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.