LA CROSSE, Wisc. – The recent news of Viterbo University graduate student Eliotte Heinz being found in the Mississippi River has left the La Crosse, Wisconsin, community heartbroken. She was remembered for her kind nature, prompting renewed calls for increased safety measures in the lively college area.
Heinz was last seen early Sunday as she was walking back home following an evening out at bars with friends. Her body was discovered four days later in the Mississippi River near Brownsville, Minnesota, by a fisherman.
Jonathan Strike, a resident of Heinz’s apartment building, shared with Fox News that although Heinz had only recently moved in a few months ago, her warmth and kindness were felt throughout the community.
“Very sweet, quiet girl,” Strike said. “[She] always said ‘Hi’ every time she walked by. Ever since she moved in, [she] always made an attempt to be as friendly as she can be, even with my dog jumping all over everybody. It’s just heartbreaking.”
Authorities were desperately searching for missing grad student Eliotte Heinz, 22, who was last seen early Sunday. She was found four days later in the Mississippi River. (Photos courtesy of Amber Heinz)
“I think it’s always worth having conversations about adequate public safety,” Weston said. “I don’t think it also takes the death of a young person to require a review of our safety protocols. Unfortunately, La Crosse has had a history of losing young folks in the river over the last 30 years. So, unfortunately, it’s not new, and it doesn’t make it any less tragic.”
The University of Wisconsin River Watch, a program started in 2006 to prevent alcohol-related accidental drownings, reported that eight college students drowned in the Mississippi River as a result of excessive drinking between 1997 and 2006.
Weston added that going forward, she thinks there will be an ongoing conversation about river safety in the downtown area.
“It won’t just be city police, it won’t just be the city council, it will also be leaders within the community that will weigh in,” she said.
