NEED TO KNOW
- Eliotte Heinz went missing early in the morning of July 20 while she was on her way home from a bar in Wisconsin
- The 22-year-old’s body was found in the Mississippi River three days later
- A cause of death for the grad student has now been determined
A cause of death has been released for graduate student Eliotte Heinz, who was found dead days after leaving a bar in Wisconsin.
Heinz, 22, was last seen walking southbound on the 500 Block of Front Street South — close to the Mississippi River — at approximately 3:22 a.m. local time on July 20, according to the La Crosse Police Department. Her body was found in the Mississippi River near Brownsville, Minn., on July 23.
The La Crosse County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of death as an accidental drowning, according to an autopsy report obtained by local media outlet WEAU. No evidence of trauma was found and the manner of death is accidental.
Toxicological results showed that Heinz tested positive for alcohol and negative for drugs. The 22-year-old student had a blood-alcohol level of 0.193 — more than twice the legal driving limit in Wisconsin.
PEOPLE has reached out to the La Crosse County Medical Examiner’s Office for comment.
Viterbo University/Facebook
Heinz studied at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wis. The student from Hortenville, Wis., was found dead near Brownsville in the Mississippi River, which is around 10 miles downstream from the university, WBAY reported.
According to Viterbo University, Heinz was at Bronco’s Bar in La Crosse about an hour before she was last seen and family members have said that she was heading home when she went missing, according to CBS affiliate WKBT.
Three days later, police announced that her body had been found.
“This was not the outcome we had hoped for throughout this search. Our thoughts are with Eliotte’s family, friends and all those who knew Eliotte,” police chief Shawn Kudron said in a statement at the time. “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.”
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In the wake of Eliotte’s death, her grieving family remembered as being somebody who “loved fiercely.”
“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,” her family said in a statement, according to ABC affiliate WISN. “We are devastated that she is no longer with us. Our family will forever have a missing piece.”
“Eliotte’s walk home is finished. Unfortunately, our family’s walk down this new hard path is just beginning,” the statement continued. “We love you, Eliotte.”
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