WI WI - James Liedtka, 28, Veteran & UW-Stout student, Eau Claire, 4 Nov 2018

[Jbrown324320]

wow. great info. please contact someone about this info- the local or state police or the investigator for the smiley face killings (see Oxygen's website).

I have a list of 311 suspicious deaths of college aged men found in water. This is the only veteran I know of. Most victims are white. The most victims are from Wisconsin.

Do you know if this suspicious person is a part of any online groups?

 

[Jbrown324320]

maybe he is learning methods from someone

 

[sasha17]

UPDATE: Eau Claire Police continue to investigate missing man

 

[doodles1211]

wow. good idea to stay away from him, but you may have very good information for several murder cases. Look at this comment in the websleuths thread "Deaths of College Male Students / The River Killer"

mykel_ls said...

I came across an article on this subject and it made my hair stand up. When I got out of the Military in 2000-2001, I was in Minneapolis,Mn. and had been partying with people at a night club, then we went back to a hotel. I remember accidentally locking myself out of the room and ending up on the street in front of the hotel. I had been drinking and I was a little drunk. I remember a van pulling up beside me, then side door opened...then everything went black. I woke up on a matress, in the back of the van, hands bound...covered with a piece of plywood. I was able to get out and make my way back to downtown Minneapolis and to the hotel. The van was at some tall projects with, I think, blue and red panels...close to a rail road track. I thought I would mention this because I read a few articles on this where they thought these victims may have been abducted with a van.

I am from MN. I remember when the info came out about the van. I started looking for van's all over. Never went near one near the bars in Mpls. It was super creepy!

 

[crhedBngr]

I used to live in EC and it's like all missing drunk dudes end up in the river. Terrifying

Visited student friends there many times - Water Street is no place to drink heavily ever! Bars are very close to the water.

 

[kelsie]

Visited student friends there many times - Water Street is no place to drink heavily ever! Bars are very close to the water.

Same with Barstow, though, which was the street I lived on and frequently drank on. A friend of a friend nearly ended up in the water one night because he ran away from us out of the bar and the water is NOT far... at all. And again, no fencing to separate. There's a bar called Scooter's, and right behind it is the parking lot, and literal feet from the parking lot is the river. I sat drunk near it myself a few times and I'm lucky.

 

[cybervampira]

Volunteers search for 28-year-old missing veteran James Liedtka

Months after a local veteran disappeared, family and friends of 28-year-old James Liedtka are still searching for answers.

On Saturday, volunteers spent hours handing out fliers and searching for any signs of James. Family, friends and strangers hit the sidewalks searching for clues of James. "I don't know James but I want his family to have some closure on this, hopefully we find him,” said volunteer, Ross Auna.

[...]

 

[Darling136]

Body found in Chippewa River

Named as possible id

 

[FrostOwl]

who is killing these young men? I have 311 victims who went missing from bars or parties and have ended up in water. new one from texas Family members mourn death of missing man Martin Gutierrez on social media

Have you counted how many "almost-drownings" there have happened to drunk young men (when someone falls in the water but are saved by passers-by or by rescue services)? That drunk young (and not so young) men end up in the water is also happening here in Sweden, and I did a google search for "drunk man in the water", and found several cases where the person was saved. As most of these disappearances happens during the nigth, there is less of a chance that there are someone there to notice and call for help, so they end up missing. (I work at an ER department and it's where those who are lucky ends up, wet and cold, in the middle of the night/early morning.)

 

[Dre]

This is a phenomena that happens globally- where there is alcohol and water, you’re going to find drowned men. (Blackout drunk + overconfidence/adventurous) It sucks a lot and it’s almost easier to think that it’s serial killers working together than these strong charismatic humans dying due to intoxication and bad decisions. With that said, I’m sure a small percentage ARE foul play, and I do agree each case needs to be checked carefully and individually, to rule out foul play so quickly is offensive and absurd.

 

[kelsie]

Body found in Chippewa River

Named as possible id

It was Williamefipanio Hessel, only 17. RIP

 

[StarEyes]

Marissa just dropped an episode on James in her “The Vanished” podcast.

To listen via Apple iTunes:
‎The Vanished Podcast on Apple Podcasts

To listen to it via her website:
Episodes — The Vanished Podcast

 

[kelsie]

So I just listened to the podcast and this is what I learned:

James and his sister, Kristen, lived together with a woman named Mai (spelling?). James invited Mai to live with him and Kristen at Kristen's house after he met her at a bar and she told him she would be homeless soon if she didn't figure something out. He's a kind soul and offered her a room at their house for cheap.

His best friend, Cody, says in the podcast that James didn't talk about Mai much. His aunt, Valerie, says that her brother (James' dad) said Mai could be "overbearing" and "text James a lot" so his dad didn't initially worry when Mai called him saying James was missing on Sunday morning (they had gone out Saturday night).

James and Kristen both were not interested in going out for this birthday party on 11/3/2018. Mai, however, convinced James to come out with her and her friends. He was last seen alone outside of the bar The Pickle after a bouncer denied him entry on the basis of him being "too intoxicated". Cody says that James does not have a history of getting way too drunk/"blackout" drunk - usually just happy and giggly drunk. He did say that James is not one to avoid confrontation though - if he is angry, he will stand up for himself/others. Cody says that, to him, as James' best friend since the 3rd grade, James looks pissed/stressed in the last known CCTV footage of him.

During the week after James disappearance, his sister Kristen asked Mai via text a few questions about Saturday night. Mai responded with, "Talk to the police." NICE. I mean, this is her roommate for Gods' sake and James is MISSING and she won't even answer a few simple questions? Very sketchy. After the disappearance, Mai also suddenly moved out of the house they all lived in together without telling Kristen, so Kristen changed the locks, and Mai apparently got angry about this.

How odd that Mai was so quick to call James' dad on Sunday but refused to answer any of Kristen's questions about how the night went.

James' aunt, Valerie, thinks a River Watch volunteer task force would be a good idea. La Crosse has one - Welcome – RiverWatch | UW-La Crosse

I just moved back to the Eau Claire area and messaged her offering any assistance because this case bothers me so much. I think, at the very least, the roommate knows more than she's saying. :/ And, again, the bouncers at the Pickle are usually sucky. I've seen them turn down entry for people based on race/gender factors before and blame it on their level of intoxication. They let pretty girls in and sometimes deny dudes simply for being dudes. Depends who's working. I haven't been to that bar since I was like 22, so 2 years or so, but it was the worst.

 

[Sillybilly]

ADMIN NOTE:

Folks, this thread is dedicated to discussion of James' case.

We understand that members are passionate about the case, but please forego the long personal anecdotes, extensive details that relate to other cases, curb the profanity, and stay on topic.

A link to The Rules is contained in my signature. Please review them and post accordingly.

Thanks.

 

[kelsie]

I have directed James' aunt Valerie to the Websleuths thread and hopefully she joins and chats with us!

 

[Erikaaaleigh]

It was Williamefipanio Hessel, only 17. RIP

So, it wasn't James? I've been wondering

 

[kelsie]

So, it wasn't James? I've been wondering

Nope, James has yet to be found. His family is currently trying to get someone to do a drone search of the Chippewa River. His aunt relocated to Eau Claire to search for James. She changed her whole life to try and find him. The woman is very dedicated! Props to her.

 

[kelsie]

Two important things to note regarding any inferences being made from the "last known picture" on James' missing person poster:

1) The shadowy figure behind James in his last known picture is nothing of concern and can be disregarded as a factor in this search.
2)The last known picture taken from the security camera was taken BEFORE James was denied entry to The Pickle.

wow tysm i didn't even know #2

 

[namstache]

I hadn't realized that either before meeting with them and visiting the area. The number of security cameras attached to The Pickle was astounding! He was last seen on camera walking alone behind The Pickle at 1:13AM but the photograph which has been released by the police department shows him walking in a crosswalk which is going TOWARD The Pickle. I believe knowing this definitely changes up the way his demeanor is perceived in that photograph.

 

[bbbd4u]

What is the name of your nonprofit? I would love to do networking with you as I am also from WI!

I run a nonprofit in Wisconsin that works with cold cases of missing persons and also volunteer with Wisconsin Missing Persons Advocacy. I recently met with several members of James' family and had the chance to personally review the area where he went missing.

Two important things to note regarding any inferences being made from the "last known picture" on James' missing person poster:

1) The shadowy figure behind James in his last known picture is nothing of concern and can be disregarded as a factor in this search.
2)The last known picture taken from the security camera was taken BEFORE James was denied entry to The Pickle.