Posted on 10/03/2006 6:33:14 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
The discovery of student athlete Luke Homan's body Monday in the Mississippi River left a legion of his family, friends, coaches and even former competitors in disbelief that he had met the same mysterious fate as seven other young males in recent years.
"No one knows what to do," teammate Scot Effenheim said Monday. "No one can come to realize what is happening here and what has happened. And, like I said, everybody just doesn't believe in it and doesn't believe what people are trying to say happened here. It's just a state of shock."
Homan, a 21-year-old former Brookfield Central basketball star, was the eighth young man since 1997 found dead in the Mississippi River in the La Crosse area. He disappeared Saturday morning after celebrating the city's annual Oktoberfest and was last seen at a downtown La Crosse club, The Vibe.
Mayor Mark Johnsrud said the death was another reminder that the city and campus had not yet come to grips with dangerous drinking that appears to be at the heart of each of the deaths and the problem of bar patrons wandering off alone.
Homan's blood-alcohol content has not been released, but authorities said he was seen at several bars Friday night.
"Certainly, that is something that I think needs to be the focal point of this whole issue," he said. "People need to look out for one another to make sure that these things don't happen in the future."
Rumors circulate
As was the case two years ago after the death of UW-La Crosse student Jared Dion, who drowned in the river, rumors of foul play in Homan's death are circulating.
Effenheim said he has heard it might have been rowdy at the bar and said he never knew his friend to leave a group.
"None of it makes any sense. There are so many different scenarios that people have said," Effenheim said. "There's a four-hour time span where none of our friends, none of his friends, nobody, knows where he was."
La Crosse police Capt. Robert Abraham said the department has not ruled out foul play, but said there was no apparent bar altercation involving Homan.
Roommate Joe Webb helped search for Homan and said he has struggled to deal with the death. Funeral arrangements are pending, but the campus held a memorial service Monday evening.
"I was in disbelief. I can't even describe the feeling," Webb said. "Hollow. I don't know. Numb."
Webb still talks about Homan in the present tense and said he will remember Homan's friendly personality and late-night movies with his roommates.
"It was close. I loved it. It made me feel at home, having Luke around," Webb said. "If you only get to meet him for a week or two, he'll make you feel like he's a longtime friend. That's the kind of guy Luke is."
"He was a very social person, very nice to everybody," said roommate and teammate Chris Fehrenbach. "Never mean to anybody."
UW athletes joined search
University of Wisconsin-Madison football players Joe Thomas, Ben Strickland and Steve Johnson, all former Brookfield Central students, helped in the search, along with Brookfield Central High School Athletic Director Scott Nelsen. Former high school athletes who competed against Central also turned up for the search.
"It was a pretty intense time, I think, for everybody that was up there," Nelsen said. "Not believing that anything like this could happen to anybody, much less a great kid like Luke."
Before he transferred to UW-La Crosse this past fall, Homan walked on the UW-Milwaukee basketball team for two seasons. Homan played in all 28 games for the La Crosse Eagles this past season and helped deliver the school's first 20-victory season in more than two decades.
Men's basketball Coach Ken Koelbl said he met with his team after investigators recovered Homan's body.
"Obviously, this is a tough situation that we're in, and I just wanted the players to know that we needed to lean on one another as we move forward with the healing process," Koelbl said.
The 6-foot, 3-inch shooting guard was the only child of Patti and Jerry Homan. His Brookfield Central basketball team went to state two of the three years he played varsity ball, and Homan set a school record for three-point shots, with 165, and made 16 free throws in one game.
Homan's aunt, Kathy Hillus, said her nephew will be remembered for his bright mind and great sense of humor.
"He was a remarkable young man. He was an honor student. He was a gentle soul," Hillus said. "You can't say enough wonderful things about this young man. He was a leader. . . . We will obviously dearly, dearly miss him."
Johnsrud said that since Dion's death, La Crosse officials have tried to crack down on drinking in the city. He said officials have created an Alcohol Task Force, added an additional police shift, required keg registration and increased fines for bartenders who drink while serving patrons.
Johnsrud said he hopes to form stronger partnerships with the university community to deal with the matter.
"We are continually working on this issue," he said. "But, again, it needs to be community-wide effort if we're going to have success on this issue."
I'd be looking for a serial killer. I mean, are the cops waiting for the movie to come out, or what? Yeesh!
We're going on a DECADE now of drunk young men mysteriously "falling" into the Mississippi River!
"I'd be looking for a serial killer"
As would I. They've still never figured out the reasons for the numbers of missing young women in Missouri. That situation spans DECADES!
Bingo...
These people don't want to accept reality. They think it's a serial killer or some evil curse.
I'm willing to bet most of these occurred when drunk college kids have to take a leak, stand on the rivers edge to go, get swept in, and drown...
Can't see the obvious (sigh)...
That's a possibility. But the fact that authorities have indicated there may have been foul play begs the question of a perpetrator and possible serial killer.
Gotta disagree with ya on this one, Buddy. I think there is serious malfeasance going on here. Granted, those cliffs along the Mississippi in the LaCrosse area are seriously high, and you would NOT survive a fall into the river from that height if you were 'shakin' it off' and took a mis-step. ;)
But these kids were missing from their various groups of friends for hours before they were even reported missing. It needs more flat-foot footwork than the LaCrosse cops have been giving it.
I'm not willing to wait for an Ann Rule novel...though I may just e-mail her about these cases. If anyone can get to the bottom of it, it would be her. She's the one who cracked Ted Bundy and The Green River Killer in WA. (Or was it OR?)
I don't think so.
The fact that these kids were all drunk cannot be a mere coincidence. And the majority of these kids were in shape--we're talking basketball and football players here. Big guys.
As a "big guy" myself, I've found most people don't want to mess with 'em when they're sober as a judge--let alone loaded.
Quite frankly, there is no other logical reason. Anything else just spreads FUD.
As for people being gone for hours, it's common practice to go out for the evening. Bar hookups and dropoffs happen all the time (seen 'em happen in tiny lil Menomonie) and groups get separated.
Well, just make sure you don't drink too much and stay away from the river, LOL! I'd hate to see you become a statistic.
I still think there's more to this. But, I read a lot of murder mysteries. ;)
Well, that would make sense. When I'm home, I can always go downtown.
Either city I'm in, there's a river...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.