A Wisconsin graduate student who was found dead in the Mississippi River hours after leaving a local bar died of an accidental drowning, authorities have confirmed.
Eliotte Heinz, 22, had no visible signs of trauma but had a blood alcohol level of 0.193 – more than double the legal driving limit in the state when she died on July 20, the La Crosse County Medical Examiner’s Office has determined.
There were no drugs in her system at the time and she did not seem to be in distress when leaving Bronco’s Bar in the city’s downtown at around 2.30am, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
Yet Heinz, who was studying mental health counseling at Viterbro College, was then caught on multiple surveillance cameras walking south-southwest until 3.39am, when she was seen moving toward the bank of the main channel of the Mississippi River, according to WEAU.
Heinz was again captured on surveillance footage leaving the water shortly after 4am – at which point, authorities said, she returned in the opposite direction back to the embankment.
The grad student’s last steps were recorded on her smart watch half an hour later, and her final heart beat was recorded at 7.30am.
But it wasn’t until 10.26 that morning that La Crosse police were first alerted to Heinz’s disappearance, when family and friends who were worried that she did not return home asked authorities to conduct a welfare check on the 22-year-old.
The call sparked a frantic four-day long search across the college town, before a fisherman spotted her remains floating in the water face down and wrapped in duckweed in Brownsville, Minnesota – more than 10 miles from where Heinz was last seen.
Eliotte Heinz, 22, died of an accidental drowning on July 20, authorities have confirmed
Heinz’s body was ultimately found floating in the water face down and wrapped in duckweed in Brownsville, Minnesota – more than 10 miles from where she was last seen
The grad student at Viterbo University was caught on multiple surveillance cameras walking south-southwest in La Crosse, Wisconsin until 3.39am on July 20, when she was seen moving toward the bank of the main channel of the Mississippi River
Police then determined that there was not ‘any criminal conduct’ involved in Heinz’s death.
They now note they found no evidence of foul play or possible suicidal ideation on her cellphone – which was recovered by Heinz’s friends during the search efforts – or any other electronics that were left at her home.
‘This was not the outcome we had hoped for throughout this search,’ La Crosse Police Chief Shawn Kudron said on July 24, announcing Heinz’s death.
‘Our thoughts are with Eliotte’s family, friends and all those who knew Eliotte.’
Heinz’s alma mater also released a statement, mourning her passing.
‘There are no words that can ease the pain of losing someone so young, with so much life ahead of her,’ said Viterbo University President Dr. Rick Trietley.
‘Our hearts go out to Eliotte’s family. We hold them in our prayers and stand with them in their grief.’
Police have previously said they did not believe ‘any criminal conduct’ was involved in Heinz’s death
Following the news of her death, Heinz’s devastated family (pictured) paid tribute to their ‘beautiful girl,’ who they remembered as smart, funny, caring, and loved by all who knew her
Following the news of Heinz’s death, her devastated family paid tribute to their ‘beautiful girl,’ who they remembered as smart, funny, caring, and loved by all who knew her.
‘We don’t know why we were so blessed to have her as a daughter or why we are unable to keep her. She is amazing and would have continued to amaze us,’ her family wrote.
‘We are devastated that she is no longer with us,’ they continued. ‘Our family will forever have a missing piece.’
‘Eliotte’s walk home is finished. Unfortunately, our family’s walk down this new hard path is just beginning.’