03/05/11: Alexander Grant, 19, Saratoga Springs, NY

Alexander Grant

Alexander Grant, 19, a sophomore at Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Mass., was last seen on Sat., Mar. 5, 2011, after visiting a hometown friend who was a student at Skidmore College. Grant, who was on spring break, attended house parties at 146 and 150 Church Street in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. with upwards of 300 people in attendance. It is believed that Grant had been drinking. He left about 11:30 p.m., about a half an hour after he arrived. It is not clear where he was headed.

Police broke up the party at around 12:25 a.m. (Mar. 6) after receiving noise complaints from neighbors.

A break in and a missing young man

Philip Kamrass / Times Union

At around noon on Mar. 6, police responded to a report of a break in at a medical office building at 3 Care Lane, off Church Street. When police arrived, they found a window broken and a significant amount of blood inside, but nothing had been disturbed or stolen.

A surveillance tape showed that at 1:15 a.m. that same morning, a young white male broke into the office building by kicking a window. The footage showed the young man--wearing only a pair of shorts, a white long-sleeved shirt and one sock--kicking the window and making entry by climbing through. It was thought that he probably sustained a non-life threatening cut on his foot at this time. The young man stayed in the lobby and did not try to enter offices. He left the building at 2 a.m.
At 4:50 p.m., about eighteen hours after Grant had left the party three of Grant's friends arrived at the Saratoga Springs Police Department to report him missing. The description of Grant matched the individual in the surveillance video from 3 Care Lane. Friends watched the video and confirmed that the man was Alexander Grant.
City Police and Fire Department Personnel then returned to the medical building and expanded their search of the area. One sock and a pair of pants were later recovered about 150 feet from the building. The pants contained identification belonging to Alexander Grant. There was no other sign of the young man. While there was blood inside the medical office building, heavy rain had fallen for several hours before the break in was discovered, so any blood trail had been washed away well before the police arrived.


The search for Alexander Grant

On Sunday evening, Mar. 6, soon after authorities learned that Alexander Grant was missing, search crews began combing a wooded area north of Church Street behind Sunnyside Gardens along the railroad tracks. The search was conducted both on foot and on all-terrain vehicles.

According to a Saratoga Springs Police press release, "some footprints in the snow were noticed by searchers in the wooded area Sunday night however snow had begun falling so rapidly that the tracks were soon covered over by fresh snow."

Thermal imaging equipment was used without success. The search continued through heavy rain, wind, and snow until 11:30 p.m., when search conditions had deteriorated to the point where the search had to be suspended until the following morning.

On Mon., Mar. 7, nearly 50 emergency personnel from several different agencies looked for Grant from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., while a foot of snow blanketed the area. Attempts to locate Grant using tracking dogs, a state police helicopter, and global positioning via his cell phone failed.

On Tues., Mar. 8 at 11 a.m., firefighters using special equipment found Alexander Grant’s body at a sharp bend in Putnam Creek about 300 yards north of Sunnyside Gardens off Route 9N. The body was found entangled in underbrush and submerged below the water line in about four feet of open water. The location was three-tenths of a mile away from the medical office building where he was last seen. The creek was swollen and had a swift current at the time. Foul play was not suspected.

About two dozen members of the city police, firefighters, state forest rangers and state police were at the scene. At 12:28 p.m., city firefighters wearing special cold-weather gear recovered the body, which was clad only in shorts, a shirt and one sock. The body was removed from woods behind Sunnyside Gardens on Route 9N and taken to Albany Medical Center Hospital where an autopsy was performed by a forensic pathologist.

Photo Credit: Eric Miller, The Record

Autopsy and toxicology findings

An autopsy determined Grant died early on Sunday morning from drowning with hypothermia. The temperature outside when Grant left the party was between 28 and 30 degrees.

Saratoga County coroner John DeMartino told The Journal News that while Grant had lost quite a bit of blood at the medical office, it would not have been enough to cause his death, and "His disorientation would be more from hypothermia, or if he was taking drugs and alcohol."

The final autopsy and toxicology reports later showed no indication of narcotics in Grant's system. In order to be certain of the toxicology results, two tests were performed, both yielding negative results. Authorities are still investigating what affected his body or lead to the circumstances of his death.

Earlier authorities stated they believe Grant fell into the water upstream from where he was found while walking in the dark in knee-deep snow. His body then got tangled in underbrush beneath the water line.

"We’re pretty confident his demise occurred a couple of hours after he was seen on that video," Police Chief Christopher Cole told The Record in March. "There’s probably not much we could have done."

Grant's whereabouts from the time he left the party until the time he broke into the office almost two hours later are still unknown.

The Grant family said in a statement that his death was a "tragic accident."

The Saratoga County District Attorney's office is investigating whether anyone at the party had served alcohol to Grant. They may be charged with unlawful dealing or endangering the welfare of a child, both are misdemeanor offenses that carry punishments of up to one year in jail.



GOLD – Last Seen Location (146 Church St.)
GREEN – Dormitory area where he would have returned after party.
RED – Medical office
BLUE – Recovery Location, Putnam Creek



A celebration of life

On Mar. 10, 2011, more than a hundred Skidmore students, faculty and staff members attended a silent vigil to honor the life of the young men who had been visiting their campus. The vigil was held outside the Case College Center and leg by the Rev. Richard Chrisman, director of religious and spiritual life.

"The death of a student is a tragic event in the life of any college, and this is a grievous loss for two campus communities," said acting Skidmore president Susan Kress. "Our own community is still struggling with this very difficult news. While we must await the results of the investigation into whether alcohol or drugs played a role in this case, we fully acknowledge the seriousness of this issue on college campuses nationally and our responsibility to make absolutely clear to our students the very real dangers that abuse of these substances can present both to themselves and to others."

Boston College held a memorial Mass for Grant on Mar. 22 at Saint Ignatius Church at 7 p.m.


About Alexander Grant


Born in Lake Forrest, Ill., to Kenneth and Deanna Grant, Alexander Maxwell Grant graduated with high honors from Briarcliff Manor High School in Briarcliff, N.Y. in 2009. At Briarcliff High, Grant was a member of the international Tri-M Musical honors society, which "recognizes secondary music students for their musical ability, academic excellence, school involvement, and community service." (Menc.org). He also won the regional prize for Mathematics in the nationwide Intel Science and Talent Search. Grant's principal, James Kaishan, described him as "wonderful student, a really nice kid who did well academically, was involved in school activities and had a great sense of humor."

Grant subsequently enrolled at Boston College where, according to the college, he was "a gifted and popular student in his class." He had been recently nominated for induction into the Golden Key National Honors society and was also a founding member of the university’s first fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon. He was majoring in economics, and had worked for the last three years as an intern at Risk Resources, LLC, a financial advisory company in New York City.

Grant was involved in philanthropic activities for City Meals on Wheels, the Robin Hood Foundation, Doctors Without Borders, Friends of the Rockefeller State Park Preserve, and did fundraising for cancer research on behalf of his friend Demitri Demeropoulos, who preceded him in death. A talented keyboardist, he and his band, the Jays, performed in venues in and around New York City.

He is survived by parents Kenneth and Deanna, sister, Brianna, two sets of grandparents, and aunts, uncles, cousins and many friends.

In a statement issued by the Grant family, Alex's father, Kenneth, thanked the community for their outpouring of support, sympathy, and loving thoughts for the "lad of great promise, humor, warmth and sensitivity."

"We loved him deeply," said Kenneth Grant, "and believe that everyone he encountered felt the same...I will say that not only was he my son, but he was my brother and my best friend. Our hearts are broken and we don’t particularly want them to heal, but we will carry him with us always...on behalf of my wife Deanna, my daughter Brianna and the rest of our family, we ask that you remember Alex in your thoughts and prayers."

On Fri., Mar. 11, a Rabbinical Service was held at the Beecher Funeral Home in Pleasantville, NY, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial on Sat., Mar. 12 at St. Theresa's Roman Catholic Church in Briarcliff Manor, NY. Burial followed in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. Shiva was held on Sunday and Monday in Briarcliff Manor, NY. Kenneth Grant is Jewish and Deanna Grant is Roman Catholic, and the family held two services.

The Grant family is in the processes of establishing the Alexander Maxwell Grant Foundation, which will fund musical scholarships for talented and underprivileged young musicians. Those who would like to donate may contact Gina Gill at Risk Resources, LLC, at 646-840-4961 or gina.gill@riskresources.us.


Case Details:

Name/age: Alexander Maxwell Grant, 19
College: Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Physical Description: 6'2", 190 pounds, brown hair, brown eyes.
Last seen: 03/05/11, Skidmore College, 146 Church Street, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Recovered: 03/8/11, 12:28 p.m., Putnam Creek, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Investigating Agency: Saratoga Springs Police, 518-584-1800.

Published: 03/21/11. Revised 09/22/11, 7/15/12.

09/30/06: Luke Homan, 21, La Crosse, WI

On September 30, 2006, University of La Crosse junior Luke Homan celebrated with friends at the annual Oktoberfest celebration in downtown LaCrosse. He was last seen at approximately 2:15 am at The Vibe bar at 322 Jay Street early Saturday morning. His roommates called police Saturday after he failed to show up for a scheduled golf outing. Loved ones spent a horrific weekend searching for Luke. On Monday, it was discovered that he had drowned.

Luke Found

On Monday, October 2, his body was found in 10 feet of water near a levee in the Mississippi River close to the south end of Riverside Park. The autopsy report, completed by Dr. Lindsey Thomas, indicates there were no signs of trauma, no signs of a struggle, no signs of foul play. Homan's blood alcohol content was .32; authorities believe he drowned accidentally.

About Luke Homan

Homan's high school basketball team at Brookfield Central went to state two of the three years he played varsity ball, and Homan set a school record for three-point shots, with 165, and made 16 free throws in one game. In college at UW-Milwaukee, Homan joined the basketball team as a walk on. He played in nine games during the 2004-'05 season when the Panthers advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 before transferring to LaCrosse. At La Crosse, he played in all 28 games for the La Crosse Eagles this past season and helped deliver the school's first 20-victory season in more than two decades.

Aftermath

On 9/22/07, The LaCrosse Tribune reported:

Austin Scott, 19, of Palatine, Ill., is the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse sophomore accused of lying about events leading up to the disappearance and drowning death of fellow UW-L basketball teammate Lucas Homan last fall.

He will spend 48 hours in the La Crosse County Jail after pleading no contest Friday to two misdemeanor counts of obstructing officers.

La Crosse County Circuit Judge Elliott Levine also gave Scott a year on probation after he leaves jail at 6 p.m. Sunday.

"Whether or not he had anything to do with Luke's death, we don't know, and we might not ever know," La Crosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke said in court Friday. "But he still obstructed the investigation into that death and threw a cloud over it that will remain probably forever."

Homan's body was recovered from the Mississippi River off the Riverside Park levee Oct. 2, 2006. An autopsy showed cold water drowning, with acute alcohol intoxication as a major contributing factor.

A group of Homan's friends said they last saw the 21-year-old from Brookfield, Wis., with Scott at The Vibe, 332 Jay St., about 9 or 10 p.m. Sept. 29, 2006. But Scott told UW-L police he saw an intoxicated Homan leave The Vibe alone about 12:30 a.m. Sept. 30, according to the criminal complaint.

Scott was cited at 9:58 p.m. Sept. 29 for underage drinking near the Radisson hotel, the complaint reported. A blood test at Franciscan Skemp Medical Center registered a 0.33 percent, Gruenke said.

"The number of lies he was telling, all of them seem to be going the same direction -- he doesn't want police to know he was in Riverside Park," Gruenke said. "... We don't know why he lied and that's the mystery here. "Scott told authorities he doesn't know how he got to the Radisson or the hospital, but remembered heading from the hospital back to UW-L's Sanford Hall dorm. He later said he recalled "sitting at The Vibe, I ... would never leave him in the water" but could not elaborate, according to the complaint.

Scott said it was possible he and Homan were in Riverside Park together that night and Homan fell in the river -- his best guess was Homan tripped -- but he could not remember, according to the complaint.

He said he gave investigators a false story of three men arguing with Homan at the Vibe on Sept. 29 because he didn't know what happened, according to the complaint. That led police on a "wild goose chase" for men who didn't exist, Gruenke said.Defense attorney Mark McCabe said Scott admits lying about his birthdate, address and walking home from the bar, but objected to all other facts in the complaint. He stressed Scott has no memory of that night.

"This community is frustrated by eight separate river deaths that have occurred, there's no question about that," McCabe said. "My client is not to blame for all of those prior deaths. My client is not to blame for Luke Homan's death."

Scott apologized to "everyone" Friday and said it was wrong to lie about that night. "My heart goes to out to Luke's parents," he said. "I wish I knew what happened. The Homans would be the first people I would tell."

Patti Homan said she "truly, truly believes Austin knows what happened that night," but asked Levine to spare him from jail."I want for Austin to have a happy, productive life," she said. "The only way he's going to be able to do that is if he actually tells what he knows --even if it's the worst, even if he pushed Luke into the water, even if it's that, I'd wrap my arms around him right now and tell him we'll get through this."

Since Homan's death, city leaders have enacted a public intoxication ordinance and spent about $60,000 on fencing in Riverside Park. A consortium of local medical centers is studying ways to reduce alcohol-related injuries. Three colleges have also launched a safe drinking campaign.

Facts of Interest in this Case
Name/age: Lucas Homan, 21
College: University of Wisconsin, La Crosse (transfer from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
Major: Finance
Physical description: 6'3," athletic build (basketball player)
Last seen: 09/20/06, early a.m., The Vibe bar at 322 Jay Street
Recovered: 10/02/06, Mississippi River levee near Riverside Park
Cause of death: drowning
Injuries: no signs of foul play or trauma
Blood Alcohol Content: .32

07/26/06: Max Walker, 26, Milwaukee, WI

Max Walker

Max Walker, 26, a former Army Reservist from Davenport, Ia had adjusted well to his return from military duty. After driving a truck in convoy duty in Iraq from 2004 to December 2005, he got back together with his girlfriend and was excited about his new job as an intern for Northwestern Mutual Life. He had been hired by the Milwaukee-based insurance and finance company in December 2005.

On July 26, 2006, the Saint Ambrose University honor student and a colleague were in Milwaukee for the company's annual financial representatives meeting, a convention that draws 9,000 people from around the nation. The educational and business-oriented conference was held at the Midwest Airlines Center and the Bradley Center civic arena. 

A colleague, named Dan, last saw Max about 1:45 a.m. Wednesday outside the Buckhead Saloon, 1040 N. Old World 3rd Street. The saloon is located in a popular downtown Milwaukee night spot and tourist area known as the RiverWalk. A security video camera shows that Max left the bar by himself. Employees at the salon told police that Max appeared to be very intoxicated when he left.

The colleague called the police about noon on Wednesday to report that Max never returned to his hotel room the night before and wasn't answering his cell phone, which was out of character for him.

Max Walker's body was found in the Milwaukee River on Thursday, July 27, about one block from the bar where he was last seen. The Milwaukee River runs behind the bar. 

01/01/00: Brian Welzien, 21, Chicago, IL

Brian Welzien, 21, and two friends, Nick Young and Mike Wittrup, drove to Chicago to attend a private New Year's Eve party where a former NIU student, Reid Cain, was the disc jockey. After returning back to their hotel, his friends went up to the room leaving Welzien behind near the hotel entrance. His body turned up in Lake Michigan two months later.

Timeline

After checking into the Ambassador East Hotel (1301 N. State Pkwy), where the three were sharing a room with Cain and two of his friends, they went to Irish Eyes pub at 2519 N. Lincoln. Welzien, who according to Young, “wasn’t a big drinker,” had four or five Long Island Iced Teas. At closing time (2:00 am), Welzien was ready to go back to the hotel, so he rode back with Cain and his two friends. Young and Wittrup decided to go to another bar with a 4 a.m. closing. Cain stopped outside the hotel to let the men out before he went to park the car, and Welzien "just sat there, then he threw up twice," Cain said. The two other men were already into the hotel before Welzien recovered enough to climb out. Cain pulled away to find a parking spot two blocks away. When Cain returned, Welzien was gone, so he went up to the hotel room. "I never even thought about it. I had no clue till we woke up in the morning," Cain said.

While Cain and his friends were up in the hotel room, several people reported seeing Welzien getting sick near the hotel entrance: the doorman, a bartender, a man parked on Goethe waiting for his girlfriend (a waitress at the Pump Room). Welzien leaned on the man's car for support, police said. When Young and Wittrup got back to the hotel sometime after 4 a.m., Welzien still wasn't in their room, so they began to search the area around the hotel, but soon gave up and went to sleep. When they awoke around 1 pm on New Year’s Day, they saw that Welzien still hadn’t returned and called the police.

Recovery

On March 17, Welzien's body was found by someone strolling on a Gary beach some 25 miles from downtown Chicago. According to a written statement, the cause of death was listed as asphyxia due to drowning. However, police called the circumstances of Welzien's disappearance suspicious,'' and one investigator has said it is ”the most perplexing case'' he has ever handled.

Unlikely victim

Welzien was on the dean’s list, never used drugs, rarely drank, called mother a few times a week.

Perplexing Questions

Police also wonder whether he could he have wandered the few blocks east to Lake Michigan. Crossing eight lanes of traffic on Lake Shore Drive to get to Lake Michigan would be a formidable task even for a sober person, police say, though he might have found the tunnel underneath the drive at Division Street, which is more plausible. A few steps down, a short walk and a few steps up could have landed him on the banks of the lake. To his right, a spectacular skyline view; to his left, a treacherously icy, downward sloping concrete surface, leading to a 15-foot drop into cold water. It happened just two years before when a young man fell into the water off Navy Pier.*

* Note: I have received comments from people living in the downtown area that there is not a 15-foot drop off in this area as reported in some news stories at the time.

Robbery was always considered a strong possibility, especially given Welzien's drunken state, but he his wallet, with money in it, was still on his body. And there were no obvious signs of struggle or foul play, supporting the notion that he fell into the water rather than being pushed or dumped, police say.

Private investigator Don Johnson, who was hired by Welzien's mother and has worked closely with police on the case, wasn't ready to dismiss foul play. "Who's to say he didn't go down there and somebody didn't give him a shove? Did he go down and slip and fall? Who knows?" Johnson said. Brian’s mother said she hopes police will continue to investigate. "It would be nice to know what happened."


Facts of Interest in this Case
Name/age: Brian Welzien, 21
College: Northern Illinois University (DeKalb, IL), finance student
Physical description: athletic (soccer player)
Last seen: 01/01/00, Irish Eyes Pub, then Ambassador East Hotel, Chicago, IL, 2:00 a.m. Recovered: 03/17/00, Lake Michigan
Cause of death: asphyxia due to drowning
Injuries: no information
Blood Alcohol Content: no information

05/12/98: Joshua Bender, 19, New York, NY

Joshua Bender, 19, was last seen about 8:30 p.m. on May 12, 1998 in his dorm room by his roommate. He told his roommate that he intended to meet classmates that night to study for his final exams in finance, which were just two days away.

Bender often went home on weekends, so when he didn't return, his roommate figured he had gone there to study for finals. On May 14, after Bender didn't show up for his finance course final, his dorm counselor became worried and called the teen's father.

His body was found in the Hudson River 12 days later.
On Sunday, May 24, 1998, Joshua's parents, Michael and Gitty Bender, were searching for him in Fort Tryon Park in upper Manhattan with hundreds of volunteers yesterday when word came that their son's body had been recovered a few hours earlier.

Joshua's body was spotted by two passersby at 5 a.m., floating in the waters of the Hudson River off W. 157th St., a desolate spot with Dumpsters and piles of stones,nearly two weeks after he disappeared. He still had his wallet, with $30. He was face down in the blue jeans, button-down plaid shirt and shoes he had been wearing when he vanished, along with his wallet and credit cards, the police said. An autopsy will not be performed for religious reasons, but x-rays and external examination turned up no signs of foul play or suicide.

02/16/97: Patrick McNeil, 21, New York City, NY

Patrick McNeill, 21, was last seen on the Upper East Side of New York City on February 16, 1997. He had been bar hopping with some friends, and one police source said he was incredibly drunk. He was last seen at 2nd Ave. and 92nd St. walking outside The Dapper Dog, where he left shortly before midnight. He had told friends he was tired and had an early class and would take the subway back to the Bronx campus. A friend said she would join him for the subway ride to Fordham's Rose Hill campus in the Bronx after she used the ladies room. He agreed to wait, but when she returned he was gone.