description: 6'2," 200 pounds, brown hair, brown eyes
Last seen: 04/11/99, 1 am to 2 am, 121 3rd St S, La Crosse

Recovered: 05/24/99, Mississippi River (Running Slough) in Shelby, MN
Cause of death: probably drowning
Injuries: unknown
Blood Alcohol Content: 0.42
Reported water temp: 49 degrees