Found Deceased La Crosse Police ask for community assistance locating 22-year-old Eliotte Heinz - Last Seen 3:20 AM - 20 Jul 2025

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  • #141
Knox said:
It sounds like she went into the river near the Marriot. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was found on the river bank. All MOO.
Click to expand...
Another possibility is the hotel parking. Now that would hint at a different scenario.
Jmo
 
  • #142
Hello, new here. Got a little caught up in Eliotte's case.

The police are not releasing that much info, certainly there is a lot of camera footage we don't see. They aren't saying where she was between the bar and being seen on camera, they must know.

Possibilities are:
Accident
Suicide
Abduction

What puzzles me is the phone being near the hotel. To me this rules out accident, she would certainly not leave her phone if she was going to walk near the river.

If suicide, maybe she wanted it found, but that seems to be atypical thinking for someone despondent.

If abduction, it is likely her phone would be left by the perp, to avoid geo-tracking etc.

Looking for some additional info from LE...maybe there is a reason the police are not releasing more information.
 
  • #143
HexBreaker said:
Hello, new here. Got a little caught up in Eliotte's case.

The police are not releasing that much info, certainly there is a lot of camera footage we don't see. They aren't saying where she was between the bar and being seen on camera, they must know.

Possibilities are:
Accident
Suicide
Abduction

What puzzles me is the phone being near the hotel. To me this rules out accident, she would certainly not leave her phone if she was going to walk near the river.

If suicide, maybe she wanted it found, but that seems to be atypical thinking for someone despondent.

If abduction, it is likely her phone would be left by the perp, to avoid geo-tracking etc.

Looking for some additional info from LE...maybe there is a reason the police are not releasing more information.
Click to expand...
Welcome to Ws @HexBreaker, great suggestions!
 
  • #144
  • #145
Just mulling over possibilities...she could have been very drunk, then became disoriented and fell into the river. How close did she come to the water? Any evidence there?

Many years ago I was in Reno, staying at a private home...got very drunk at a casino and tried to find my way back at 4 am on foot...fell down in the street and lay there for a while, then miraculously found the house where I was staying. Nobody but me knew what had happened.
 
  • #146
  • #147
Unfortunately - given that they don’t believe foul play - I think we may not know her motive given her likely being intoxicated unless she left something to indicate suicide.

Being drunk - leaving my phone so I don’t accidentally drop it while go look at the water because it’s extra pretty with hazy eyes makes total sense
 
  • #148
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RIP

:(
 
  • #149
  • #150
Welcome to Websleuths,
HexBreaker !!​
 
  • #151
  • #152
I made some videos of the area around the La Crosse waterfront this afternoon. I was on my bicycle, and I don't make any promises about the video quality. I should also warn you that my bare feet (sandals) might make a cameo here and there..

(ETA: the audio is going to be bad too. There's no commentary or anything, so you might just want to watch on mute.)

The first video is one possible route from the bars to Front street, and going south of the Courtyard by Marriott. At 3:00 is the spot of Eliotte's last photo from the other night. The last couple minutes shows what it's like to access the waterfront from there during the day - basically it takes some effort. If I'm feeling brave, I'll go back again after dark.
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This one is a walk/ride through Riverside Park. I just wanted to show there are a bunch of places to really easily access the water.
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I also made a couple more that may not be very useful, but I'll include them anyway. This one shows what Front Street is like if you continue south a little after the hotel.
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And this one is the little "overlook" with a couple of benches, right near 500 Front Street. In my preview, it's not showing a thumbnail, but the link should still work.
- YouTube

I did this because I wanted to try to illustrate something I was saying earlier. There are a lot of places where it's really easy to accidentally fall in the water. You might notice at one point I'm deliberately standing a couple feet back from the edge, while in the park. There are also places where you can sit and look at the water if you want. (The park closes at 11pm, but I doubt that deters many people.) The way she was heading, south of the hotel, is not like that. Of course that doesn't prove anything.

I didn't do any voiceover or include any references to Eliotte in the videos, as I wanted to err on the side of being respectful. So there isn't any "this is where her last photo was taken" or "this is where she might have gone in the water." These videos are also unlisted, so you should only be able to access them by the direct links.
 
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  • #153
Dotta said:
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RIP

:(
Click to expand...
And they won't have all the information for a couple months, when the tox screen results come in.
 
  • #154
JoeFromLB said:
Just mulling over possibilities...she could have been very drunk, then became disoriented and fell into the river. How close did she come to the water? Any evidence there?

Many years ago I was in Reno, staying at a private home...got very drunk at a casino and tried to find my way back at 4 am on foot...fell down in the street and lay there for a while, then miraculously found the house where I was staying. Nobody but me knew what had happened.
Click to expand...
I just posted some videos of the area. My opinion is that the area south of the hotel, where she was heading, is not the kind of area you would veer toward the water or accidentally get close to it.
The first video in my post, starting about 4 minutes in, shows what the area is like.
 
  • #155
Pennyfeather said:
I just posted some videos of the area. My opinion is that the area south of the hotel, where she was heading, is not the kind of area you would veer toward the water or accidentally get close to it.
The first video in my post, starting about 4 minutes in, shows what the area is like.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much!

Oh, the mighty Mississippi River!

It reminds me of days gone by at school (in Europe) when we kids read about adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer.

Very appreciative of these videos.
But please,
don't go there in the dark!!!

Really,
these videos are more than enough.
Well done!

JMO
 
Last edited:
  • #156
Pennyfeather said:
I made some videos of the area around the La Crosse waterfront this afternoon. I was on my bicycle, and I don't make any promises about the video quality. I should also warn you that my bare feet (sandals) might make a cameo here and there..

(ETA: the audio is going to be bad too. There's no commentary or anything, so you might just want to watch on mute.)

The first video is one possible route from the bars to Front street, and going south of the Courtyard by Marriott. At 3:00 is the spot of Eliotte's last photo from the other night. The last couple minutes shows what it's like to access the waterfront from there during the day - basically it takes some effort. If I'm feeling brave, I'll go back again after dark.
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

This one is a walk/ride through Riverside Park. I just wanted to show there are a bunch of places to really easily access the water.
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

I also made a couple more that may not be very useful, but I'll include them anyway. This one shows what Front Street is like if you continue south a little after the hotel.
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

And this one is the little "overlook" with a couple of benches, right near 500 Front Street. In my preview, it's not showing a thumbnail, but the link should still work.
- YouTube

I did this because I wanted to try to illustrate something I was saying earlier. There are a lot of places where it's really easy to accidentally fall in the water. You might notice at one point I'm deliberately standing a couple feet back from the edge, while in the park. There are also places where you can sit and look at the water if you want. (The park closes at 11pm, but I doubt that deters many people.) The way she was heading, south of the hotel, is not like that. Of course that doesn't prove anything.

I didn't do any voiceover or include any references to Eliotte in the videos, as I wanted to err on the side of being respectful. So there isn't any "this is where her last photo was taken" or "this is where she might have gone in the water." These videos are also unlisted, so you should only be able to access them by the direct links.
Click to expand...
Thank you for taking the time and sharing with us.
 
  • #157
airportwoman said:
And they won't have all the information for a couple months, when the tox screen results come in.
Click to expand...
Whatever the cause - accidental or intentional. I’m ok with not knowing all the details. This is a very painful time for her family. Their statement indicates they are satisfied with the investigation and are not disputing the no foul play determination.

Likely because there is more video of Elliotte and LE has shown it to them. They also have details from the friend she walked with, the bar, and likely know what was done in the gap period we’ve been discussing.

Such a promising future, gone in a moment - a truly tragic loss.
 
  • #158
Dotta said:
Thank you very much!

Oh, the mighty Mississippi River!

It reminds me of days gone by at school (in Europe) when we kids read about adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer.

Very appreciative of these videos.
But please,
don't go there in the dark!!!

Really,
these videos are more than enough.
Well done!

JMO
Click to expand...
You reminded me of something I wanted to mention: if you get a good look at the water in any of those videos, it looks pretty calm. That's deceptive, as the water underneath moves faster. They say that's a factor with accidental drownings.
River currents also do weird things - there's one spot along the park where it tends to swirl around in a circle, and if the conditions are right in the winter it can create a perfect spinning circle of ice! So the mighty Mississippi indeed.

I also have to say I did go back after dark for one more video. But I promise you I didn't get close to the water at all, nor to any colorful nighttime people.
 
  • #159
Pennyfeather said:
I made some videos of the area around the La Crosse waterfront this afternoon...
(snipped)
Click to expand...
I did go back and take one more video at night. I wasn't in any danger, and stopped very short of the water. This is basically going from 500 Front St to the waterfront access south of the Marriott. On foot, you'd probably cut through the hotel parking lot, so I also included the POV from the parking lot at the end.

Visibility is a little better in real life than my phone camera shows. Actually right at the end I zoom in a little, and my phone camera starts picking up more light - that's a bit more like it looked to my eyes.

I promise I'll stop banging this drum. But I think this shows why I've been saying this isn't an inviting or easy place to get up close to the water. Doesn't mean someone would never do it, of course. MOO

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  • #160
I would be very interested to see how the water access is between the theatre and the hotel :

maps.app.goo.gl

500 Front St S · Building

500 Front St S, La Crosse, WI 54601
maps.app.goo.gl maps.app.goo.gl

1753504653555.webp
 
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