Authorities are searching for 22-year-old graduate student Eliotte Heinz, who vanished early Sunday morning in La Crosse, Wisconsin, after being last seen walking near the waterfront around 3:30 a.m. The Heinz family has urged the public to share her information on social media and review security camera footage from the area between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Sunday. The incident has drawn comparisons to the 2019 kidnapping and murder of University of South Carolina student Samantha Josephson by a rideshare driver posing as a Uber driver.
The La Crosse Police Department has confirmed that multiple search efforts have been launched, with investigators following up on all leads and information provided by the public. Eliotte Heinz, described as 5-foot-4 with blonde hair and blue eyes, was last seen wearing a white T-shirt and jean shorts. The family has also requested donations to the Viterbo University School of Nursing, though it is unclear if Heinz was a nursing student. The case has sparked renewed interest in campus safety and the potential dangers of rideshare services, raising concerns about the need for better security measures and public awareness.
Meanwhile, the police department has declined to comment further, citing the ongoing investigation. Families and friends of Heinz are continuing to appeal for assistance in the search, emphasizing the importance of community support in such cases. The incident comes six years after University of South Carolina student Samantha Josephson, 21, was kidnapped and murdered by Nathaniel Rowland, who was posing as a rideshare driver, on March 29, 2019.
On the way home from the college town’s Five Points bar scene, in the early morning hours, Josephson mistook Rowland’s car for an Uber and was abducted. During a police search for Josephson, an eerily similar sidewalk photo to Heinz’s was distributed by local authorities. Josephson was stabbed more than 100 times, and her body was later found in a wooded area more than an hour from her pickup location.
Anyone with information about Heinz’s whereabouts is asked to call the police non-emergency number at 608-782-7575. Information can also be sent anonymously to La Crosse Area Crime Stoppers at 608-784-TIPS or submitted online at https://www.p3tips.com/459. The La Crosse Police Department declined Fox News Digital’s request for comment, citing the active investigation.