01/14/12: Greg Senn, 29, Wisconsin Rapids, WI



Greg Senn

Greg Senn, 29, spent the evening of Saturday, January 14, 2012 celebrating his brother's birthday on 80th Street in Grand Rapids, Wisc. He was last seen in the early morning hours while walking along Highway U. He never made it home.

On March 13, Senn's body was recovered from Lake Wazeecha around 4:30 p.m. by the Wood County sheriff’s rescue team. Authorities found a wallet which they used to positively identify the body. The area was investigated after police received a call from someone who had spotted a hat floating in the lake while walking along a bike path.

Grand Rapids police Chief Dave Lewandowski it appeared likely that Senn's body had been in the lake since shortly after he was reported missing on January 14.

According to WSAU.com, "A passerby who spoke limited English called 9-1-1 that same day to report seeing someone walking along the highway. The Wood County dispatcher who took the call mishandled it by not sending a police officer to investigate, not reporting the call to authorities and not using the county's Spanish translation service. The dispatcher, Brian Turner, was suspended without pay for 30 days. Lewandowski said they interviewed the caller and confirmed that the caller had seen Senn."

The intersection where Senn was last seen is less than a quarter mile from Lake Wazeecha.

Investigators believe he may have been taking a shortcut across the lake to a friend's house when he fell through the ice.

"I've walked that same path with him when we were younger hundreds of times," said Greg Senn's brother, Ed. "I've crossed Lake Wazeecha in the dead middle of winter and nothing has happened."

The autopsy results showed that the cause of Senn's death was drowning and environmental hypothermia. Investigators say foul play was not involved. Senn had been drinking before he died; his blood alcohol concentration was more that 0.2 percent.

01/08/12: Michael Philbin, 21, Oshkosh, WI

Published: 1/27/12 3:25 p.m. CST      Updated: 1/17/12 1:56 p.m. CST

Michael Philbin

Michael Philbin, 21, son of Green Bay Packers' offensive coordinator, Joe Philbin, disappeared at around 2 a.m. on Sunday, January 8 after spending time at a bar with some friends who are students at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Philbin lived 20 miles away in Ripon, Wisc., and planned to stay the night at a friend's residence in Osh Kosh. Friends reported missing at 8:13 p.m. Sunday when he still hadn't returned. His car was still at the friend's residence.

According to the Post Crescent, "Philbin arrived Saturday, Jan. 7, about 8 p.m. He went with a group to a house party on the corner of Wisconsin Street and Scott Avenue where a birthday party was in swing. About midnight, the group left the house party and went to Kelly's, a bar at 219 Wisconsin St." While they were there at the bar, a 20-year old blonde woman Philbin did not know came up to Philbin and asked him to walk her to her friend's house, according to the paper. Philbin agreed and left the group about 11:30 p.m. He had GPS on his phone, but they became lost while looking for the friend's house. The pair then went to Topper's Pizza on Wisconsin Street, but she left with a friend before the pizza was ready. Philbin walked back to Kelly's Bar.

"At the time the woman was with Philbin she told police he did not seem intoxicated. He had no trouble walking and his speech was not slurred," said the paper.

According to the paper, Philbin arrived back at Kelly's bar, but around 12:30 a.m., "his friends left go to Polito's, a pizza place on High Avenue near campus. Philbin chose to stay behind at Kelly's with members of the birthday party." The birthday party group then moved to Molly McGuire's, a bar near campus. Phillbin was identified on surveillance tapes there, but he apparently didn't stay long.

Shortly thereafter, Philbin was seen on surveillance tapes at Kelly's Bar. At 1:23 a.m., the tapes show him exiting Kelly's on the east side and going into the parking area. He then went back inside the bar two minutes later.

At 1:42 a.m., surveillance shows Philbin leaving the north exit of the bar escorted by a bouncer. Bar staff told police they asked Philbin to leave because he was bothering a group of women. The video reportedly shows him stumbling inside the bar. Police noted that for the last half-hour to an hour the video shows he had very little contact with anyone inside the bar.

Philbin left the bar alone, and walked in a northwest direction toward the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh campus. Although he passed out of the view of the camera, his shadow lingered and showed him turning to the west, in the direction of Rockwell Avenue. It was the last time he was seen on camera.

According to the Post Crescent, "The last call or text coming from Philbin's phone occurred at 2:10 a.m. from the area of the 800 block of Algoma Boulevard. He texted a friend "Uh." The friend told police he called Philbin at that time and asked him if he needed directions back to the house on Frederick Street. Philbin said he was fine and knew how to get back to the house.

At 2:36 a.m., not long after the call, a security guard at Axle Tech on High Avenue called 911 to report that he someone was in the Fox River, about 30 yards out near a section of thin ice, calling for help.

According to the Post Crescent, "Initially the guard thought the hollering was college kids in the area just yelling or talking loud. He leaned against the window and listened. He heard the sound again. He grabbed his flashlight and jacket and went outside and walked down Rockwell Avenue toward the water. He panned his light over the icy water and saw a hand or foot sticking out of the water and saw splashing and realized it was a man struggling to stay above the surface. He estimated he saw the man for 30 seconds at the water's edge before he went under. He called 911 on his cellphone."

The 911 call prompted Oshkosh Fire Department divers to begin search and rescue operations, but the search team did not find anyone. The search for the man in the river continued until 3:30 p.m. that day without success.

The following morning, county divers returned to the scene with scent dogs and sonar scanners to resume their search; they discovered a body around 3 p.m. The body was later identified as Michael Philbin.

Police officer Joseph Nichols told USAToday.com that temperatures had been unseasonably warm in the Oshkosh area -- 50 miles from Green Bay -- and that there was only a little bit of ice around the edge of the river.

On Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012 police ruled out foul play; the preliminary autopsy report indicated a freshwater drowning and the body bore no signs of a struggle.

In March, Philbin's death was formally ruled an accidental drowning. According to the Post Crescent, "Blood tests indicated he had marijuana and alcohol in his system at the time of his death. Philbin's blood-alcohol level was 0.176 percent."


Unanswered Questions

On March 16, 2012, the Post Crescent reported that the final police report shows that there were some unanswered questions in the investigation. First, the police were not able to account for Philbin's whereabouts during the last half hour of his life before he drowned. The time period that was unaccounted for was between the phone call with his friend and the security guard hearing him yell for help--about 35 minutes.

Second, said the paper, "the distance between the bar and the area at the foot of Rockwell Avenue where Philbin fell through the ice is less than half a mile. How he got there and why he headed in that direction after leaving the bar just before 2 a.m., rather than heading toward his friend's residence on Frederick Street where he had been staying, are questions that may never be answered."


About Michael Philbin

Michael Philbin, a student at Ripon College, is the son of former Green Bay Packers coach Joe Philbin, who was recently named head coach of the Miami Dolphins. He was the second oldest of six children. He had just turned 21 on Dec. 28.

According to the Post Crescent, "Philbin had been coming to Oshkosh about every other weekend during the past school year. They did the typical things college students do: Meet friends, go to bars, eat pizza. The weekend of Jan. 7 and 8 was no different."


Case Details

Name/age: Michael Philbin, 21
Last seen: 01/08/12, Kelly's Bar, Wisconsin Street, Oshkosh, WI
Recovered: 01/09/12. Fox River
Residence: Ripon, WI
College: Ripon College

Sources

Davis, Nate (2012, January 10). Timeline: The death of Michael Philbin. USA Today. Retrieved January 27, 2012.

Wolff, Patricia (2012, March 15). Investigation fails to account for last half-hour of Michael Philbin's life before he drowned. Post Crescent. Retrieved March 17, 2012.

03/03/12: Eric Duffey, 21, Stevens Point, WI

Eric Duffey
Photo Credit: Facebook

Eric Duffey, a 21-year old University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point student, was last seen about 1:15 a.m. on Saturday, March 3, leaving Joe's Bar in downtown Stevens Point, Wisc. Duffey had been out celebrating his 21st birthday, and he was believed to be heading home when he left the bar. He lived only blocks away on Isadore Street. It was the last time he was seen.


The Search for Eric Duffey

According to the Associated Press, police conducted "an exhaustive neighborhood search for Duffey that included the use of tracking dogs and about 150 volunteers knocking on doors, checking backyards and passing out fliers with Duffey's photo. Police also sent a Code Red Alert out Saturday evening and again on Sunday morning. With the alert, police asked residents between downtown Stevens Point and Duffey's residence to check their property for signs of him."

A witness came forward who told police he had heard someone yelling for help at about 1:30 a.m. Saturday near the Clark Street bridge. The witness had checked into it, but didn't see anyone. (Associated Press).

This tip led police to turn their focus to the Wisconsin River, which is only a few hundred feet from where Duffey was last seen.

On March 5, emergency personnel scoured the river around the Clark Street bridge in "a part of the river where the ice becomes open water," according to the Associated Press. Divers then found a body in the Wisconsin River near the Clark Street Bridge. According to the paper, "the coroner's office made a positive identification after meeting with Duffey's family."


Eric Duffey
Credit: JSOnline.com

Police believe Duffey may have been heading back to his residence or to the residence of his girlfriend.

According to the Associated Press, "[Stevens Point assistant police chief Brian] Kudronowicz said the department had received new information that led officials to believe Duffey walked into the Wisconsin River."

"I think alcohol had something to do with his actions," said he said.

Duffey's obituary listed his cause of death as accidental drowning.

Anyone with information in the case is asked to call Stevens Point police at 715-346-1501.


About Eric Duffey

An excerpt from Eric Duffey's obituary (Madison.com), reads:

Eric Duffey
Credit: Madison.com

"Eric Duffey was born on March 3, 1991, in Madison, the son of Daren and Joan (Spurrier) Duffey. Eric graduated from Verona High School in 2009, where he was a member of the golf team for four years. He was currently attending UW-Stevens Point, majoring in Wildlife Ecology Research Management. Eric was an active member of the UWSP chapter of the Wildlife Society. While in high school, Eric worked at Meadowood Ace Hardware and then as a field technician for Monsanto while at UWSP. He was recently hired and looking forward to working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services. Eric enjoyed traveling with the university on ecological trips. He was creative and dedicated to family, nature, and the environment....His contagious smile and great sense of humor will be missed by all who knew him."

Eric is survived by his parents, maternal and maternal grandparents, two aunts, an uncle, two cousins and many dear friends.

A Mass of Christian Burial was held on March 9 at St. Maria Goretti Catholic Parish. A memorial fund will be established in Duffey's name.


Case Details

Name/age: Eric Duffey, 21

Hometown: Fitchburg, WI

Residence: 700 Isadore Street

College: University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point

Last Seen: 03/03/12, 1:15 a.m., Joe's Bar, Main Street, Stevens Point, WI

Recovered: 03/05/12, Wisconsin River

Physical Description: 6'0," 150 pounds, red hair, green eyes.
Last Wearing: orange flannel shirt, blue jeans, a brown jacket, and possibly a gray and white stocking hat.
Investigating Agency:  Stevens Point police, 715-346-1501


Sources


Associated Press (2012, March 5). Police: Missing Wis. student's body found in river. Retrieved March 12, 2012.

Gannett Wisconsin Media (2012, March 5). Missing UW-Stevens Point student update: Police searching Wisconsin River. Post Crescent. Retrieved March 12, 2012.

Lohr, David (2012, March 5). Eric Duffey Missing: Body Found In Wisconsin River Could Be That Of Missing College Student. Huffington Post. Retrieved March 12, 2012.

Madison.com (2012, March 7). Obituary. Duffey, Eric. J. Retrieved March 13, 2012.

WSAW.com. (2012, March 5). Body Pulled from Wisconsin River ID'ed as Missing UWSP Student. Retrieved March 12, 2012.

01/17/10: Sylvester McCurry Jr., 18, Superior, WI

Slyvester McCurry Jr.,18, was last seen at the Stargate Night Club in Superior, Wisc., on January 17, 2010. According to the Duluth News Tribune, McCurry was kicked out of the no-alcohol club for being intoxicated.

McCurry, a senior at Duluth East High School, had been living with his best friend Keegan Couillard and his parents in the Chester Park neighborhood of Duluth, Minn., since August. The two buddies told Couillard's parents Paul and Jennifer they were going to a birthday party. They instead went to the Stargate Night Club in Superior, Wisconsin, just across the river.

Because Monday was a school holiday, they had plans to stay at the Superior Inn after going to the club. Keegan Couillard said he arrived at the Superior Inn at noon, and McCurry was dropped off at 3 p.m. They had planned to have friends come to their room, but it fell through. McCurry couldn’t swim because he had sustained a severe cut to his finger that day at his job as a line cook, and his finger was bandaged and in a splint. Yet, Couillard says, "He was in a good mood, Couillard said, but was tired and napped for a while. They walked to Stargate around 10 p.m. and separated inside." (Duluth News Tribune, 1/30/10.)

The Stargate was packed that night with 16- to 20-year olds. McCurry, who was called "Sly" by friends and family, had bumped into friends at the club. He last spoke to Keegan Couillard around 10:45 pm Sunday. That was his last contact with anyone. He apparently then left the club without telling anyone he was leaving or mentioning where he was going. Friends and family say this is unusual behavior for McCurry.

Surveillance video from the club shows McCurry leaving alone through the back door about 11 p.m. Authorities told WDIO News that he was likely "very intoxicated." The Duluth News Tribune later reported that McCurry did not have any alcohol at the Stargate, but had been drinking it at the hotel. Police have not said where it came from. Wisconsin Public Radio reported that McCurry had ejected from the club out of the back door and was left alone in the alley. Neither the police nor his family were called.

Keegan Couillard was unaware McCurry had left but then later assumed he would see him back at the hotel room. Couillard heard from a friend that night that McCurry's injured finger had begun to bleed through the bandages. When McCurry didn't show up to the hotel room, Couillard thought perhaps his girlfriend or other friends had picked him up, maybe even taken him to the hospital. Couillard told his parents about McCurry's disappearance on Monday night (1/18) and they filed a report Tuesday morning (1/19).

The Search for Slyvester McCurry
According to the Duluth News Tribune, poli
ce dogs tracked McCurry’s scent to an outer door of the Superior Inn, then the trail ended. Police said early on that they didn't suspect foul play and that they did not believe McCurry ran away, but they also admitted they didn't have a lot to go on. On January 21, just four days after his disappearance and two days after police were notified, the official search was called off. The family, hoping that he would be found, posted a $50,000 reward for information. Friends also started a Facebook page.

 On Saturday, May 22, workers at the Midwest Energy Coal Dock in Superior spotted the body in Lake Superior. McCurry's family has told the media that Sly was found in the same clothing he was wearing when he disappeared, and that his wallet was in his pocket. The family has reported in being in "complete shock" over the location where McCurry was found and the many unanswered questions that remained.

An autopsy was conducted on May 24 by the Douglas County Medical Examiner's Office. Police said there are no signs of traumatic injury or assault that would indicate foul play.

On August 13, 2010, the Superior Police Department announced that the death of Sylvester McCurry had been ruled an accident resulting from cold-water immersion and drowning. Police said that during the investigation conducted by the Superior and Duluth Police Departments, with the assistance of numerous other agencies, there was no evidence of foul play being involved in the death of McCurry. McCurry's blood alcohol content (BAC) was reported as approximately .08. However, due to the amount of time that McCurry's body was in the water and the fact that ethanol is a natural by-product of decomposition, McCurry's BAC at the time of his death cannot be readily determined.

The Forensic Pathologist's summary in the final autopsy report noted the following: 

• "No significant antemortem traumatic injuries were identified."
• "No deep tissue, bony, or internal traumatic injuries were identified."
• "The death could be attributed to probable cold water immersion and drowning."
• "If thorough investigation of the events surrounding death shows no indication of foul play or suicidal ideation, the manner could be listed as accident."
• The only drugs detected in toxicology screening was Hydrozyzine (a prescription antihistamine). 

According to the Duluth News Tribune, a Superior police report said "information received from the beginning of the case indicated that McCurry was intoxicated on the night he disappeared. As a result, investigators have considered the possibility that McCurry attempted to cross the St. Louis River or harbor in an attempt to get back to Duluth."

About Slyvester McCurry

Friends and family say it was out of character for McCurry to be missing and not using his cell phone. He spoke regularly with his family and talked to his girlfriend, Grace Buck, at least twice a day on the phone. “He’s not the kind of person to take off,” Jennifer Couillard said. According to cell phone records, his phone was not been used since the night of his disappearance.

McCurry has also been described by friends and family as an intelligent, outgoing, positive man. McCurry’s half-sister, Ana Gamber, 22, said McCurry had some previous troubles with school and his family, but had been getting it together. According to the Duluth News Tribune, McCurry "works at Fitger’s Brewhouse, made the B honor roll in the fall, and recently played Harry in the Duluth Gospel Tabernacle’s production of It’s a Wonderful Life. He enjoys attending church services, Jennifer Couillard said, and is an avid snowboarder with a Spirit Mountain season pass." Gamber who saw him at Christmas said he seemed happy.

Couillard agrees, “He is one of the few teenagers who will wake up in the morning smiling and happy,” she said. “He’s been such a good friend to my son and us. Anything he can to do to help, he wants to help.”

A funeral for Slyvester McCurry was held on June 1 at the Duluth Gospel Tabernacle at 11 a.m. at 1515 Superior Street, Duluth, MN. Friends of the family are collecting donations to help defray funeral expenses. Donations will be accepted at any US Bank in the name of the "Tammy Jo Carter Fund" or by e-mailing sylvestersmemorialfund@yahoo.com.

Our thoughts are with Slyvester's McCurry's family and friends at this incredibly difficult time.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 1-218-730-5400, search headquarters at 612–965–1121.You can remain anonymous.

Case Details
Name/age: Sylvester McCurry, 18
School: Duluth East High School
Residence: Duluth, MN
Last seen: 1/17/10, Stargate Nightclub in Superior, WI
Physical Description: 5'11", 150 pounds, black male, light complexion, short brown hair, brown eyes. Last seen wearing blue jeans and white Nike shoes.
Links: Facebook

Originally posted: 1/20/10. Updated 5/27/10, 9/7/10.

02/07/10: R.C. Dean, 22, Fort Madison, IA

RC Dean

On Feb. 7, 2010, Ray Charles Newell Dean, who went by "R.C.," of Keokuk, IA was visiting friends in Fort Madison, IA when he fell through the ice on the Mississippi River.

According to The Hawk Eye, Dean had been walking along the riverbank with another man and fell in about 100 feet from shore near Riverview Park. The man placed the 911 call.

Fort Madison Police Chief Bruce Niggemeyer said, 'He went on the ice with another gentleman, and the other guy came back alone. The other guy heard him go into the water. He couldn't swim either, so he couldn't really help.' The identity of the other man has not been disclosed.

According to the Fort Madison Police Department, they received a report at 2:01 a.m. of the 22-year-old male falling through the ice along the river west of Riverview Park.

According to Connecttristates.com, "investigators found two sets of footprints leading to where Dean is thought to have fallen through the ice, but only one returning track of footprints.

Captain Bruce Gustafson of the Fort Madison Police Department said there is nothing that indicates foul play. He says until a body is found, this can only be treated as a missing person.

Dean's family urged the public to come out and search, saying they were hoping to be able to give him a proper burial. Dean has a 2-year old son.


Search and Recovery

On April 15, 2010, local fishermen recovered the body of RC Dean. According to the Fort Madison Daily Democrat, the body was "about a quarter mile south of the Amtrak depot near 20th Street. Gustafson said he would most likely be found not too far from where he fell into the river. He fell in at about 13th Street. The body had clothes on which matched the description of what the family had said he was wearing on Feb. 7 when he fell into the river after walking out on the ice. He wore a T-shirt and camouflage pants. He also had a billfold with a chain on it, which some searchers last Saturday hoped would get caught on a log to keep Dean from going further down river."

A wallet found in the back pocket of his pants confirmed the identity.

Fort Madison Police Chief Bruce Niggemeyer said he had searched the area where Dean was found just a few days ago and saw nothing. Gustafson said during the search last Saturday that he had been driving up and down the BNSF fire road almost every day since Dean was reported missing in hopes of finding him."




Sources

Benedict, Joe. (2010, April 16). Keokuk man's body found near FM riverfront. Fort Madison Daily Democrat. Retrieved April 14, 2010 from http://www.dailydem.com/articles/2010/04/16/news/news1.txt

Mangalonzo, John. (2010, March 24). Drowning victim's family seeks help. The Hawk Eye. Retrieved April 14, 2010 from http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/Search-032410


Wells, Jarod. (2010, March 26). Final efforts from family of missing man. Connect TriStates.com Retrieved April 14, 2010 from http://www.connecttristates.com/news/story.aspx?id=435552#.UJcCqI5Z_FI


Originally Published: 04/14/10. Updated 04/18/10, 11/4/12.

Setting the record straight about Dan Zamlen

Back in February, WCCO announced that police had released "400 pages of documents" in which two friends said "Dan Zamlen was deeply conflicted about his own sexual orientation" and "talked about possibly killing himself." The release of the information hurt and angered the Zamlen family; the official police investigation had ended in June 2009, so the information did nothing but smear their son's name. The majority of the statements released by the police also came directly from witnesses who were problematic from the start.

Dan's mother, Sally Zamlen, has been investigating the case on her own and, in the hopes of setting the record straight, she has shared with me some of her alarming findings with me, such as:

• inconsistencies in statements made by those who last saw Dan
• cell phone records that do not match up with witness statements
• text messages deleted from the phone of witnesses
• physical evidence suggesting that Dan Zamlen was not overly intoxicated/incoherent
• reasons to believe Dan was not gay and having an identity crisis
• evidence that Dan had been thrown out of a bar in downtown Minneapolis the night before he disappeared and an attempted robbery had taken place
• medical examiner findings that point away from an accidental fall or jump into the river
• witness statements that Dan drank Vodka that "tasted bad" and that other partygoers had gotten unusually sick after drinking it; high levels of GHB in his body

More details about Sally Zamlen's findings are included in a March 6 e-mail Zamlen sent to Ruben Rosario, a reporter with the Pioneer Press. (A similiar e-mail was also sent to Esme Murphy, of WCCO.) Sally Zamlen has graciously offered it to me for posting on this site. In the e-mail, she addresses "trashy reporting," in her son's case by WCCO and in Rosario's recent article detailing allegations against Detective Gannon when charges had not been filed. She also disputes Rosario's criticism that the serial-killer theory provides empty hope to families. But perhaps, most importantly, she sets the record straight about her son, Dan. Click "Read More" to see the e-mail.

02/19/10: Tyler Brady, 22, Portland, OR

Tyler Brady, 22, was last seen Feb. 19 by a roommate at their home on Southeast Division. It was determined that he then went to the Couture Ultra Lounge on NW 4th/Couch, where his image was captured on surveillance footage. Afterwards, he apparently went to a bar called Tube, where he was refused service for being too intoxicated. According to reports, he made it home, dropped off his messenger bag, and took off on his bike. Friends say Tyler owned a car but regularly commuted by bike. His housemate, Kara Stubbs, noted that the bag was there when she got home from her bartending job at 4 a.m.; Brady was not.

Over ten days, his housemates grew increasingly concerned. Brady hadn't been home and his cell phone was off. They were scheduled to move out of their home in southeast Portland at the end of the month. Unable to find a phone number for his parents back in Potlatch, Idaho, his housemates mailed them a letter, then reported him missing. His family says the disappearance was completely out of character for Brady.


The Search for Tyler Brady

Brady’s father Dave arrived from Idaho after his disapperance was reported. He says Tyler would typically check in once a week by phone, but he hadn't heard from his son in more than ten days. When Dave Brady arrived in Portland, he found all of Tyler's belongings still in his room at SE 11th and Division Street.

Surveillance camera images showed Brady on his bicycle on Feb. 17th outside Safeway stores at NE Martin Luther King and Ainsworth and near Lloyd Center at approximately 10 a.m. The images show Brady wearing a yellow knit cap, which he is believed to have been wearing when last seen, and the white, bull-horn handlebars of his black, fixed-gear Schwinn road bike. Police believe Brady stopped at the store on his way to work, then worked a full day at his job in the Delta Park area. Brady was seen again on video at approximately 7:30PM., when Brady stopped at the Safeway store again, after leaving work that evening before later returning home.

At approximately 11 PM, Brady enters the Couture Ultra Lounge, located at NW 4th/Couch, where he is again caught on surveillance camera. Detectives have confirmed Brady stopped by the lounge with a friend, an employee of Couture, where they visited briefly with another employee before leaving to socialize at other businesses in the vicinity. From there he reportedly went to Tube.

Brady is described as a white male, 22 years old, 5′10″, weighing 150 pounds. He has brown hair and blue eyes, a scruffy beard and mustache, and has tattoos on the back of his neck and on one of his arms, and a pierced nose. Detectives have determined Brady was last wearing a dark-colored hoodie with a large white design on the back, dark-colored pants and a yellow knit cap.


About Tyler Brady

"Every single person who knows Ty, the first thing that they said was maybe he just hopped a train somewhere," says Brady's housemate Kara Stubbs, who says Brady has hopped trains before. He's an adventurous but reliable kid, according to friends.

In addition to hopping trains, he had ridden his touring bike from Seattle to Portland and spent last summer working on a fishing ship in Alaska. For the past year at least, Brady had been doing maintenance work. He would ride his black Schwinn fixie around Portland to maintenance jobs all day long, his car growing moss in the Dustbin's driveway. "Even if he partied all weekend, he would get up and go to work on Monday. I never knew him to miss a day of work," says housemate Ben Johnson. "He was one of my only roommates who always paid his rent on time."

On 3/17/10, Tyler Brady was found in the Willamette River near OMSI. The Multnomah County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed the cause of death as accidental drowning.

Police said they still have not been able to locate Tyler's bicycle. One commenter on BikePortland.org said he had seen a bike like Brady's locked to an oak tree not far from where Brady's body was found. It took two weeks for bike thieves to begin stealing pieces off the bike; it appears that all that eventually remained was the lock.


Anyone with information that may help in the investigation was urged to contact detective Mike Weinstein (503) 823-0446.

Posted 4/1/10.

05/26/09: Mason MacPhail, 16, Toronto, ON, Canada

On Tuesday, May 26, 2009, 16-year old Mason MacPhail, a shy teen with Asberger Syndrome, a form of autism, accompanied three friends to an all ages concert for the band Disturbed at the Sound Academy bar on Polson Street in Ontario, Canada.

At some point during the night, he got into an altercation at the club with another concert goer during the concert and Mason was escorted out. He became separated from his friends. Video surveillance shows him stepping outside of the club and in, according to The Star, "an isolated stretch of derelict portlands on the waterfront" at 8 p.m. (also reported in the media as 9:30 p.m.). He was supposed to meet up with his friends in the parking lot at 11:30 p.m., but he never showed up. His body was found two days later in the channel of the Toronto Harbor.

04/05/09: Dan Zamlen, 18, St. Paul, MN

Eighteen-year old Dan Zamlen, a freshman at the University of St. Thomas left a party hosted by classmates near the St. Thomas campus, reportedly upset about something. He was walking along Mississippi River Blvd near St. Clair Avenue on a trail. The trail had a grassy area next to it and then a wooded slope. He said he was headed to the University of Minnesota to meet some friends and was talking to friend Anna Chappuis on his cell phone who said she would pick him up. It was 2:30 a.m., and although she does not remember word for word what he said, Chappuis says she remembers hearing, "Oh my God. Help." before the call ended abruptly.

Friends and family tried looking for Dan and calling him repeatedly, getting his voicemail each time until about 8:30 a.m. when his phone went dead, which is when they called police.

Dan's body was found in the Mississippi River on May 1, 2009. Police believe he may have gotten too close to the river and slipped. The Ramsey County medical examiner's office ruled the death an accidental drowning and the St. Paul Police Department had closed the case. Police said they were still investigating how Dan, who was underage, got alcohol.


The Search for Dan

Search teams scoured the bluffs and banks of the Mississippi all morning and afternoon on May 1. Helicopters with infared flew overhead, water patrol checked along shore. Friends and family searched in culverts, brush, trees and alleys; and the University of St. Thomas organized a block by block, door-to-door search. Police did find a footprint leading away from the river, in the direction of the road, but they could not say for certain that it belonged to Dan.

Over the 27 days he was missing, more than 1,200 people searched for Dan Zamlen.

Parents express frustration before House of Representatives

Dan's parents testified before the MN House of representatives on 4/15/09 to help enact Brandon's Law, which would require law makers to take reports and investigate missing adults without delay when they are endangered.

During testimony, Dan's parents, Dale and Sally, reported frustration with the police for keeping searchers away from the bluff and also refusing to go search it because it was "too dangerous."

The Zamlen's feel that had the search been expedited, Dan could have been found quickly. Although Dan disappeared in a cell phone dead zone between a tower for Minneapolis and a tower for St. Paul, Dan was very technologically saavy and had an I-Phone. The I-Phone comes with a GPS "ping," making it easier to track one's location. This phone was paid for by Dan's parents and was in his mother's name, yet they were refused access to the information without a court order.

On Wednesday, May 6, 2009 Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed Brandon's Law, which would eliminate waiting periods when adults disappear under suspicious circumstances, or when young adults up to age 21 are reported missing under most circumstances.


Family belives it was an abduction

During the testimony before the House of Representatives, Dale said that he believed Dan was abducted. He said that although the Missing Persons Unit quickly zoned in on the river area, other facts seemed to rule out the river. He noted that 8 bloodhounds had searched the area on Tuesday (4/7) or Wednesday (4/8), and kept stopping in the same place, but did not go near the river. He also said that "side scanning sonar" had been used to search the river as well as infared. He also said that he works as an open pit miner and walked through the area, and did not feel that someone would easily slip there. And if they did, it would leave a mark. Nothing was in the area where Dan was found. He also felt that Dan's training as an Eagle Scout would have prepared him for an accident outdoors.


Dan Zamlen recovered from Mississipi River

On May 1, 2009 at 11:46 a.m, the body of Dan Zamlen was pulled from the Mississippi River near the Ford Motor Co. power plant in St. Paul. The Ford plant is down river from the area where Zamlen went missing on April 5. Workers at the plant found the body while cleaning grates that catch debris in the river near the power plant. A wallet found on the body and also a positive identification by Dan's parents, Dale and Sally Zamlen, confirmed that it was Dan.

The body was taken to the Ramsey County coroner's office. Police did not say whether there were signs of foul play. St. Paul Police spokesman Pete Panos said he believes Zamlen fell down the bluff and into the river.

The Ramsey County medical examiner's office later ruled the death an accidental drowning and the St. Paul Police Department closed the case. At the time, police said they were still investigating how Dan, who was underage, got alcohol.


New information released by police

On February 8, 2010, WCCO reported that the police had released new details to the media, including 400 pages of documents that supposedly detail that friends were worried about Zamlen months before he disappeared. Two friends say Zamlen was deeply conflicted about his own sexual orientation. In the initial police report and witness statements, friends say Zamlen talked about possibly killing himself the night he disappeared." Police say they released the information because the case was ruled an accidental drowning, and the investigation is now complete barring new evidence or information.

However, Dan's parents, Dale and Sally Zamlen, of Eveleth don't believe the case should closed. They cite numerous questions left unanswered in the case, such as how Dan Zamlen got down to the river from the bluffs without injury. St. Louis County Medical Examiner Dr. Thomas Uncini of Hibbing, who performed a second autopsy at the request of the family, said Zamlen did not have injuries that would suggest he tumbled or fell down the rocky or brush-filled slope like the one near where Dan Zamlen was last seen. “It is likely he drowned,"Uncini told the Duluth News Tribune, "but I feel the manner of death cannot be determined and requires more police investigation and/or access to existing police records." So the question that remains is how the case could be concluded when the additional police investigation recommended by the medical examiner was not done. "There are facts that the police didn’t look at; there are questions that are legitimate," said Sally Zamlen.

Also noted is the discovery of baseball with a smiley face on it as well as a sign marked with smiley face graffiti near the bluffs, evidence of a possible smiley face killer. Police say they were not able to connect the items to Zamlen's death, but the family has been in contact with the New York investigators looking into the smiley face killer theory.

In addition to the speculation raised by the graffiti, there appears to be varying accounts reported by witnesses who were at the party that night, including variations on what was said during Dan's final cell phone call. Many are left to wonder why the police are relying so heavily on witness statements when they appear to have so many holes.

Furthermore, a toxicology screening at the time of second autopsy uncovered the presence of Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid [GHB] in Zamlen’s body. GHB is a powerful intoxicant, coined a "date rape drug," because it is easily slipped into someone's drink and can quickly lead to a loss of muscle control or even consciousness when combined with alcohol. While GHB can be produced naturally in the body, Uncini could not exclude the possibility that Zamlen had ingested it. Police reports indicate that Zamlen had been drinking, and while he may have brought his own alcohol to the party, there are indications that he could have purchased some alcohol at the party.

Police say they would not be able to charge hosts of the party in relation to Zamlen's underage alcohol use, because it would be difficult to prove that the hosts had provided him with any alcohol.

According to the Duluth News Tribune, "Sally Zamlen said she’s spent the past 10 months reading and re-reading the statements of her son’s friends and acquaintances. She’s searched the Internet seeking information on forensic pathology and stages of decomposition in a drowning victim. She’s offended that two female acquaintances of her son told police that he was suicidal because he thought he was gay and he told them he was going to kill himself that night. “My son can’t dispute that — he’s dead,’’ she said and added that there is no evidence that her son even talked to the women who made the claim. “I think he got in a vehicle and I personally believe he went into a diabetic coma, and whoever was with him thought he was dead and panicked,’’ she said. “That’s been my feeling since April 5. “I’m going to continue to go through this paperwork and continue to get more opinions and continue to gather more information,’’ she said.

Click here to read Sally Zamlen's response to the information released.


About Dan Zamlen

Dan was a A-student and a 3-star athlete. He ran 10 miles a day, often running to the Ford Plant, U of M, or State Capitol, and according to his father, had the heart rate of a marathon runner. His parents described him as having a "good head on his shoulders." He was an altar boy and catechism teacher, as well as an Eagle Scout. About a year ago, Dan suspected he had diabetes and went to the doctor; he found out he was a Type I diabetic. Being very saavy about technology, he decided to get an OmniPod insulin pump, which carried enough for a 3-day supply of insulin.

About 100 students and relatives gathered Friday evening (May 1) at St. John Vianney Seminary. Rev. William Baer said so much heart went into the search that it was hard to have it end this way.


Facts of Interest
Name/age: Dan Zamlen, 19
Hometown: Eveleth, MN
College: University of St. Thomas, St. Paul
Residence: Brady Residence Hall
Physical Description: 6’1,” 175 pounds, brown hair with blonde highlights, blue eyes, fair complexion
Last Seen: 4/5/09 3 a.m., intersection of St Clair and Mississippi River Blvd., wearing a dark blue and black zip-up fleece with a light blue Hollister polo, blue jeans and brown Dr. Marten shoes. Dan is a type 1 diabetic. He has an OmniPod which is a device to control his insulin. When his insulin has run out, the OmniPod will begin to beep quite loudly.
Recovered: 5/1/09, 11:46 a.m., Mississippi River near Ford power plant in St. Paul, MN.
Cause of death ruling: Drowning
Manner of death ruling: Accident

12/31/08: David Martinez, 26, Cherry Hill, NJ

David Martinez, 26, a security guard from Berlin of Camden County, NJ, had the night off from his job as a security guard to celebrate New Year's Eve.On Wednesday, December 31, 2008, Martinez and about ten of his high school friends went to a popular nightspot on Route 70 in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. They arrived at Taylor's Restaurant and Bar at 9 p.m. and paid a $65 cover charge to ring in the New Year.

At about 1 a.m., Martinez left Taylor's Bar without his jacket. According to Martinez's friends, David was kicked out of the bar by bouncers to make room for more customers waiting in line outside the bar. It was the last time David Martinez was seen by anyone. After the party, he was supposed to meet up with his friends at the nearby Crowne Plaza Hotel where they had a room for the night, but he never showed.

At 9 p.m. the next day, police found Martinez's body at the bottom of a decorative pond outside Taylor's Bar frozen under one-inch of ice.

----------------------
Search and Recovery
On Thursday, January 1, Guiseppina (Josie) Martinez received a phone call from her son's boss asking why David hadn't shown up for work as a mall security guard. Ms. Martinez knew something was terribly wrong. David had agreed to work overtime on New Year’s Day to fill in for someone who was sick, and he had his uniform and lunch prepared in advance. She immediately phoned David's friends and learned they had not seen him since 1 a.m. the night before.

At 6 p.m. that same day, Ms. Martinez reported her son missing and a missing persons report was quickly filed. For the next few hours, she and the police searched the area around Taylor's Bar for any signs of David.

At 9 p.m., police found the body of David Martinez outside Taylor's Bar in a 3-foot deep decorative landscaping pond that housed a fountain. Firefighters were called to cut through the one inch of ice that had accumulated during the the night. An autopsy confirmed that David Martinez had drowned in the pond. Cherry Hill Detective Sgt. Joseph Vitarelli Jr. said Martinez had marks on his chin and may have struck one of the many metal fountains in the pond when he fell. He said, "He may have been knocked out, it's not that deep and there's no evidence that he tried to get out." He said foul play was not suspected. Friday afternoon, Camden County Medical Examiner Dr. Feigen, ruled the cause of death drowning, and said until toxicology reports were available, believed the death to be accidental.

Unanswered Questions
Authorities and the Martinez family are still trying to figure out how the young man could have fallen into the fountain without being noticed by anyone. The pond is on a small lawn a few feet from the Taylor's Bar parking lot and is accessible to anyone outside the bar. Water from the pond runs into a waterfall that cascades onto the bar's outside deck. The pond is nearly at ground level, dimly lit, and has no safety fencing. David's family has hired an attorney, believing his death was preventable. Taylor's Nightclub has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

Captain Joseph Bowen of the Camden County Prosecutor's Office confirmed that David Martinez had been "removed" from the bar but couldn't say why. Taylor's Bar general manager, Rich Bunt, said he also did not know why Martinez was kicked out of the bar that night.

Anyone who may have seen David Martinez between 1 a.m.-2 a.m. on January 1, 2009 are urged to call the Camden police.

About David Martinez
David Martinez was born in Italy and grew up in Texas and Colorado before moving to South Jersey in 1994 because his father, Michael, worked for the military, his family said. After graduating from Lenape High school in Burlington County, Martinez earned a Criminal Justice degree at Stockton College in Atlantic City and had just graduated in the spring. David also joined the Army and later switched to the Air Force Reserves. His mother said that just two days before his death, he was approved to apply for a corrections officer for the CIA/FBI in New Jersey. She said she had never seen her son David so happy as when he drove to the post office to mail his application.

Facts of Interest
Name/age: David Martinez, 26
Last seen: 12/31/08, Taylor's Bar, Route 70, Cherry Hill, NJ
Recovered: 1/1/08, landscaping fountain outside Taylor's Bar
Residence: Berlin, NJ
Cause of death: drowning
Manner of death: accident

Sources
http://cbs3.com/local/body.found.david.2.898701.html
http://privateofficernews.wordpress.com/2009/01/03/police-investigate-suspicious-death-of-security-officer-wwwprivateofficercom/
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/01/man_dies_in_cherry_hill_pond_n.html
http://www.nj.com/south/index.ssf/2009/01/berlin_man_drowns_in_night_clu.html

11/09/07: Matt LaCrosse, 25, Bangor, ME

On Friday night, November 9, 2007, 25 year-old Matt LaCrosse met up with several friends at Carolina's Sports and Spirits. They slowly split off and LaCrosse ended up talking to a couple in their 30s who are believed to have been buying him drinks at the bar. He was later escorted out of the bar; it was the last time Matt LaCrosse was seen.On Friday, March 8, 2008, the body of Matt LaCrosse was pulled from the Penebscot River.

The Search and Investigation
Matthew Joseph LaCrosse, called "Matty" by friends was a graduate of Herman High School and had completed some college. He was an employee of the Home Depot and had a MySpace page describing himself as being interested in meeting new people. According to his sister, Brandie DiWitt, LaCrosse didn't own a car, have a driver's license, or have a lot of money. His family believed immediately that something had happened to him; he was used to going out to the bars with friends but he had never disappeared before. Friends and co-workers also agreed it was out of character for Matt to disappear. He also failed to show up for a good friend's birthday party on Sunday and it was out of character for him to skip out on plans.

Friends were also surprised to learn that Matt was kicked out of the bar; he never seemed the belligerent type. In fact, he was described as a big, friendly guy who always had a smile on his face. The bouncer at Carolina's confirms he did escort Matt out of the bar at around midnight. Some witnesses said Matt was perfectly coherent while others said he was too drunk to walk.

The next day Matt was reported missing by a co-worker after failing to show up to his job at the Home Depot.

On Monday, divers searched the Penebscot River, which is close to Carolina's Bar, but found no signs of Matt LaCrosse. A search of LaCrosse's cell phone and financial records showed no activity and he also did not show up again for work. Family members were interested in talking to the couple in their 30s whom Matt had been talking to the night he disappeared, but no one the police had spoken with recognized this couple. About 25 friends and co-workers searched the downtown Bangor area and along the waterfront from 10 a.m. until dusk with no luck.

The following day, Tuesday, the police finished interviewing patrons at the bar and LaCrosse's family, friends and co-workers and entered Matt's apartment where they removed his computer to search for clues to his disappearance.

Police concluded that if Matt were to walk home from the bar, he would cut through a park along the way. Carolina's Bar is situated under a highway overpass with a dimly lit parking lot along railroad tracks. Matt rented a room in a 10-person boarding house at 133 Essex Street about a half mile northeast of the bar. He had lived there just under a year and many of his house mates described Matt as happy-go-lucky, friendly and that he was very likable and got along well with others.

The search continued Wednesday when police, family and friends searched the downtown between Carolina's and his Essex Street apartment, as well as the shoreline of the Penebscot River. They also distributed fliers. Many people in Bangor recognized Matt as he was well known.

A close female friend of Matts who had also been with him Friday night at Carolina's and left before him said contrary to earlier reports, LaCrosse was wearing a navy-blue, long sleeved shirt on Friday, with blue jeans and sneakers.

A scent dog tracked Matt LaCrosse's scent from the bar to the State Street Bridge. About half way across the bridge, near a railing, the scent just stopped. The bridge overlooks the Kenduskeag Stream at the mouth of the Penebscot River. This finding led Maine Police dive team to search the mouth of the Kenduskeag Stream and Penebscot River with a boat equipped with special sonar. They found no sign of LaCrosse. Bangor Police Detective Sgt. Paul Kenison said, "there is no way to determine whether LaCrosse went into the stream, and if he did, whether he stumbled, was pushed or went in on his own accord." Police believed LaCrosse had fallen into the stream the night of Nov. 9.

After two months, the Bangor Daily News wrote an article stating that the investigation was still open, however no new evidence had been collected. Matt LaCrosse's brother-in-law stated "In all honesty, at this point we need to find my wife's brother's body. We need closure." The family had a difficult Christmas as Matt had purchased a gift for his sister Brandie which was delivered. He went on to add the Bangor Police Department has done just an outstanding job.

Recovery
On Friday, March 8, 2008, the body of Matt LaCrosse was pulled from the Penebscot River in Stockton Springs, nearly 27 miles downstream from Bangor. The following Sunday, an autopsy was completed and the presumed cause of death was accidental drowning.

A visitation and celebration of Matthew "Matty" Joseph LaCrosse was held on Friday, April 4, 2008. His parents Albert J. and Ellen L. of Carmel, Maine were at the visitation along with many family and friends that was held from 5-8 p.m.

Facts of Interest
Name/age: Matthew LaCrosse, 25
Hometown: Bangor, ME
Residence: 133 Essex Street, Bangor, ME
Physical Description: 6'0", 250 pounds, brown hair, last seen wearing a green thermal shirt and blue jeans.
Last Seen: 11/9/07, Carolina's Sports and Spirits, 16 Union Street, Bangor, ME
Recovered: 3/8/08, Penebscot River, Stockton Springs, ME


Posted 9/25/09

12/23/05: Matt Kruziki, 24, East Dubuque, IL

On December 23, 2005, Matthew Kruziki and his neighbor, Curtis stopped at The River Queen Lounge, an exotic dancing club in East Dubuque, Illinois. At around midnight, Matt was asked to leave the bar after a dispute over his bill. Neither police or bar staff would permit him back into the bar to retreive his belongings. He was last seen going out into 20-degree weather without his coat, wallet or cell phone. It was the last time he was seen alive.

Timeline

A Broken Down Car
Shortly before Christmas 2005, Matt's father, Bill Kruziki, received a letter saying Matt needed a ride to pick up his car, an older model Saturn, which had broken down earlier in the month and had been impounded. Matt, who was from Hartland, Wisconsin, had been working in several communities in Iowa for several weeks, recruiting temporary workers to do fundraising canvassing for his job at the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). Bill Kruziki wasn't able to drive him, so he asked Matt's older brother Chris to do it. According to their father, “They argued about politics. Chris blew him off. Chris was a Republican and Matt had jokingly thrown his brother’s book on President Bush into the fireplace." When Chris wouldn't take him, he convinced his neighbor, 19-year old Curtis Lesniewski, who he didn't know very well to drive him. Curtis has a minor criminal record in Waukesha County for marijuana possession and petty offenses.

Road Trip
On December 23, 2005, Matthew and Curtis embarked on the 160-mile road trip to DesMoines, Iowa. According to Lesniewski's police statement, Matt said he knew people in Dubuque, so they decided to stay the night before heading on to Des Moines. The hotel they picked, the Julien Inn (once an Al Capone hideout), was at 200 Main Street. They headed to the Julien Inn’s bar after 9 p.m. Lesniewski had no money. Matt had $600 and started buying drinks for patrons, including the bouncer from the River Queen across the river. “You can hitch a cab ride with me to this place, because you guys don’t know where anything is,” Curtis recalled the bouncer saying. And so they made the trip across the Mississippi to downtown East Dubuque, Illinois, a working-class town of 2,000 people, formerly known as "sin city."

The River Queen
According to Milwaukee Magazine, "The River Queen is an uninviting building of smudged white brick with peeling black paint – basically a dive with a stripper’s pole." Lesniewski says Matt put $100 on the dance floor to get the strippers’ attention. Matt was getting $25 private lap dances, largely from a stripper named Diamond. She was 5 foot 9, almost 200 pounds, had a petty criminal record from Milwaukee, and, according to club employees, could pack a mean punch. "

Bar room scuffle
An argument arose at the bar. “All of a sudden, there’s like a scuffle going on, and it’s Matt in the middle of it and like the two doormen pushing him out,” Lesniewski says. The doormen said they were calling the cops because Matt owed money for $300 worth of lap dances. Diamond would tell police Matt owed her for three dances. The bouncer gave Lesniewski Matt’s empty wallet and flannel coat. “He [the bouncer] kind of just pushed me out of the way, told me to stay out of it, and they drug him [Matt] outside.” At around 1:10 a.m., Matt tried to re-enter the River Queen because he had left his jacket and wallet behind. Matt ran back inside the bar, but because of the earlier argument over the bill, the doorman kicked him back out.

Matt reportedly lingered in front of the bar until bouncers from a bar across the street, also owned by Meyer, called police saying that Matt was staring at their bouncers. An officer showed up and ID’d Kruziki, but didn’t think Matt seemed drunk. “We called the police to get him [Kruziki] to move on,” says Meyer. The officer told the coatless, walletless Matt to get a cab, and he is said to have walked away without a problem. The cop was the last person to see Matt alive.

Lesniewski heads home
Lesniewski says he and Matt got separated after Matt was kicked out of the bar. Lesniewski caught a ride back to the Julien Inn from a regular. Lesniewski told police he didn’t know where Matt was, so he waited until morning. Matt didn’t turn up, so needing to get home for Christmas, Lesniewski headed back to Wisconsin. His cell phone was dead, he had no money, and the car had only a half a tank of gas. Lesniewski ran out of gas heading toward Hartland and, ironically, called Chris Kruziki to come get him.

Recovery
On Saturday, March 18, 2006, a water plane pilot flying low over the Mississippi River in Illinois noticed Matt's body floating in the water. Investigators are still trying to determine how Matt got into the water. An autopsy conducted by a Rockford, IL medical examiner found alcohol and marijuana in his system, however police chief Steve O'Connell said, "The alcohol level [.09] is in the area of what we thought it might be because of the fact that officers did have contact with him that night. He didn't appear to be inebriated beyond where he wouldn't have been able to make conscious decisions."

Contradictions and Unanswered Questions

The bar bill
Mike Meyer, owner of the River Queen, told Milwaukee Magazine that Matt was only in the bar for 30 minutes. Matt was thrown out of the bar for not paying a $300 tab for lap dances, but at $25 a piece, this would have amounted to 12 lap dances in only 30 minutes. The stripper, named Diamond, however, told police she was owed for only 3 dances ($75).

The wallet
We know Matt Kruziki was ejected for not paying his tab, and his empty wallet indicates that perhaps he had spent all of his money. But if he was only in the River Queen for 30 minutes and had never paid the disputed $300, that would mean he must have spent most of his money at the Julien Inn before going over to the River Queen to plunk down his last $100 to impress a stripper. It seems unlikely.

Blood Alcohol Level
According to the coronor, Matt only had a blood alcohol level of .09 and the cop who ID'd him at roughly 1:30 a.m said he did not seem very drunk. Both Diamond and Lesniewski both described Matt as very drunk the night he disappeared, which is not in agreement with the coronor's findings of a .09 blood alcohol level.

A walk in the wrong direction

Matt was last seen in 20-degree weather without his coat, wallet or cell phone. He was two hours from his hometown with no money or means of transportation, and his hotel was more than a mile away via a walking bridge over the ice-covered Mississippi River. As it was, it would have been a freezing walk across the wide Mississippi to get back to his hotel in Dubuque. Yet Matt "went way past the bridge,” Bill Kruziki says, “a mile out of the way.” Why? It’s a central mystery in the case.

Smiley Face Killer Connection?
Matt Kruziki was last seen on Siniswa Avenue. The word "Sinsiniwa" was found scrawled at the scene of a similiar disappearance in East Lansing, Michigan. Investigators have not specified which case it was.

The Kruziki Family
Source: Milwaukee Magazine

Matt's father, Bill Kruziki was raised on Milwaukee’s near North Side in a blue-collar family that was “lower middle class,” but “always paid the bills,” as he recalls. One day, a motorcycle officer spoke at Custer High School. Kruziki decided to be a police aide. At 18, he started calling police departments. “I called every one of them.” The Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department responded. “I didn’t know where Waukesha was. I had never been across 124th Street.” In Waukesha, he graduated to correctional officer and later to captain of the drug unit. Chris was born in 1979 and Matt in 1981 to Bill and Debbie, a nurse. In 1994, Kruziki upset the incumbent Waukesha County sheriff in a bitter Republican primary. He served as sheriff for eight years. President George W. Bush nominated him as federal marshal and he served in that position from 2002 to 2007, when he retired. He still conducts federal background investigations. The Kruziki boys attended Hartland Arrowhead High School. Matt’s time there revolved around athletics – soccer, wrestling and football. “He enjoyed socializing,” his father says. Sometimes too much. His teachers would say, “He’s a great kid, but man he talks too much,” his dad adds.

After graduation, Matt settled into an apartment on Milwaukee’s East Side and a somewhat nomadic life. “A bit of a hippie,” his father would later tell police. Matt played guitar at open mic sessions and worked at a sandwich shop. In high school, he had covered his school binder with Jimi Hendrix lyrics. “He thought he could play guitar, but, well, he really couldn’t,” his father says. He wrote songs and got a dog – Gracie, named after Grace Slick – but gave her to his mother because he couldn’t keep her in his apartment.

Matt was convicted of possessing drug paraphernalia in Waukesha County in 2002 and marijuana possession in 2003, both misdemeanors. But he began to focus his life after some environmental activists handed him literature at the Bastille Days festival. “He was looking for a new direction,” says David Dorn, who worked with Matt on the New Voters Project, a voter registration drive in Milwaukee. “He was interested in progressive politics, helping the disadvantaged. He planned to start a nonprofit.”

“Both Matt and Chris lived in a fishbowl their whole lives,” Debbie Kruziki says, noting their father’s political profile, and Matt may have gotten his interest in public service from watching his father. Dorn recalls their work registering voters at a rainy Fourth of July fireworks celebration. “He was the only one who stayed out. He stayed out sopping wet,” Dorn says. “He was like the mayor of Milwaukee,” Dorn says he used to joke. “He knew every single person.”

“He loved it,” Kruziki says. “He could really carry off a conversation.” Like his father, he ended up liking politics, with one difference. “He was a liberal Democrat,” says his Republican father with a smile.

“He really admired his dad,” says Dorn. “He was visibly excited when he had an opportunity to go to lunch with his dad. They were politically different, but two sides of the same coin.”

Matt worked for Citizen Action of Wisconsin and with ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now). The trip to Dubuque seemed anything but dangerous compared to Matt’s work for ACORN. “He went into inner cities at night pounding on people’s doors,” his father says. “I never, ever thought something would happen to him in Dubuque.”

Strange coincidence
In a strange coincidence, Matt was the second Arrowhead graduate to go missing near the Mississippi River. For a time, Matt and drowning victim, Jared Dion, were varsity wrestling teammates.

Aftermath
In light of what later happened to Matt, Chris was distraught that he didn’t drive his brother to Dubuque. “He blamed himself,” says his dad. “I blamed myself.” Last year, Chris Kruziki committed suicide at the age of 28. He had never gotten over Matt’s death.

“I spent Father’s Day in the cemetery,” Kruziki volunteers at Panera, his tone cop-like and matter-of-fact. “He keeps everything inside, I think,” says Kruziki’s first wife, Debbie, the mother of Chris and Matt. “It’s hard to see other parents at cookouts with their children,” Bill admits, but he’s still dry-eyed. “Sometimes it still seems like a dream, like they [Matt and Chris] are going to call me.”

Facts of Interest in This Case
Name/age: Matthew Kruziki, 24, Dubuque, IA (from Hartland, WI)
College: unknown
Physical description: 6'2," 200#, brown hair, blue eyes
Last seen: 12/24/05, 1 a.m., The River Queen (31 Sinsinawa Ave, East Dubuque, IL)
Recovered: 03/18/06, Mississippi River near Deadman's Slough
Cause of death: drowning
Manner of death: undetermined
Injuries: no signs of foul play
Blood Alcohol Content: .09 blood alcohol content, marijuana in system
(Lesniewski said Matt was smoking it on the drive down to Iowa).
Matt's father, Bill Kruziki, is a former Wisconsin sheriff and the current US Marshal for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, has called for a federal investigation.

The Julien Inn, Matt's Hotel

09/28/04: Nate Williams, 21, Morris, MN

NATE IS STILL MISSING.
Nate Williams, 21, was last seen leaving his residence on the campus at the University of Minnesota-Morris in the 400 block of E. 10th St. in Morris, MN. He told a roommate he was going on a two-week fishing trip to Two Harbors, MN and would return by October 10, 2004. He was apparently traveling alone. Two days later, sheriff's deputies found his 1966 teal and white Ford F150 pick up truck North of Two Harbors on the Kawishiwi Lake Road (a back road off of County Road 7) in Lake County, Minnesota, near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. He was reported missing October 7 by his family. (See missing poster.)

Nate is described as an avid fisherman, even nicknamed "Fish," who had taken several extended fishing trips before. He is not believed to have committed suicide, but the circumstances of his disappearance are unclear. If you have any information in this case, contact the Morris Police Department at (320) 589-2313.



Facts of Interest in This Case
Name: Nathaniel Edison Williams, 21
Hometown: Silver Springs, MD
College: University of Minnesota--Morris
Residence: Morris, MN
Date of Birth: 1983-05-29
Last seen: 09/28/04
Physical Description: White male, 6 feet tall, 160 pounds, brown hair, hazel eyes, light complexion, possibly shaved, mustache. Wore thick glasses or contacts. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, black shirt.

10/31/02: Chris Jenkins, 21, Minneapolis, MN

"I wish everyday I could go back to that naive place in the world where life was so simple. Where people were inherently good, where the sun shined just a bit brighter. It's not simple. There are really bad people out there and they do really bad things."

- Sara Jenkins, sister of Chris Jenkins

When University of Minnesota student Christopher Jenkins disappeared and his body was found in the Mississippi River, his parents, Jan and Steve Jenkins, embarked on a journey of remarkable courage to seek answers and justice. Through their perseverance, the family was able to uncover clues indicating that Chris may have been abducted and murdered. His official cause of death has been reclassified from accidental drowning to homicide. Charges have yet to be filed in his death.

After a 6 p.m. keg party at his home, Chris Jenkins, his girlfriend, Ashley Rice, and a few friends headed over to the Lone Tree Bar & Grill at 528 Hennepin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis. The group arrived at the bar between 10:30 and 11:00 p.m. and parked the car just south of the bar. Sometime around midnight, Chris Jenkins was reportedly kicked out of the the bar. Witnesses said the head of Lone Tree security instructed staff not to allow Chris back into the bar, despite the 20-degree weather outside. Wearing only his American Indian costume--a brown nylon shirt and pants, slip-shoes, and a headband with a red feather--he was put out on the street. He did not have a coat, and his wallet, cell phone, and keys were inside with his friends.

It was the last time he was seen alive.

After little progress was made by local authorities in finding their son, Jan and Steve Jenkins decided to take matters into their own hands. A possible tip indicated that Chris may have been spotted walking north across the Hennepin Avenue bridge over the Mississippi River. The Jenkinses were able to find surveillance footage of the bridge and have it reviewed.

 "There were two surveillance cameras on the Federal Reserve Bank pointing to the Hennepin Avenue Bridge," says Jan. "This was post 9-11, clearly good equipment. We have written documentation from the supervisor that more than one person viewed the tapes from both cameras late on the 31st and early on November 1. Chris was not seen on the tape. We do not believe Chris walked across that bridge. The supervisor told the FBI that it would be almost impossible for a person to sprint across that bridge and not be seen."

They also hired a private investigator, Chuck Loesch. Loesch found witnesses who reported that a gang of at least 10 men had attacked a man in front of Times Square Pizza (across the street from the bar), in what was thought to be a gang initiation. Although, the time of the incident has not been confirmed--it could have been around the time Chris left the bar.

Two bloodhounds with different handlers were also brought in by the Jenkins family on two separate occasions. Both dogs picked up Chris's scent on the sidewalk in front of the pizza joint where witnesses reported seeing the fight. Both dogs followed the scent into the parking garage next to the pizza joint. And both dogs followed the scent right to the same parking stall. Later, blood drops and a red feather, possibly from Chris's Native American costume, were reportedly found inside the garage.

Recovery and Investigation

Almost four months later, Chris’s body was found snagged on some tree branches in the Mississippi River in downtown Minneapolis. The body was on the east side of the river near the spillway of the St. Anthony Falls Hydroelectrical Laboratory at 30 SE 3rd Street. (See Map.) It could be seen from the 3rd Avenue bridge, floating on its back with its arms in front.

Police initially believed Chris either committed suicide or died accidentally after falling into water. But all those who knew Chris felt differently. Chris was a star athlete--a two-time team captain of his lacrosse team. He was set to graduate with stellar grades from the university's prestigious Carlson School of Management, and had job interviews lined up. He was happy, easy going, very responsible, and he had plans for the future.

The Jenkins family consulted with numerous experts, including global experts in water rescue and recovery, renowned forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden, and even reviewed their own son's autopsy photos. They learned that the appearance of Chris's body did not fit with the suicide or accident theories held by the police. Most drowning victims are found face down with their arms out toward their sides, their clothing disheveled, and one or both of their shoes missing. This is because one's natural reaction when drowning is to vigorously paddle the feet and arms and swim. Chris's body was found on it's back, arms crossed in front, his shirt tucked in to his drawstring pants and still wearing both over sized slip-on shoes. He also still had on a necklace, a ring on the left index finger and a ring on the right ring finger.

Case reopened, death reclassified as homicide

When a new police chief, Tim Dolan, was hired for the city of Minneapolis, the Jenkins family brought him the leads uncovered by their private investigator and the new evidence they had found. The chief agreed that the case had not been thoroughly investigated. In 2006, Dolan reopened the case.

That same year, an eyewitness to crime (someone in jail and reportedly facing felony charges for another crime) stepped forward to claim he was present when Chris was thrown off a bridge. The inmate told investigators that his acquaintance, after robbing Chris and finding nothing of value, became angry and threw him off the Hennepin Avenue bridge. It is not known whether the eyewitness was involved in the crime, or only providing information to bargain for leniency, but the claim had other problems.

Photo credit: MN Department of Transportation

If a bridge was involved, Chuck Loesch believed, it could not have been the Hennepin Avenue bridge. The physical layout, which includes a steel beam and suspension cables, would have made it nearly impossible to throw someone over without injury. Jenkins was not found to have any broken bones, meaning that the killer would have had to lift a grown man over the high safety railing and throw him 4- to 5-feet out over the support beam, avoiding the vertical cables in the process. The bridge is brightly lit and has heavy traffic, and no one reported seeing anything unusual on the bridge that night. Cameras with a view of the bridge also did not capture anything suspicious, including Chris walking across the bridge.

Loesch, in fact, believes it unlikely that Chris was thrown from a bridge at all. Given the fall and the river's current, Chris's shoes would not have stayed on his feet.

But where Chris entered the water may be significant: If it was further upstream, it would point to a vehicle being involved in the crime. And Chris's family has said they have various reasons to believe Chris was "thrown in the back of a van - abducted, tortured, and eventually murdered."

In 2006, Chris's death was reclassified as a homicide. During a press conference, Chief Dolan offered the Jenkins family a public apology. But in July 2007, Hennepin County declined to press any charges in the case, citing lack of evidence. The case remains unsolved.

Chris's mother, Jan Jenkins, has written a book about the family's struggle for justice. For more information, check out http://www.legacyofcourage.com/.

Case Facts:
Name/age: Christopher Mark Jenkins, 21
Hometown: Eden Prairie, MN
Residence: Minneapolis, MN
College: University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management
Major: Marketing and entrepreneurial management
Physical description: athletic (goalie and co-captain of lacrosse team)
Recovered: 02/27/03 at 1650 hours in the Mississippi River near the Horseshoe Dam south of the Third Ave. Bridge just above St. Anthony Falls. Cause of death: Drowning.
Manner of death: reclassified as a homicide
Injuries: none visible
Blood Alcohol Content: 0.07 in deep tissue, .12 in heart
Water temperature: 33 F when found
Air temperature: 35 F when found