LA CROSSE, Wis. – Authorities have determined that there was no foul play involved in the death of Eliotte Heinz, a 22-year-old graduate student, whose body was recovered Wednesday in the Mississippi River after she went missing over the weekend in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
The La Crosse Police Department announced Friday that preliminary autopsy findings indicate no criminal activity concerning Heinz’s death.
Heinz, a student at Viterbo University, disappeared early Sunday following an evening spent at bars with friends, as previously reported by Fox News Digital. Surveillance footage captured her walking along the Mississippi River waterfront around 3:30 a.m., heading toward her apartment, which was located less than a mile away.
Viterbo University graduate student Eliotte Heinz was found dead in the Mississippi River in Brownsville, Minn., Wednesday, July 23, 2025. (LB/Splash for Fox News Digital; Photo courtesy of Amber Heinz)
The University of Wisconsin River Watch, a program started in 2006 to prevent alcohol-related accidental drownings, reported that between 1997 and 2006, eight college students drowned in the Mississippi River as a result of excessive drinking.
Heinz’s family previously told Fox News Digital they are embarking on a path to healing.
Eliotte Heinz, 22, was found dead Wednesday, July 23, 2025. (Photos courtesy of Amber Heinz)
“Eliotte is a beautiful person,” the Heinz family wrote in a statement to Fox News Digital. “She was smart, funny, caring, and 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. She is amazing and would have continued to amaze us. We are devastated that she is no longer with us. Our family will forever have a missing piece.
“We cannot thank our family, friends, the La Crosse community, Viterbo University, or the La Crosse PD enough for showing up for Eliotte. They were an amazing light in an incredibly dark space. Eliotte’s walk home is finished. Unfortunately, our family’s walk down this new hard path is just beginning. We love you Eliotte.”
The La Crosse County Sheriff’s Office, Houston County Sheriff’s Office, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Vernon County Sheriff’s Office, La Crescent Police Department, Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigations, Fort McCoy Fire and Rescue, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, La Crosse Fire Department, La Crosse Dive and Rescue, Wisconsin DNR, Minnesota DNR, La Crosse County Medical Examiner Office, Southern Minnesota Regional Medical Examiner’s Office-Mayo Clinic and Viterbo University assisted in the investigation.
