Missing 22-year-old Wisconsin graduate student found dead in the Mississippi River
A 22-year-old graduate student who disappeared after leaving a bar early Sunday morning has been found dead in the Mississippi River, according to the La Crosse Police Department.
Eliotte Heinz, a graduate student at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin, was last seen on Sunday at approximately 3:22 a.m. near the Mississippi River, police said. According to her missing person poster, Heinz was allegedly seen leaving Bronco's Bar in La Crosse at approximately 2:30 a.m.
Heinz's body was found in the Mississippi River near Brownsville, Minnesota, on Wednesday, police said.
"This was not the outcome we had hoped for throughout this search. Our thoughts are with Eliotte's family, friends and all those who knew Eliotte. We are grateful for the outpouring of support from so many within the La Crosse community, the State of Wisconsin and nationally to locate Eliotte," police said in a statement on Wednesday.
Police said they are continuing to investigate and "will await the results of an autopsy for an official cause of death."
Heinz's family said they are "devastated" that Heinz is "no longer with us" and thanked officials and the local community for "showing up for Eliotte." They described their daughter as a "beautiful person" who was "loved fiercely by us."
"We don't know why we were so blessed to have her as a daughter or why we are unable to keep her. Eliotte's walk home is finished. Unfortunately, our family's walk down this new hard path is just the beginning," the family said in a statement on Wednesday.
Viterbo University said in a statement the community is "heartbroken by this loss" and extends "our deepest sympathies to her families and friends."
"There are no words that can ease the pain of losing someone so young, with so much life ahead of her. Our hearts go out to to Eliotte's family. We hold them in our prayers and stand with them in their grief," Viterbo University President Rick Trietley.
"The outpouring of supporting in the search efforts for Eliotte has been overwhelming, and we are deeply grateful for the kindness, prayers and encouragement from the community and beyond," the family said in a statement shared on the university's social media on Tuesday prior to the discovery of her body.
Viterbo will hold a memorial service for Heinz this fall, "in coordination with her family once students return to campus," the university said in a statement.
