Police Make Ruling on Foul Play in Death of College Student Eliotte Heinz
Police issued another update Friday in the death of college student Eliotte Heinz, 22, whose body was found in the Mississippi River Wednesday after she went missing last weekend.
The La Crosse Police Department announced in a press release yesterday that based on preliminary autopsy results, they do not believe there was any foul play involved in Heinz's death. The investigation remains ongoing.
"The La Crosse Police Department continues to follow-up on information surrounding the death of Eliotte Heinz," the press release reads. "Based on the preliminary autopsy results, we do not believe there was any criminal conduct related to Eliotte's death. Final autopsy results will not be completed for several months."
Heinz, a native of Hortonville, Wisconsin, was studying as a graduate student at Viterbo University in La Crosse when she disappeared early Sunday following a night out with friends.
Heinz spent the evening at a bar, Bronco's, with friends, before heading home. She was last seen on surveillance video walking near the Mississippi River, and her cellphone was reportedly later recovered outside of a Courtyard Marriott Hotel, according to the Daily Mail.
La Crosse police photo release.
On Wednesday, authorities recovered Heinz's body in the Mississippi River near Brownsville, Minnesota.
“This was not the outcome we had hoped for throughout this search,” La Crosse Police Chief Shawn Kudron said in a statement at the time.
"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."
Heinz's family issued a statement of their own, calling the young woman a "a beautiful person" who 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,' the statement added. "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."