Originally posted by Illusionsaregrander
Has anyone put together a timeline? That might give some clue as well, if they were murders done by an individual or group.

NEWS RELEASE
Date: 4/28/2008

Subject: News Release reference Eye Witness News Report

Contact Person: Community Services Bureau 789-7240

Following a recent Eye Witness News report, various individuals and media representatives have contacted the City of La Crosse Police Department. The Eye Witness News Report involved two retired New York police detectives who say they’ve discovered a link between a Minnesota death and the drownings of at least 40 other men in 25 cities in 11 different states
according to the news report.

The report claims that “city after city, when they’d find the spot where the body went into the water, they would find something else: the symbol of a smiley face.” The news report goes on to indicate that the detectives are convinced that it’s a sick signature the killers leave behind.

I would like to take this opportunity to once again remind and assure our community that the eight river drownings which occurred between 1997 and 2006 have been thoroughly investigated. The La Crosse Police Department requested the assistance of the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation who participated in the investigations and conducted an indepth
review of all the drownings.

The La Crosse Police department further requested that the Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime, Behavioral Analysis Unit also conduct a thorough review of the drownings. Following the investigations by the La Crosse Police Detective Bureau, the FBI and DCI, no link between the drownings was discovered. The investigations concur with the findings of the FBI, “it is not unusual that many of the victims died of accidental drowning with alcohol intoxication as a contributing factor.”

It is also important to note that no symbols of a smiley face were discovered at any of the La Crosse drowning cases.

It is also important to note that drowning is the third leading cause of unintentional death in the U.S. Drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional death for person’s age 5 to 44 years. Males represent 81% of all drowning victims. Males make up 90% of drowning victims aged 15 to 24 years.

The La Crosse area river drownings are tragic and unfortunate accidents. The lowest blood alcohol content of the drowning victims was .20 with the highest being .44. The La Crosse Police Department has been in contact with many of the other jurisdictions where young people have drowned and, of course, we remain open to any new and relevant information. There is no evidence at this time to connect La Crosse area drownings with any other deaths around the country.



Edward N. Kondracki
Chief of Police

La Crosse Police Lt. Dan Marcou was visibly shaken when he addressed the crowd at the town hall meeting at Central High School Thursday night about drownings off the city's riverfront.

"My family has to be dragged through this over and over again every time there's another drowning," said Marcou, whose nephew and godson, Anthony Skifton, drowned in Swift Creek in 1997. "Then we have to hear people applaud when there is talk about there being a serial killer. It's sick that you would rather there be a killer out there taking these lives than it being alcohol."
Marcou insisted there is no serial killer and said he has seen all of the police reports to prove it.

Originally posted by Illusionsaregrander
So, are they saying that 41 smiley faces have been found?

They found one eight years ago in Wisconsin and then others in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana. Then most recently, they believe they've found one in Iowa.

RLilly**@*******.com Knightstar -- ( ) good-looking masculine wm, 40, hairy, buzz cut, into intense drowning scenes, wants to talk with other masuline guys into the same thing, can play aggressor or victim, 636-9**-2***.