Found Deceased PA - Dakota James, 23, Pittsburgh, 25 Jan 2017 #2

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Family members offer reward for missing North Side man

February 2, 2017

The family of a missing North Side man is offering a $10,000 reward to locate him.

Dakota James, 23, was last seen Jan. 25. Surveillance video from 11:49 p.m. that night shows James at the Wood Street T Station. The video shows James and a co-worker, who got into an Uber. The video then shows James alone in front of the T Station, but it does not show where he went next.

[...]

He is 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs 145 pounds. Both of his ears are pierced with an extra earring on the upper part of his right ear lobe. He also has a triangle tattoo on the inside of one ankle. It is uncertain which ankle is tattooed.

He was last seen wearing jeans, an olive-green hooded sweatshirt and tan moccasins.



Body Found in Ohio River Identified as Missing Graduate Student Dakota James


March 6, 2017

A body found Monday in the Ohio River, has been identified as missing Duquesne University graduate student Dakota James.

[...]

The cause and manner of death have not been released, and an autopsy is scheduled for this week.


Thread #1
 
On first thread, people were very much pushing the "he was peeing in the river while drunk, fell in and drowned/froze to death" narrative. Just wanted to say that I spoke to my boyfriend and another gay friend -- none of us would ever be caught peeing in a river while drunk. Not trying to shoot down any theories with anecdotal evidence from my personal life or trying to say a drunk gay man would behave differently than a drunk straight man, but the theory seems so dependent on something I've never seen or done (and I've frequented NYC all my life). As soon as I was discussing the case with my boyfriend and my friend, the first thing my boyfriend said was "no gay man is going to pee in the river!" with agreement from my friend. Anecdotal but thought I would just throw it out there :sothere::sothere::sothere:.
 
On first thread, people were very much pushing the "he was peeing in the river while drunk, fell in and drowned/froze to death" narrative. Just wanted to say that I spoke to my boyfriend and another gay friend -- none of us would ever be caught peeing in a river while drunk. Not trying to shoot down any theories with anecdotal evidence from my personal life or trying to say a drunk gay man would behave differently than a drunk straight man, but the theory seems so dependent on something I've never seen or done (and I've frequented NYC all my life). As soon as I was discussing the case with my boyfriend and my friend, the first thing my boyfriend said was "no gay man is going to pee in the river!" with agreement from my friend. Anecdotal but thought I would just throw it out there :sothere::sothere::sothere:.

I completely agree! I've read this over and over with many of these similar cases I've been following for years, that these young men may have gone down to the river to pee. This is absurd! I've asked pretty much every guy I know if they would go down to a river to pee and they all said no. It's nonsense.
 
On first thread, people were very much pushing the "he was peeing in the river while drunk, fell in and drowned/froze to death" narrative. Just wanted to say that I spoke to my boyfriend and another gay friend -- none of us would ever be caught peeing in a river while drunk. Not trying to shoot down any theories with anecdotal evidence from my personal life or trying to say a drunk gay man would behave differently than a drunk straight man, but the theory seems so dependent on something I've never seen or done (and I've frequented NYC all my life). As soon as I was discussing the case with my boyfriend and my friend, the first thing my boyfriend said was "no gay man is going to pee in the river!" with agreement from my friend. Anecdotal but thought I would just throw it out there :sothere::sothere::sothere:.

Should we extrapolate from this theory that all gay men behave the same?
 
Should we extrapolate from this theory that all gay men behave the same?

Did I not stress enough for you "not trying to shoot down any theories with anecdotal evidence from my personal life"?

Just pointing out that I have never seen or heard of someone peeing in a river especially in the gay community whom I spend most of my time around.
 
I have my doubts about the peeing in the river theory... Come on now a man can sneak and go in many places. Why walk all the way down in the dark to go in the river. Drunk or not. I think a drunk would be more apt to just go in the nearest spot. I don't know what he was doing down there but I don't think it was peeing...


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I don't think it's a Serial Killer though

Think about what kind of satisfaction a serial killer would get- there is no real suffering to watch, no cutting and staying with the body, no trophies to keep. Just a disappearing body into water, maybe a few splashes, then puff-gone. No news coverage really to speak of and savor. I've never heard of that being the m.o. for a serial killer, but there's always a first.


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Not if they are the lonely weirdo Dahmer type who initially kidnaps the men, incapacitates them to some level to make them less likely to try escaping & literally holding them at their place with them for a period of time as "company". Eventually the kidnapper either tires of them & kills them or the victim ends up dying there & then the body needs disposed of. The difference in this case versus Dahmer is the kidnapper doesn't have a penchant for the taste of human flesh &/or doing experiments on their victim. If there is a serial kidnapper/killer in Pittsburgh, he could be exclusively scoping out young vulnerable men who appear easy to overtake when these young men are both alone & in an area of relative seclusion & either quickly snatching them up against their will or baiting them into his car. Then he takes them to his preferred place & holds them there for a short length of time in order to use them as a sex Slave &/or for "company". This person, if they exist, HAS to know a great deal about forensics & criminal justice & is smart about what he does, when he does it, & how he does it. He tires of a victim within a month or two & knows he is going to have to get rid of them (without them surviving to rat him out) & I don't think he is doing it because he enjoys the killing aspect of it but more so that he has to kill them to be able to continue on to another day & another victim. Drugging them by using a combo of drugs that would either a) not show up in a tox screen or b) would not cause red flags if they were discovered & while the victim is incapacitated, he places them into the river, in a secluded spot, where he could hold them underwater long enough for them to do all the drowning by themselves & then releasing the dead body to river.... No marks on the body to be found; looks exactly like an accidental death. Combine this with the fact that (no offense) the local police don't seem to be the brightest crayons in the crayon box & are quick to jump to the easiest conclusion possible whenever a body is found instead of implying more common sense. That's why he hasn't been caught & he always sticks with the same MO; because it a) works & b) it fulfills his sick fantasies. I only mention all of this to point out that there IS the possibility for something nefarious behind these disappearances and potential ways it could be happening... After all, I've always felt strongly in my belief that it is near impossible for any healthy grown man, with no known major health conditions, & who is fairly well educated to "accidentally" enter the river & keep walking far enough out to submerge & drown; all without knowing it because of his impairment at the time. The majority of shoreline of the rivers -where the water meets land- goes into a gradual downward slope coming from dry land & walking farther out into the river. This means that unless all of these men are so unlucky that they are all having an inopportune accidental fall into the river where it's cut out much deeper at the shore -such as a marina or dock- & are not able to swim or float a short distance away to the area where the nature gradual slope resumes, which I find hard to believe. Maybe if the water is frigid & they tense up immediately &/or the currents were very strong I guess it's possible, but not all of these cases have occurred during a time of the year where the water would be so cold &/or the currents were strong on the particular day.

Also: They get more than their fix of media coverage when these men go missing...
 
I haven't really followed this thread but read some on here, has Dakota's cause of death been determined yet?
 
This also isn't the first case where a young man has gone out with friends drinking and gone missing, only to be found in a river. Wonder what on earth is going on with that?
 
This is interesting too even though it's an old article from 2006
(quote)
She and fellow student Jessica Clave wondered whether Welzien and Leadley's deaths fit a pattern. So they looked at more than twenty cases, all midwest college students last seen drinking at parties or bars, who all vanished and turned up drowned. Among them: Ryan Getz, Keith Noble, Eric Blair, Chris Jenkins, Michael Noll, Josh Guimond, Chad Sharon, Jared Dion, Scot Radel and Brian Shaffer.

The deaths, all clustered along Interstate 94 from Minnesota to Ohio.
http://marksuppelsa.typepad.com/closerlook/2006/05/missing_drowned.html
 
And i remember this young man's case too which only happened in 2015. Lots of other similar cases on this site too:
January 3, 2015

Karen Montgomery, the mother of Shane Montgomery -- a West Chester University of Pennsylvania student who disappeared on Thanksgiving 2014 -- stood near the bank of the Schuylkill River and spoke with reporters on January 3rd: "Today we have done what we promised. We found and brought Shane home."
http://www.vanceholmes.com/court/trial_missing.html
 
Just wondering why DJ may have gone down steps to river walk (agree not to pee) ... there is an "abandoned" pontoon boat that has been tied up between 6th and 7th street bridges for months. Could this have been a meeting place for a hook up gone bad?
 
I can't imagine trying to hook up on a rickety old pontoon boat rather than a quickie in a car in a parking garage or something. Just my opinion.
 
People keep bringing up "all the young men" or the "gay men" who have disappeared and have been found in the river. Can someone please list facts and actual cases? I am not seeing the connection. I know someone listed some but, I think most of them can be dismissed as not related to any of the others. For Example Andre Grey was shot then put in the river. I have said it before I think they end up in the river because the rivers are there.

When people are saying the police dropped the ball or missed opportunities. Explain what you mean? What didn't they do that should have been done? I am not being snarky I really want to know.

Also just because we do not understand or cannot imagine why someone would go down to the rivers edge to go to the bathroom or for any other reason does not mean HE wouldn't or didn't. Just because we cannot understand or fathom it doesn't mean that he was murdered. I am not saying he wasn't . I am not honestly sure what I think happened to DJ. I only hope that his parents find some answers and are able to move forward in some way.
 
People keep bringing up "all the young men" or the "gay men" who have disappeared and have been found in the river. Can someone please list facts and actual cases? I am not seeing the connection. I know someone listed some but, I think most of them can be dismissed as not related to any of the others. For Example Andre Grey was shot then put in the river. I have said it before I think they end up in the river because the rivers are there.

When people are saying the police dropped the ball or missed opportunities. Explain what you mean? What didn't they do that should have been done? I am not being snarky I really want to know.

Also just because we do not understand or cannot imagine why someone would go down to the rivers edge to go to the bathroom or for any other reason does not mean HE wouldn't or didn't. Just because we cannot understand or fathom it doesn't mean that he was murdered. I am not saying he wasn't . I am not honestly sure what I think happened to DJ. I only hope that his parents find some answers and are able to move forward in some way.

Here's a list that I believe share many similarites to Dakota. Probably others, but I researched these.

1. Paul Kochu
2. Jimmy Slack
3. Ron Yancoskie
4. Jacob Lipp

Also Joey labute from Columbus OH shares many similarites.
 
Also just because we do not understand or cannot imagine why someone would go down to the rivers edge to go to the bathroom or for any other reason does not mean HE wouldn't or didn't. Just because we cannot understand or fathom it doesn't mean that he was murdered. I am not saying he wasn't . I am not honestly sure what I think happened to DJ. I only hope that his parents find some answers and are able to move forward in some way.

Just to clarify, not trying to insinuate that DJ or any other similar deaths were homocides. I find it likely that there's some kind of recurring death scheme in which case some repeated behavior is causing accidental drownings.

Regarding your point with trying to put ourselves in DJ's shoes, I think it's extremely logical to rule out or question certain behaviors by noting it would not be something I would do. If we assume DJ is a "normal" person with predictable behaviors, even while inebriated, considering behaviors that are typical/normal and questioning those that are not are useful in determining what may or may not have happened.
 
People keep bringing up "all the young men" or the "gay men" who have disappeared and have been found in the river. Can someone please list facts and actual cases? I am not seeing the connection. I know someone listed some but, I think most of them can be dismissed as not related to any of the others. For Example Andre Grey was shot then put in the river. I have said it before I think they end up in the river because the rivers are there.

When people are saying the police dropped the ball or missed opportunities. Explain what you mean? What didn't they do that should have been done? I am not being snarky I really want to know.

Also just because we do not understand or cannot imagine why someone would go down to the rivers edge to go to the bathroom or for any other reason does not mean HE wouldn't or didn't. Just because we cannot understand or fathom it doesn't mean that he was murdered. I am not saying he wasn't . I am not honestly sure what I think happened to DJ. I only hope that his parents find some answers and are able to move forward in some way.


Jacob Lipp 27 -missing 12/16/2012
5'6" 160
found in river 12/12/2014 (night of drinking separation)

Jimmy Slack, 25 -missing 12/06/2011
5'10" 165
found in river 01/23/2012 (night of drinking separation)

Paul Kochu, 22 -missing 12/16/2014
6'01" 180
found in river 03/20/2015 (night of drinking and emotional/separation)

Ron Yancoskie, 35 -missing 05/27/2015 (day drinking after a baseball game)
5'11"
found next day railroad tracks station square, blunt force trauma and bruising to trunk but ruled accident.


I'm not saying these all couldn't just be terrible accidents while drunk but something says don't leave anyone alone drunk in the city of Pittsburgh.

I have not said PPD dropped the ball myself, but I do think the camera situation is still not fixed and something should be done. A lot of questions on this case could have possibly been answered. They were to be fixed September 2016. Other cameras belonging to other businesses should now learn to make sure they are in working order and not delete over footage just in case. (Just hopeful thinking)

On the co-worker that was with DJ that night I have read, not only did she not remember much she also just moved here from out of state. Can you imagine just moving here and going out on night with a co-worker and this happening? Plus you know if she put her face out there she would more than likely get death threats.


Also, in my honest opinion any bar not cooperating with this case or didn't want to should be held accountable and called out. People shouldn't give them any business if there was such a place or places. IMHO
 
I wonder if the women who was walking her dog and found Dakota will claim reward money...


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