- Nathan Edberg and Nick Rossini 's mothers work together at a local elementary school.
- Nicholas Rossini lived within a few miles of where Nathan Edberg was last seen.
- In 2004, Nick Rossini attended St. John's University, where just two years earlier, student Joshua Guimond disappeared. (He later transferred to West Point Academy.)
- Josh Guimond's girlfriend, Kate Benson, is said to have known the Edberg family, particularly Nathan's brother.
- Matt Kruziki and Jared Dion both attended Arrowhead High School and were team mates on the Varsity wrestling team.
- Jesse Ross' disappearance comes almost a year after a 31-year-old Matthew Soumakis from Massachusetts disappeared from the same area, possibly the same hotel. Soumakis, who was in Chicago on business, had also been staying at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers.
- The body of Matthew Soumakis was found floating in the Chicago River near Goose Island. Nicholas Rossini's body was found in Goose Lake in his hometown of White Bear Lake, MN.
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July 15, 2008
Six degrees of separation
The list of odd coincidences between these cases is growing. A few of the victims had connections to other victims through their schools, jobs, and even acquaintances.
To add to the coincidences, Josh Guimond's girlfriend knows the Edberg family - Nathan's brother in particular (I think his name is Tony).
ReplyDeleteLeft this infor in another thread but will repeat it here- at least 3 were college radio djs'. Do you know if that number is higher? Could be a clue-
ReplyDeleteJust thought I would let you know that Abel Belanos' body was found on ISU Campus in Lake Lavern. Lake Lavern sits right next to Lincoln Way. It is so close to the street that you can literaly walk off the sidewalk on Lincoln Way and go directly into the lake. Strange...
ReplyDeletethree's a crowd. That's right. Serial killers are either loners or work in pairs. But how many people, then, are in those cargo vans alleged to tranport the victims to that river, lake or creek where they are eventually found? Consider the question from the killers' point of view. The problem for them is controlling the victim. Do you want the target in the passenger seat, then, or in the back of the van? Answer: In the back of the van where he can be more easily controlled. To ensure this outcome, therefore, someone must be sitting in the passenger seat at the time the victim is approached. That's two smileys. But the mark can't be controlled by the two guys up front. For one thing, the driver needs to concentrate on what he's doing: viz. driving (the van, in fact, should be moving quickly away from the pick-up site to reduce the chance that witnesses in the area can observe their actions. So there has to be at least one smiley in the back, who can subsequently be joined by the passenger smiley after the passenger smiley invents some pretext to join this third individual in order to help him control the target. That's three, minimum, and the serial killer limit has thus been reached and exceeded: three's a crowd. But, of course, others could participate as well.
ReplyDeleteI think this case wonderfully illustrates how the human mind is often trapped by the ideas and concepts it uses to characterize some as yet unknown behavior or phenomenon. Perhaps, Whitehead's "fallacy of the misplaced concrete" has some arcane psychological application here. As metaphor it does seem deliciously relevant--at least to me. "Serial killer?" Maybe not. But if murder is the cause of death in the preponderance of these cases, and serial killers aren't the ones involved, then who is? And if chapters of this homicidal gang are operating in several states, as Duarte and Gannon allege, then who is sponsoring them? Are copy cats the explanation for the seemingly improbable geographic extension of these crimes? Or are psycho cum laudeans responsible for some of these deaths, acting independently of the original smileys for reasons known only to them? Or are they all working together somehow? Is it even possible? I believe the ever perceptive and thoroughly logical Sherlock Holmes once said: "Eliminate all that is impossible and that which remains, however implausible, must be true."
Great job on your blog. Lots of info. This needed done, thanks.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the disappearance of Jason Jolkowski near Omaha, NE is connected? Jason, like three of the victims, also worked as a DJ.
ReplyDeleteHe was last seen leaving to walk to a local school (a few blocks away) where he was to meet his boss so that he could be given a ride to work. He never made it to the school.
I think the patterns go much deeper.There is so much not known.For instance did McNeil attend classes at the Lincoln Center at Fordham University.Small details may be important to getting this mystery solved.
ReplyDeleteI wish you would consider adding Kyle Fleishmann to you list of vanishings. He disappeared from the Buckhead Saloon in Charlotte, North Carolina, on November 9, 2007, having left his coat and credit card behind in the bar. Similarities between his and other cases are - being without his coat, time of year, and time frame, apparently tried to call friends and family between 2 and 3 am (perhaps realizing he needed a ride). There are no obvious bodies of water, but reports have indicated that dogs have led to searches of creek beds. Similarities have been drawn between his case and that of Max Walker who disappeared from the Buckhead Saloon in Milwaukee, in July 2006, and that of Justin Gaines, who disappeared after leaving Wild Bills Saloon in Duluth, Georgia on November 2, 2007,Justin also tried to contact friends via cell phone to get a ride. I really hope the "drugged" theory is investigated further, I read that sometimes traces of these date rape drug can be found in the hair for up to a month.
ReplyDeleteI googled, "buckhead saloon" and "last seen" and found this bizarre review of the Buckhead Saloon in Atlanta, it refers to "Rohypnol laced shots", and has other strange references. Here it is:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.barstar.com/cgi-bin/atl_db/search.cgi?setup_file=details.setup.cgi&db_id=atl2024
Excellent job. I too believe that there is definitely something going on here and the arrest of Edward Lanphear proves that there are other areas to pursue. Its a shame LE has not even tried to. Too many coincidences for my taste.
ReplyDeleteRespectfully,
KindraLore
Great job on this article and all the work you are doing on these disappearances.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to add that Brian Shaffer disappeared in the early morning hours of April Fool's Day.
I have been following the case in Wisconsin Rapids of the man who kidnapped two young men (21 and 23 years old) that both had been drinking. They were able to escape after being 'chained' in his garage. I have no idea if it is connected but definitely something to look at: http://www.todaystmj4.com/news/local/24506364.html
Well, that Edward Lanphear guy was a sicko but I don't think he's connected to these cases, other than the simiarity that he preys on drunk young men.
ReplyDeleteThere was another case recently of a teacher/coach who tied and suspended young men in his garage? I haven't heard much more on that case, but of course it's not connected to these cases as well.
At least these two cases will help people to realize that killers and sickos just don't prey on 'young vulnerable females', as so many falsely believe.
Hmm....something just hit me with regards to that Edward Lanphear guy.
ReplyDeleteThis wasn't his first time doing it, it was just the first time he got caught.
and two, according to an article I read it sounded as if the cops were like a little dismissive about it all, like it might have been a sex thing. (A similar thing happened in the Dahmer case, were cops responded but backed off thinking it was like a mutal thing and lover's spat.)
Hmm...perhaps Edward Lanphear may be worth further consideration....
I want to know what was in that garage with the guys (his victims), the stuff that isn't being reported.
I hope LE has the sense to test all of the restraints and other paraphenalia that Edward Lanphear had in his home for DNA. I find it very hard to believe this guy hasn't killed someone already.
ReplyDeleteThe news says he works in a paper mill, I doubt he has a lot of work-related travel, I keep thinking the guy responsible for a lot of these disappearances was in sales or something that would cause him to have to do a lot of regional traveling.
Regarding Edward Lanphear, the property inventory for items removed from his home can be found at http://www.wsaw.com/home/misc/25428779.html.
ReplyDeleteThe list includes a very scary assortment of items needed for holding someone hostage in your house: various guns and ammunition, buck knife, pill bottles containing Codeine and Hydrocodone,boxers with the crouch cut out, gloves, nylon rope with a carabiner, choke chain, pad lock, chain, rubber tubing, zip ties, duct tape, camcorder, microcassette recorder, condoms, gay porn, envelope with $3,300 in cash, and a newspaper clipping about the murder of Brittney Zimmerman of WI.
I'm amazed this Edward Lanphear story hasn't made national headlines...from what I understand these kinds of things do not happen all that often, otherwise wouldn't we be telling out teenage males that they have to be careful of this kind of thing happening. This is really weird to me.
ReplyDeleteWhat gives? Here's the police posture on the recent abductions, basically "don't be overly concerned".
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wisconsinrapidstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080718/WRT0101/807180673/1982
Do they not see how strange it is that so many Wisconsin area men disappear in these circumstances?
What do the families of these victims have to do to get their cases investigated properly? As far as I am concerned LE is perpetuating these crimes.
Okay, who is this mysterious "LE" that everyone keeps referring to?
ReplyDeleteI don't know how to get in contact with the blog owner, but all of the links in the link section are messed up. It directs one to the sign in page for blogspot and not to any outside site.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things that keeps occuring to me, these may be cases of manslaughter. Maybe these guys were not "put" in the river but ended up there as a result of unknowingly drinking something that was drugged (hence your "frat party" connection). The timing in the Garza case disturbs me because he didn't seem to have been at the party long enough to be that drunk, but he was there long enough for so-called date rape drugs to take effect.
ReplyDeleteI have a question, does anyone know the significance of Edward Lanphear's bail being set at $1,000,000. Is he a flight risk, does he have somewhere to go? Do they know something we don't?
ReplyDeleteThis Edward Lanphear went to Lincoln High School also.
ReplyDeleteTo Boy in the Machine:
ReplyDeleteI tested out the links today and they seem to be working fine. If you continue to have problems, please e-mail me at footprints.blogmail@yahoo.com.
Edward Lanphear was arrested for abducting and sexually assaulting 2men over the fourth of July weekend. Both men were heavily under the influence of alcohol when abducted. One man reported suspicions of having his OJ drugged (after being kidnapped). According to the news, Lanphear worked for NewPage, I believe at the Biron Operations in Wisconsin Rapids. Other NewPage operations are located in
ReplyDeleteChillicothe, Ohio
Duluth, Minn.
Escanaba, Mich.
Luke, Maryland.
Port Hawkesbury,Strait of Canso, Nova Scotia
Rumford, Maine
Stevens Point, Wisconsin
Whiting, Wisconsin (near Portage)
Wickliffe, Kentucky
I do not know what he did at the mill, or if any of these locations have any relevance to any of the disappearances.
His home address (from where one of the abductees escaped and one was "released" to the police) is ironically about 115 miles from many "disappearances". I believe his house was about 5 miles from Highway 39. I'm posting this in case anyone wants to follow up or add to this info.
It is hard for me to believe that this person has not done this before because of how well prepared he was.
Dan Pirfo's body was also located at the bottom of Ithaca Falls next to East Lincoln Street in Ithaca, NY.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget that several of the men were last seen with taverns with the word brothers in the name, and re the Indian connections, the word Sinsinawa/Sinsiniwa is Lakota Sioux origin
ReplyDeleteHowdy,
ReplyDeleteJust reading over the cases I had a thought, and don't think it has been mentioned. They say several of the guys make a call but don't say anything, because of being drugged or whatever, but I think they wouldn't let them have the chance to a call. Unfortunately I think it is one of two things 1) time of capture and control of them, or 2) time of death.
My experience with this I lived in East Lansing during Ryan Getz. Red Cedar river isn't that big, no way they could have missed the body. They did several intense searches and yet 4 months later, he popped up.
D-
Anonymous 1
ReplyDeleteYikes, I'm originally from Milwaukee and know a lot about Jeffrey Dahmer. He drugged his victims. One night a 15 y/o boy had been drugged and mangaged to escape from Dahmer's apt. The boy was pleading with police and bleeding anally and Dahmer (who I had seen before and appeared very normal looking) told the cops he was in a lover's spat. The police released this drugged 15 y/o boy to Dahmer and never questioned his age! Dahmer liked to use drugs. Then he became even more demented and used drugs to control his victims followed by drilling holes in their heads.
My point? He did this for a very long time(started in Ohio as a young boy) and it wasn't until a much stronger male was able to escape that Dahmer was caught.
He drugged men for a very long time and this made it possible for him to have control over his victims who were often times much larger and stronger than he.
I think there is one killer using drugs and a police scanner. That's all it would take.
My friend (experieced in toxicology) said a limited number of drugs are tested for when they suspect an accident. It's cheaper. If foul play is suspected or a drugging it is very expensive to look for drugs because it's not the typical "basic panel"=benzos,amphetamines,opiods, alcohol, THC (marijuana) etc. GHB is not typically tested for along with many drugs that could disorient a person.
So, if some of the boys are not placed in the river right away after going missing it leads me to wonder what he is doing to the boys while they are in his possesion? Ugly thought, but perhaps he uses them sexually and then puts them in the water for purification( cleanse them and rid the victim's family from being tarnished).It also gets rid of evidence. This is not a typical Western type practice.
ReplyDeleteI have a list of dates that, I think are likely to be very close to the next alleged SFK events over the coming months. All of the dates posted here are Fridays. I use Friday because I cant possibly say a particular event will take place at a given date time and location, but I can say the events will be on or near Friday. These are just estimated windows of time. I think about 4 events will occur in WI and MN in total. A WI event will be first. I think more will be on a Friday as it seems to be SFK's favorite day, followed by Sundays and Thursdays equally. Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays score the lowest. Saturday had an odd score, it fell below Thursday and Sunday.
ReplyDeleteSept 18
Sept 25
Oct 16
Dec 18
Jan 15
Feb 12
Mar 12
Apr 16
May 14
Originally posted: Thursday, September 17, 2009 4:23:00 PM CDT
That is very scary. Friday is tomorrow. I pray young men stay together and are safe and nothing bad happens.
ReplyDeleteHow did you arrive at these dates? I'd be interested to know.
Originally posted:
Thursday, September 17, 2009 4:40:00 PM CDT
It has been observed many of the events occurred at or near the waning moon and near the middle of the month. I combined that with the observation that many events occurred between Thursday and Sunday. Then I scored each day of the week,in relevance to occurrences. Don't get too caught-up in Friday,see it as a time window. The probability is higher at these times.If these were all accidents Saturday should should have scored higher than Thursday and Sunday.
ReplyDeleteOriginally posted:
Friday, September 18, 2009 9:35:00 AM CDT
Justlogic-a boy has gone missing in WI, but he is from Duluth MN, as of January 17, as you predicted. His disappearance is under the same circumstances as many of the others-he was at a bar and left by himself.
ReplyDeleteI pray this is not in any way connected, and that he turns up alive and well, but the fact that Duluth MN (the paper mill connection)was also mentioned in this same thread has me really creeped out.
Lisa I have been communicating with someone that knows the families of two victims . It seems to be more like one two or three degrees of separation. I remember there being a lady who went to a search for one missing man then had her family member went missing. I can't remember who that was though.
ReplyDelete