Deaths of Male College Students-General Discussion #3

[ArizonaGiGi]

Arizona, i'm not sure if there's a connection; likely not, just thought i'd bring it up as it's a game my nephew likes to play.

All of the victims had high GPA (grade point averages) and excelled in sports.
Is that just random, or is it possible the killers were stalking specific targets? I don't know; wondering if anyone had any ideas on this.

When I read about the youtube video by TRANESLAVE I was imagining someone who worked for Trane and felt like a slave to them. Never had heard of the video game you mentioned. Thanks again for the info.

 

[ArizonaGiGi]

I was the one who posted the links to translave on a few boards. not ethann.

You must be anonymous ATS on Abovetop secret site. That is who posted it and that is who I attributed it to. (Not Ethann).
It was an interesting angle. Here is my original post;
**************************************
I found an interesting post on the website AboveTopSecret.com
I am new here and am not very familiar with this website but I bet lots of you WS'ers are?). I am posting a link and am abiding by their copyright infringement rules in order to do so.

Under the topic SERIAL KILLING TEAM DROWNING VICTIMS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, on page 15 there is a post by ANONYMOUS ATS that has a link to two videos that are on youtube posted by a youtuber named "TraneSlave" (who states that he is a musician). The two vids are taken from a small private plane flight over lake La Crosse, Lake Wissota and Eau Claire WI.

Also creepy - I remember a new WS member named Ethann who made reference to a possible connection between the Trane factories and the the drownings. Numerous times. Incidently Ethann is now posting on the ATS website and has bumped this Traneslave video post. Ethann also has a video link on (page 15 of the ATS site) with pictures etc of his own investigation.

I find the whole Trane, TraneSlave and possible connection made by Ethann to be interesting but very creepy.

http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread351428/pg15

 

[MeoW333]

I wonder what percentage of these men received scholarships? I have to disagree about the GPA not being a possible reason these men were targeted.

It's too much of a coincidence that most all of the young men had high GPA's, excelled in sports, and were similar in appearance. I think they may be stalked prior to the murders. Also as someone mentioned in the Garza thread, why would the killers murder and then look for a spot to spraypaint the smiley face? Maybe the smiley is painted after the murder at some point, maybe even a different day? Or some even could have been painted prior. It's plain stupidity for someone to kill then stay in the area to look for spots to spray paint. Especially now that LE knows the signs to look for.

 

[Blink34]

I wonder what percentage of these men received scholarships? I have to disagree about the GPA not being a possible reason these men were targeted.

I do believe it is a reason they are targeted, but that is assumptive for some. However, I think that originally and in the early cases, you are right, the GPA was known and a factor.

 

[SheerLuck]

Bill Szaostak was on the radio this morning talking about updates with his son's death. Nothing "fascinating" as I was told there would be, but I didn't expect there would be. He said the detectives are not 100% sure his son's death is connected to the smiley face crimes, but they think it probably is; they were back in Albany reinvestigating last week and now they're in Pennsylvania and investigating both the Tommy Booth case and the other Pa case(both PA police departments have reopened their cases for now). The detectives will be on CNN I think tomorrow night(Anderson Cooper I think he said). Szostak has the strongest praise for the detectives. Here's a link to Al Roney's WGY page and if you look a bit down the page and to the to left; you can listen to Bill Szostak from the link that says podcast. Nothing fascinating but a few interesting things like toxicology found his son to be maybe just a bit of the limit

http://www.wgy.com/pages/onair/onair_roney.html

 

[SheerLuck]

Also as someone mentioned in the Garza thread, why would the killers murder and then look for a spot to spraypaint the smiley face?

Just guessing, but might be this is thr type of crime that's easier for 2 or 3 people; so maybe 1 killer waits in the van; while another one dumps the body; while the 3rd one serves as a lookout by innocently looking like some guy who's into spraying grafitti. So the dimented happy face is drawn while distracting any possible passerbys from the real crime

 

[nursebeeme]

OH NO! Where has all the media attention gone in this slew of cases! I am crying myself to death over the innatention in the msm as of late! I sincerely hope they have a plan and are not stopping after the brief bit of sensationalism they managed to stir up.

The pressure NEEDS TO BE PUT ON SOMEONE SOMEWHERE in this series of crimes. Any ideas on who could listen?.... someone that could have some legal impact?

I bet all you fellow WSers do NOT want to hear about another college man floating in a body of water. I know I sure as hell don't!

I, frustratingly, wait for a turn in this serial case!

 

[Blink34]

Just guessing, but might be this is thr type of crime that's easier for 2 or 3 people; so maybe 1 killer waits in the van; while another one dumps the body; while the 3rd one serves as a lookout by innocently looking like some guy who's into spraying grafitti. So the dimented happy face is drawn while distracting any possible passerbys from the real crime

I believe that there are at least 3 involved "on the scene" where the vic goes missing. I have said a few times, I'm not convinced it is the killers that are leving these signs. I think it is those "in the know" or perhaps as a warning? I was traveling over the last few days, and I took a keen interest in graffiti while I was- I have to say I found tons of smileys, and such on or below most bridges, trains, etc- I think it may be a red herring in some of these cases but on the surface links them together.
I hold more stock in the actual "sinsiwa" and the physical evidence at the scene that contradicts known info.

 

[Blink34]

OH NO! Where has all the media attention gone in this slew of cases! I am crying myself to death over the innatention in the msm as of late! I sincerely hope they have a plan and are not stopping after the brief bit of sensationalism they managed to stir up.

The pressure NEEDS TO BE PUT ON SOMEONE SOMEWHERE in this series of crimes. Any ideas on who could listen?.... someone that could have some legal impact?

I bet all you fellow WSers do NOT want to hear about another college man floating in a body of water. I know I sure as hell don't!

I, frustratingly, wait for a turn in this serial case!

I agree, and urge us all to hang in there.

 

[Blink34]

Bill Szaostak was on the radio this morning talking about updates with his son's death. Nothing "fascinating" as I was told there would be, but I didn't expect there would be. He said the detectives are not 100% sure his son's death is connected to the smiley face crimes, but they think it probably is; they were back in Albany reinvestigating last week and now they're in Pennsylvania and investigating both the Tommy Booth case and the other Pa case(both PA police departments have reopened their cases for now). The detectives will be on CNN I think tomorrow night(Anderson Cooper I think he said). Szostak has the strongest praise for the detectives. Here's a link to Al Roney's WGY page and if you look a bit down the page and to the to left; you can listen to Bill Szostak from the link that says podcast. Nothing fascinating but a few interesting things like toxicology found his son to be maybe just a bit of the limit

Great Post SL- I LOVE when you post just the Facts!! Great Job.

 

[CeeJay]

I don't even want to mention what college I went to bc I can't help but fear that if the killers are reading boards like this they'll suddenly decide that it's a great location for another victim. At any rate... I went to a school that had water separating the campus with all the fun bars on the one side. Half of the students would have had to cross bridges to go to bars. I can't tell you the number of times I saw students stumbling out of bars at the end of the night. But there has never been an accidental drowning of a student after going to the bars. NEVER. So it will never make sense to me when LE say that it just happens when kids are drinking. No, it doesn't. If you're that drunk you have a hard time making it to the river. Much less falling over a chest-high railing or walking over large rocks to get there.

 

[looneymama]

Drinking greatly accelerates it effect and another interesting thing to point out is that body weigth is a factor, so the lighter the person the less they need to get knocked out.

I thought this was an interesting point about GHB since these guys were all around the same weight range. They weren't necessarily light but I don't think any of them were really overweight.

 

[SheerLuck]

OH NO! Where has all the media attention gone in this slew of cases!

There's been some coverage and Bill Szostak said CNN will have a bit on the Anderson Cooper show either tonight or tomorrow night. 20/20 is working on a show also, but it's hard for much of the media to rush in when the FBI and most of the police units reject the detectives case. What's most damaging to the case not getting national headline news exposure is that KTSP sat on the the story for 8 months and then came forward with it on ratings sweeps week. The rest of the media has to figure out if this is really a serial murder case to be taken seriously or just a bogus ratings grab by KTSP. If the FBI changes their tune, then the national news media would rush right in and cover it, but for now; the media has to be very cautious in trusting smiley faces, coincidences and in particular; KTSP.

 

[looneymama]

Yep; good point as we try to figure out the psychology to this. I was looking at a lot of angles and I looked at the satanist/devil/thrasher metal/punk rock angle and I agree with you there is a possibility that this isn't racial but instead a hate/jealousy issue. To add to your point, a lot of heavy metal/punk rock fans have a natural dislike for clean cut kids who have their act together; they see these kids as conformists; so these kids represent everything they hate. Oh and I'll say this about the angle you bring up; the danger of the internet is that it can bring together and unite some people who have the most gruesome interests. There are thousands of Myspace pages from men that have no pretty women on their page, but instead just satan symbols, skulls, knives, blood and gore.

I'm not sure if I would say that the people that are into metal and punk are really jealous of "preps". I do agree that a lot dislike them though. It could be because they are viewed as conformists but I think more of it is the "good boy" image that some have when they need to have it...and then there are the other stereotypes that come along with them that are negative.

When I used to spend more time downtown at the bars in Minneapolis there was a certain type of guys that we'd refer to as "tourists" they were usually preppy guys from the suburbs that would come downtown, get wasted and way out of hand. That attitude that some people have while on vacation where they feel like they can get away with anything and don't have to show respect for the people or places that are always there. It was very frustrating and yes, we disliked them very much. We lived there and took pride in our city. We'd developed friendships with some of the homeless people that the "tourists" disrespected and made jokes about.

Not all preppy guys acted like that, but enough of them did that I can see how that kind of reputation can really taint LE's thoughts when something like this happens. I know from people that have worked in that line of work that they hate having to deal with drunk people and they don't treat them very well when they have to.

 

[eve]

I don't even want to mention what college I went to bc I can't help but fear that if the killers are reading boards like this they'll suddenly decide that it's a great location for another victim. At any rate... I went to a school that had water separating the campus with all the fun bars on the one side. Half of the students would have had to cross bridges to go to bars. I can't tell you the number of times I saw students stumbling out of bars at the end of the night. But there has never been an accidental drowning of a student after going to the bars. NEVER. So it will never make sense to me when LE say that it just happens when kids are drinking. No, it doesn't. If you're that drunk you have a hard time making it to the river. Much less falling over a chest-high railing or walking over large rocks to get there.

I went to a school just like this (maybe the same one) and I agree totally. I was there recently for a visit and observed things haven't changed much in 25 years also. I too hope people stay focused on this case.

Eve

 

[fran]

FWIW, there's a college student missing since last week in Mn. They're now looking for him in the water.

fran

PS...See, what I don't get is, (his case is ongoing, so we don't know the outcome), why is it in just these areas, when guys go missing they either end up in the river, or gone without a trace? I live on the West Coast, I've been to college towns and seen the young people out walking late at night. Why don't they continuously (as in the last ten years here) show up in the water? Something is WRONG with this picture, imo........fran

Brandon Swanson, age 19

http://www.ksfy.com/news/local/19088264.html

The Swanson Search Effort

Swanson's car was first discovered last Thursday near State Highway 68 just northwest of Taunton, which is about 15 miles northwest of Marshall; near the Lincoln County-Lyon County line.

A ground search started in this area

<<more at link>>



http://www.marshallindependent.com/page/content.detail/id/501831.html

Air search likely Monday for missing teen


LINCOLN COUNTY — An air search for Brandon Swanson, 19, of Marshall is likely for today, Lincoln County Sheriff Jack Vizecky said late Sunday afternoon.

The search on Sunday was expected to end not long after 5 p.m., Vizecky said.

Swanson, a 2007 Marshall High School graduate and student at Minnesota West in Canby, has been missing since early Wednesday, law enforcement said. Searchers in protective gear walked the river Sunday but found no signs of Swanson, Vizecky said.

Vizecky said Sunday afternoon officials will reassess the situation today.

Swanson last had cellular telephone contact with his father Brian Swanson early Wednesday morning when he said his car was in the ditch near Lynd, the Lyon County sheriff’s office has said.

Swanson had apparently been using a field road and was on his way home from Canby to Marshall, the Lyon County sheriff’s office said. Swanson’s car was later found near Taunton and for the past few days the search has focused on areas of Lyon and Lincoln counties near the Yellow Medicine River between Taunton and Porter. The weekend search has focused mainly on an area along the Yellow Medicine River in Lincoln County.

 

[eve]

FWIW, there's a college student missing since last week in Mn. They're now looking for him in the water.

fran

PS...See, what I don't get is, (his case is ongoing, so we don't know the outcome), why is it in just these areas, when guys go missing they either end up in the river, or gone without a trace? I live on the West Coast, I've been to college towns and seen the young people out walking late at night. Why don't they continuously (as in the last ten years here) show up in the water? Something is WRONG with this picture, imo........fran

Brandon Swanson, age 19

http://www.ksfy.com/news/local/19088264.html

The Swanson Search Effort

Swanson's car was first discovered last Thursday near State Highway 68 just northwest of Taunton, which is about 15 miles northwest of Marshall; near the Lincoln County-Lyon County line.

A ground search started in this area

<<more at link>>



http://www.marshallindependent.com/page/content.detail/id/501831.html

Air search likely Monday for missing teen


LINCOLN COUNTY — An air search for Brandon Swanson, 19, of Marshall is likely for today, Lincoln County Sheriff Jack Vizecky said late Sunday afternoon.

The search on Sunday was expected to end not long after 5 p.m., Vizecky said.

Swanson, a 2007 Marshall High School graduate and student at Minnesota West in Canby, has been missing since early Wednesday, law enforcement said. Searchers in protective gear walked the river Sunday but found no signs of Swanson, Vizecky said.

Vizecky said Sunday afternoon officials will reassess the situation today.

Swanson last had cellular telephone contact with his father Brian Swanson early Wednesday morning when he said his car was in the ditch near Lynd, the Lyon County sheriff’s office has said.

Swanson had apparently been using a field road and was on his way home from Canby to Marshall, the Lyon County sheriff’s office said. Swanson’s car was later found near Taunton and for the past few days the search has focused on areas of Lyon and Lincoln counties near the Yellow Medicine River between Taunton and Porter. The weekend search has focused mainly on an area along the Yellow Medicine River in Lincoln County.

Oh dear. I missed this locally. Do we know, was he partying?

Eve

 

[Blink34]

Eve- that was also my first question- anyone know where he was prior to calling his father?

 

[looneymama]

Well...this article says that they've heard second or third hand that he may have been drinking that night. I hope they found out that he wasn't, so people will take this more seriously...this is so frustrating.

 

[fran]

I read in one of the articles that he was supposed to meet family, think the dad, at a local watering hole/store, when he got back into town.

His dad has said he didn't sound impaired just confused. The last phone call was long and they were disconnected.

Wouldn't it be weird if they used the cell phones for tracking? So many of these students were using their cell phone just prior to going missing.

JMHO
fran