There is a longstanding pattern of young men going missing late at night after leaving a party or bar and having their bodies later turn up in a body of water. While there have been theories strutted around about some “smiley face killers” stalking Mid-Western college towns, I think there is a far more likely explanation. Young men, as a group, are not particularly modest and if the need to relieve themselves arises, a restroom isn’t necessary if some sort of concealment is available.
A body of water will generally be set below walkways and very often will surrounded by vegetation providing perfect cover for quick relief. Unfortunately, banks of such bodies of water are often steep and muddy and can be hazardous, particularly in the dark with icy conditions.
A slip into water under these conditions can be fatal because the shock of near freezing water can render someone immobile resulting in drowning.
Bodies that do not have much fat will sink at first. Eventually gases formed by decomposition will causes them to float to the surface but very cold conditions delay this process for months and ice would prevent a body from reaching the surface. At some point, the progression of decay will permit gases to escape the body so that it sinks again. As water temperature warms, aquatic life will begin consume the remaining flesh. Bones and clothing will remain years after the rest is gone but they will often be covered in sediment and not be visible.
I think this is the most likely explanation for the disappearance of Joshua although there is no evidence backing this up. Foul play, suicide, voluntarily leaving to start a new life, and, even alien abduction can not be ruled out 100%.
It is true that there have been accusations of sexual abuse on campus so there is some basis for speculation that Joshua’s vanishing is related to a coverup. The very fact that the Catholic Church has a history of treating the sexual abuse of children as little more than an embarrassment suggests that the consequences of a clergyman being implicated in the abuse of students over 17 (who would be adults) would be minimal and hardly warrant murder. Anything is possible, however.
A body of water will generally be set below walkways and very often will surrounded by vegetation providing perfect cover for quick relief. Unfortunately, banks of such bodies of water are often steep and muddy and can be hazardous, particularly in the dark with icy conditions.
A slip into water under these conditions can be fatal because the shock of near freezing water can render someone immobile resulting in drowning.
Bodies that do not have much fat will sink at first. Eventually gases formed by decomposition will causes them to float to the surface but very cold conditions delay this process for months and ice would prevent a body from reaching the surface. At some point, the progression of decay will permit gases to escape the body so that it sinks again. As water temperature warms, aquatic life will begin consume the remaining flesh. Bones and clothing will remain years after the rest is gone but they will often be covered in sediment and not be visible.
I think this is the most likely explanation for the disappearance of Joshua although there is no evidence backing this up. Foul play, suicide, voluntarily leaving to start a new life, and, even alien abduction can not be ruled out 100%.
It is true that there have been accusations of sexual abuse on campus so there is some basis for speculation that Joshua’s vanishing is related to a coverup. The very fact that the Catholic Church has a history of treating the sexual abuse of children as little more than an embarrassment suggests that the consequences of a clergyman being implicated in the abuse of students over 17 (who would be adults) would be minimal and hardly warrant murder. Anything is possible, however.
