The ones who got away

shadowraiths

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... personal accounts of people who were abducted or have odd memory lapses. Are these connected to the so-called "Smiley Face Gang"? There is no way to know at this point. However, a thread containing their stories seems appropriate.
 
Friday, Jan. 13, 2006 E-mail gone wild in the Coulee Region
Here's my story from Saturday's Tribune about the river e-mail.
FW: THIS HAPPENED HERE THIS WEEKEND IN LA CROSSE!
By REID MAGNEY
La Crosse Tribune

“I am still a little numb. We almost lost Cullen early Sunday morning.”

That’s how it started, with a concerned mother’s e-mail to two close friends on Tuesday, in which she tells the twisted tale of her son’s escape from death in the Mississippi River the previous weekend.

At least one of those friends forwarded the e-mail to three other people, one of whom forwarded it to eight more.

It’s impossible to say how many people have seen the e-mail, but it was forwarded 11 times in 24 hours before it reached a La Crosse Tribune editor at midday Wednesday.

And who knows how many people have seen it since the story hit local media Wednesday afternoon.

[...]

Exactly what happened last Saturday night remains unclear. La Crosse police interviewed the family on Thursday and Friday, and issued a brief statement Friday:

“Through the assistance of Mr. Fortney, investigators have been able to determine that he did fall into the Mississippi River but did not go under water. Mr. Fortney was able to get himself out of the river on his own and walked to the hospital. The investigation has shown no indications of criminal activity involving this case.”
Full article: click here
 
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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.
Full article: click here

Found by: cheko1
 
http://www.lacrossetribune.com/articles/2006/01/14/news/00lead.prt

Nick Thompson, 25, of Viroqua, an acquaintance of Fortney’s who police said is thought to have been at the same bar Saturday night, also is having trouble piecing together a similar time frame. Thompson turned up Sunday morning at the hospital as well, passed out in the lobby, police said. He told police he didn’t know how he got there and that his pickup truck, which he had parked in the Wettstein’s lot, was missing.



Police found the vehicle Thursday in the 900 block of King Street. Video footage of the parking lot showed a man entering the vehicle with keys about 3 a.m. Sunday and driving away, Police Capt. Rob Abraham said.



The footage isn’t sharp, but police believe the man who entered the vehicle was, in fact, Thompson, Abraham said. Thompson told police he doesn’t remember driving the truck, leaving it on King Street or how he ended up at the hospital.



Police initially believed the missing truck was connected with Fortney’s mysterious night, but now consider them separate cases, Abraham said.
 
Hi Everyone.. I don't remember where I saw this- but I think it was an interview on Greta (maybe)....

There was a story a young college man was telling about being chased through the woods and into a river. I think he had said that he felt like he had been drugged after being in a bar, and left. He was subsequently chased through the woods by people he did not know and he fell into the river. He didn't drown, obviously..... Does anyone else remember anything about this?
 
Hi Everyone.. I don't remember where I saw this- but I think it was an interview on Greta (maybe)....

There was a story a young college man was telling about being chased through the woods and into a river. I think he had said that he felt like he had been drugged after being in a bar, and left. He was subsequently chased through the woods by people he did not know and he fell into the river. He didn't drown, obviously..... Does anyone else remember anything about this?

I haven't heard of that one. I don't have cable to watch Greta, maybe someone will remember more.
 
Full article: click here

Found by: cheko1

The apartments that he talked about here really made me think of the Cedar Riverside Plaza

Which is very creepy...if you look at where those apartments are located on this map.

1. Carlson School of Management where Chris Jenkins went to school.
2. The riverside plaza
3. Where Chris Jenkin's body was found
4. The Lone Tree bar which is the bar he was last seen at.

Also notice where I-94 is located in this area.
 
hmmm....I just looked at the map that I posted above...you have to zoom way in to see what I'm talking about. Sorry :( I don't know how to make it so it's not like that.
 
I just re-heard the story I was thinking of on Greta's show last night, (Fri 5/17/08).

His name is Josh Snell, and unfortunately, he did not get away. In Eau Claire WI, he was at a wedding. Then at a bar after the wedding. He called someone after leaving the bar and said he was being chased through the woods, but was unsure who was chasing him. Josh ended up dead, found four days later. Police still ruled it an accidental drowning. :confused:
 
Me, I got away. I know this sounds crazy but it's true. I've spent many years coming to grips with what happened to me almost a decade ago, and I've been in touch with the detectives who started this theory to explain what happened to me and hopefully help someone else. I'll post my story to the best of my recollection here.

I was 23 years old, a few months out of college. I lived in Portland, OR. I was out with friends one night drinking. We went to a few different bars and were drinking until closing time. One of my friends and I sat outside the last bar for awhile and talked to some homeless people. A police officer came up and told us to leave. Somehow I got separated from my friend after that so I just started walking home on Burnside. A white van with windows pulled up and some guys started talking to me. I'm a friendly guy so we just chit chatted for a bit. Eventually one of the guys pointed to someone who was sitting in the backseat of this van and said "Our friend has a crush on you, you should get in the van." I refused and they changed the subject and just chatted for a little while longer. Then a couple minutes later the guy repeated "Our friend has a crush on you, you should get in the van." I said no, and by this time I was surrounded by 5 or 6 guys. The guys were young, around my age, early 20s I would guess. They grabbed me and tried to force me into the van. I started swinging and tried to deadweight myself so they couldn't get me in. I assume one of them hit me in the back of the head because the next thing I remember I was waking up on the ground and the van was pulling away. It left, I made it home, and that was the end. I really didn't think a lot about it for a long time afterwards until I was telling the story years later and realized exactly what had happened to me. I then discovered the Smiley Face/River Killings theory and realized that I was right by the Willamette River when this happened and thought it might be related. It still gives me the creeps and speaking about it publicly freaks me out, but I thought what happened to me might help people who are investigating the case.
 
Me, I got away. I know this sounds crazy but it's true. I've spent many years coming to grips with what happened to me almost a decade ago, and I've been in touch with the detectives who started this theory to explain what happened to me and hopefully help someone else. I'll post my story to the best of my recollection here.

I was 23 years old, a few months out of college. I lived in Portland, OR. I was out with friends one night drinking. We went to a few different bars and were drinking until closing time. One of my friends and I sat outside the last bar for awhile and talked to some homeless people. A police officer came up and told us to leave. Somehow I got separated from my friend after that so I just started walking home on Burnside. A white van with windows pulled up and some guys started talking to me. I'm a friendly guy so we just chit chatted for a bit. Eventually one of the guys pointed to someone who was sitting in the backseat of this van and said "Our friend has a crush on you, you should get in the van." I refused and they changed the subject and just chatted for a little while longer. Then a couple minutes later the guy repeated "Our friend has a crush on you, you should get in the van." I said no, and by this time I was surrounded by 5 or 6 guys. The guys were young, around my age, early 20s I would guess. They grabbed me and tried to force me into the van. I started swinging and tried to deadweight myself so they couldn't get me in. I assume one of them hit me in the back of the head because the next thing I remember I was waking up on the ground and the van was pulling away. It left, I made it home, and that was the end. I really didn't think a lot about it for a long time afterwards until I was telling the story years later and realized exactly what had happened to me. I then discovered the Smiley Face/River Killings theory and realized that I was right by the Willamette River when this happened and thought it might be related. It still gives me the creeps and speaking about it publicly freaks me out, but I thought what happened to me might help people who are investigating the case.

Scary. Welcome to WS. :)
 
Me, I got away. I know this sounds crazy but it's true. I've spent many years coming to grips with what happened to me almost a decade ago, and I've been in touch with the detectives who started this theory to explain what happened to me and hopefully help someone else. I'll post my story to the best of my recollection here.

I was 23 years old, a few months out of college. I lived in Portland, OR. I was out with friends one night drinking. We went to a few different bars and were drinking until closing time. One of my friends and I sat outside the last bar for awhile and talked to some homeless people. A police officer came up and told us to leave. Somehow I got separated from my friend after that so I just started walking home on Burnside. A white van with windows pulled up and some guys started talking to me. I'm a friendly guy so we just chit chatted for a bit. Eventually one of the guys pointed to someone who was sitting in the backseat of this van and said "Our friend has a crush on you, you should get in the van." I refused and they changed the subject and just chatted for a little while longer. Then a couple minutes later the guy repeated "Our friend has a crush on you, you should get in the van." I said no, and by this time I was surrounded by 5 or 6 guys. The guys were young, around my age, early 20s I would guess. They grabbed me and tried to force me into the van. I started swinging and tried to deadweight myself so they couldn't get me in. I assume one of them hit me in the back of the head because the next thing I remember I was waking up on the ground and the van was pulling away. It left, I made it home, and that was the end. I really didn't think a lot about it for a long time afterwards until I was telling the story years later and realized exactly what had happened to me. I then discovered the Smiley Face/River Killings theory and realized that I was right by the Willamette River when this happened and thought it might be related. It still gives me the creeps and speaking about it publicly freaks me out, but I thought what happened to me might help people who are investigating the case.

Wow

Very scary and so glad you got away. Thanks for sharing the story and it does sound eerily similar to other white van stories.

I do wonder if some of the attacks were organized and maybe whoever was doing it decided they would go around and do this sort of thing as their secret hobby. I hope that is not the case but since there were so many people in that van it sure seems like it could have been organized.

Does anyone remember a picture of 2 young kids tied up in the back of a Van and LE sent it to the media because someone had found the photo and didnt know who they were or what happened to them?

That case has haunted me to this day because the photo was 2 frightened kids with duct tape over their mouths and they were tied up in the back of a van. I don't know if LE ever found out who the kids even were or if they were ever found alive. I think it was a white van too.

Scary stuff
 
Wow

Very scary and so glad you got away. Thanks for sharing the story and it does sound eerily similar to other white van stories.

I do wonder if some of the attacks were organized and maybe whoever was doing it decided they would go around and do this sort of thing as their secret hobby. I hope that is not the case but since there were so many people in that van it sure seems like it could have been organized.

Does anyone remember a picture of 2 young kids tied up in the back of a Van and LE sent it to the media because someone had found the photo and didnt know who they were or what happened to them?

That case has haunted me to this day because the photo was 2 frightened kids with duct tape over their mouths and they were tied up in the back of a van. I don't know if LE ever found out who the kids even were or if they were ever found alive. I think it was a white van too.

Scary stuff

Yes, I remember seeing the boy and girl in the van. They were lying back against some pillows or bedding in the van and both with hands tied behind them... and both looking straight at the camera. I thought they had duct tape over their mouths, too (?) I think so... The girl was about 11-12 and the boy may have been about 8-10. I think LE said they did not think they looked like siblings. Yes, that was a long time ago but I still remember them and still wonder at times what happened to them. It's very sad but I have never heard that they were ever found. I would GUESS I saw that photo in the news in 1978 to 1982 or so... I'm glad Mosby10 is okay.
 
Yes, I remember seeing the boy and girl in the van. They were lying back against some pillows or bedding in the van and both with hands tied behind them... and both looking straight at the camera. I thought they had duct tape over their mouths, too (?) I think so... The girl was about 11-12 and the boy may have been about 8-10. I think LE said they did not think they looked like siblings. Yes, that was a long time ago but I still remember them and still wonder at times what happened to them. It's very sad but I have never heard that they were ever found. I would GUESS I saw that photo in the news in 1978 to 1982 or so... I'm glad Mosby10 is okay.

We have a discussion thread about this photo here:

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...Polaroid-Found-Jun-89&highlight=1989+Polaroid
 
I am from MN. We have had numerous cases of college students "drowning" in the rivers on their way home from parties and bars. Every year they are always looking for someone and they end up finding them in the river. I don't know if where these men went into the river was ever located, but I do recall a "smiley face" in the snow being at one or two of the river banks when they were found. It doesn't seem that law enforcement has given much thought of it being the actions of a serial killer(s). I have always wondered "why not"?
 
So, was it a gay bar? It seems to me, they thought you were gay, right? (If they were right with this assumption does not matter of course!)
 
Nope not a gay bar. Not sure why they assumed I was gay. I forgot to mention the kid in the back seat was just sitting there with a super sad look on his face.
 

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