The body of a missing graduate student from Wisconsin was discovered ten miles from her last known walking location.
Four days after going missing during a night out with her friends, 22-year-old Elliote Heinz was discovered in the Mississippi River on Wednesday.
Heinz was last seen on surveillance footage around 3 a.m. on Sunday, walking home from a downtown bar in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Heinz’s walk from the Bronco Bar to her apartment was supposed to take 30 minutes, but she never returned.
A fisherman discovered Heinz’s body in the Mississippi River near Brownsville, Minnesota, around 10:15 a.m. on Wednesday, according to police.
Less than 15 minutes later, Minnesota police called the La Crosse Police Department to inform them that a body had been discovered.
“This was not the outcome we had hoped for throughout the search,” La Crosse Police Chief Shawn Kudron stated in a press release.
“Our thoughts are with Eliotte’s family, friends and all those who knew Eliotte.”
The cause of death for Heinz has not been determined, and an autopsy is pending.
The Houston County Sheriff’s Department discovered her body, which is located across the Mississippi River from La Crosse, and notified the LCPD.
Her body was discovered just south of the Lawrence Lake Marina in Brownsville, more than ten miles away and seven miles downstream from the hotel where Heinz was last seen.
Heinz was a graduate student in Viterbo University’s mental health counseling program.
The tragic discovery comes after Heinz’s mother, Amber Heinz, stated that her friends found her phone while searching for the student.
Heinz appeared to be on her phone when she was captured on camera walking home from the bar that night.
The video was captured by a camera outside the Courtyard Marriott.
Police shared a photo of Heinz walking along the waterfront at 3:22 a.m. on Sunday, dressed in a white shirt and jean shorts.
The La Crosse Police Department’s statement
The La Crosse Police Department in La Crosse, Wisconsin, issued the following statement after Eliotte Heinz’s body was discovered on Wednesday:
It is with sadness that we report that at approximately 10:28am on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2025, the Houston County Sheriff’s Department notified the La Crosse Police Department that a body had been discovered.
In what has been an ongoing proactive effort to locate Eliotte Heinz, who was reported missing on July 20th, 2025, Eliotte’s body was discovered today in the Mississippi River near Brownsville, Minnesota. La Crosse Police are continuing their investigation and will await the results of an autopsy to determine the official cause of death. The entire department sends its condolences.
“This was not the outcome we had hoped for during our search. Our thoughts are with Eliotte’s family, friends, and everyone who knew her. “We are grateful for the outpouring of support from so many within the La Crosse community, the state of Wisconsin, and nationally in locating Eliotte,” said La Crosse Police Chief Shawn Kudron.
She left Bronco’s Bar around 2:30 a.m., when it closed.
It’s unclear where she went for the 50 minutes between leaving the bar and being captured on security video at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel.
When Heinz’s family was unable to contact her on Sunday, they realized something was wrong.
“We tried to call her on Sunday morning but were unable to reach her,” her mother told Fox News Digital.
“We talk all the time.” We spoke to her that week.
“We were texting back and forth, but on Sunday morning when we couldn’t get a hold of her, we knew that something was going on.”
Heinz’s family has yet to release a statement regarding her death.
