As of yesterday,
50% of the missing/drowned young men were college students
42% had been reported to have been drinking and/or inebriated
72% were from the midwest (by midwest, I'm speaking of the western great lakes region)
So, contrary to what our usual sensationalistic media has to say, the missing/drowned young men were most certainly not ALL college students. And, contrary to what LE claims, these cases do not appear to be PURELY alcohol related. If anything, the most striking thing about them is that 72% are situated in the midwest with a concentration in the La Cross & Eau Claire Wisconsin areas.
That said, after watching the second vid, I'm less inclined to think these two detectives are onto... well... anything. For a number of reasons, the least of which involves the statement by LE spokesperson, "Bring us evidence, not more theories." The other thing that raises questions to my mind wrt this latest theory is that they seem to be sweeping all of the missing/drowned cases into one grand conspiracy. Which, imho, makes it less viable.
Furthermore, while I was admittedly growing skeptical after finally finding time to listen to the first interview (where they referred to these alleged disparate groups as "pods"), what clenched it for me is the ludicrous "Smiley Face Killer" moniker that the talking heads dreamed up last night. This indicates to me these detectives have nothing more than a bunch of smiley faces that were found where these boys "allegedly" went into the water.
Yet, if you read the Jenkins case, the cost for determining where he went into the water was $100K. So, are these detectives saying they've spent half a billion dollars to determine where all 60 boys entered the water? Doubtful. Unfortunately, from where I sit, this appears to be a case of confirmatory bias at its finest.
And finally, as far as whether or not there's a serial killer (or killers) preying on young men in the midwest? I think that is possible. I am however very doubtful this is a case of some nation-wide smiley face killer gang.
Btw, and as an aside, for the person who wondered, the slogan that went along with the smiley was "Have a nice day" and Stephen King's "Stand" was about an apocalyptic "final battle" between good and evil, that was brought on by the release of a genetically engineered fast-spreading virus.