Missing 22-year-old Wisconsin graduate student found dead in the Mississippi River
La Crosse Police Department
(LA CROSSE, Wis.) — A 22-year-old graduate student who disappeared after leaving a bar early Sunday morning has been found dead in the Mississippi River, according to the La Crosse Police Department.
Eliotte Heinz, a graduate student at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin, was last seen on Sunday at approximately 3:22 a.m. near the Mississippi River, police said. According to her missing person poster, Heinz was allegedly seen leaving Bronco’s Bar in La Crosse at approximately 2:30 a.m.
Heinz’s body was found in the Mississippi River near Brownsville, Minnesota, on Wednesday, police said.
“This was not the outcome we had hoped for throughout this search. Our thoughts are with Eliotte’s family, friends and all those who knew Eliotte. We are grateful for the outpouring of support from so many within the La Crosse community, the State of Wisconsin and nationally to locate Eliotte,” police said in a statement on Wednesday.
Police said they are continuing to investigate and “will await the results of an autopsy for an official cause of death.”
Viterbo University said in a statement the community is “heartbroken by this loss” and extends “our deepest sympathies to her families and friends.”
“There are no words that can ease the pain of losing someone so young, with so much life ahead of her. Our hearts go out to to Eliotte’s family. We hold them in our prayers and stand with them in their grief,” Viterbo University President Rick Trietley.
Earlier Tuesday, police had said the search for Heinz remained active, with “numerous resources” being utilized as they continue to receive tips.
Members of the community gathered to search for Heinz and hand out copies of her missing person poster.
Heinz’s family had asked for residents in the area to review home security camera footage from early Sunday morning between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m., saying “even the smallest detail could make a difference.”
“The outpouring of supporting in the search efforts for Eliotte has been overwhelming, and we are deeply grateful for the kindness, prayers and encouragement from the community and beyond,” the family said in a statement shared on the university’s social media on Tuesday prior to the discovery of her body.
Viterbo will hold a memorial service for Heinz this fall, “in coordination with her family once students return to campus,” the university said in a statement.
Erin is the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season. ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Erin has become the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, with several areas already on alert for heavy rain and strong waves and rip currents possible along the East Coast of the United States as early as next week.
Hurricane Erin is a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds up to 75 mph.
Tropical storm watches are in place for the Northern Leeward Islands of St. Martin, St. Barts, Anguilla and Barbuda, with breezy and rainy conditions possible in these areas for the next 48 hours. Erin is expected to pass near or north of the Leeward Islands on Saturday.
This weekend, Erin will move north of Puerto Rico and could potentially become a major hurricane, Category 3 or higher, by Sunday morning. The outer bands of this storm could bring 2 to 4 inches of rain to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands on Saturday and Sunday, which could lead to isolated flash flooding, potential mudslides and gusty winds of 40 to 50 mph.
Moving to next week, Erin will continue to move northwest, staying east of the Bahamas.
The majority of meteorological modeling continues to keep Erin well off the East Coast of the U.S. by hundreds of miles, but large waves and life-threatening rip currents are still expected to reach the coast on Aug. 20 to Aug. 27.
This would not only be dangerous for anyone entering the waters, but also for property along the coast, as erosion — especially along North Carolina’s Outer Banks — could be a serious threat. The Outer Banks and other parts of North Carolina could see waves of 8 to 12 feet, with other areas of South Carolina and Virginia possibly seeing waves reaching 6 feet next week.
Despite the threat of strong waves along the East Coast, a cold front pushing off of America’s coast is expected to keep Erin out to sea and will also bring below-average temperatures to the Northeast next week.
The National Hurricane Center predicted an above-normal hurricane season for the Atlantic.
August, September and October are the most active months of the Atlantic hurricane season, which ends on Nov. 30.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(KERRVILLE, Texas.) — Officials in hard-hit Kerr County, Texas, which was ravaged by flooding earlier this month, say the number of people believed to be missing has dropped from nearly 100 to three.
“Through extensive follow-up work among state and local agencies, many individuals who were initially reported as missing have been verified as safe and removed from the list,” the city of Kerrville said in news release. “This has been an ongoing effort as investigators worked diligently to verify reports of missing persons and confirm their status.”
Earlier this week, Texas officials said 97 people in the county were still unaccounted for after the deadly July 4 floods. At its height, the number of people listed as missing in the county was more than 160.
“We are profoundly grateful to the more than 1,000 local, state, and federal authorities who have worked tirelessly in the wake of the devastating flood that struck our community,” Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said in a statement. “Thanks to their extraordinary efforts, the number of individuals previously listed as missing has dropped from over 160 to three.”
In addition to the three people missing in Kerr County, there were still three people missing in Travis County and one person listed as missing in Burnet County, according to the most recent update earlier this week.
Overall, the death toll from the July 4 flooding across the state of Texas stood at 134 as of earlier this week.
Of those, 107 were in Kerr County — including 70 adults and 37 children.
(NEW YORK) — Charlie Kirk was a husband and the father of two young kids at the time of his death Sept. 10 at a campus university event in Utah.
Kirk, the founder of the conservative youth activist organization Turning Point USA, was remembered by his wife Erika Kirk in an address to the nation on Sept. 12, her first public message since his killing.
“You have no idea the fire that you have ignited within this wife, the cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry,” Erika Kirk said, adding that she would continue her late husband’s work with Turning Point USA.
“To everyone listening tonight across America, the movement my husband built will not die. It won’t, I refuse to let that happen … All of us will refuse to let that happen,” she said. “No one will ever forget my husband’s name, and I will make sure of it.”
Charlie Kirk, 31, was shot while speaking at Utah Valley University, the first stop this fall for his organization’s “The American Comeback Tour,” which was traveling to multiple college campuses across the country.
President Donald Trump announced Kirk’s death on social media, writing, “The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead.”
“No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us,” the president wrote. “Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”
Together, the Kirks are parents of two children, a son who turned 1 in May and a daughter who turned 3 in August.
“When I got home last night, our daughter just ran into my arms … and she said, ‘Mommy, I missed you.’ I said, ‘I missed you too, baby.’ She goes, ‘Where’s daddy?,'” Erika Kirk said in her Sept. 12 address. “What do you tell a 3-year-old? She’s three. I said, ‘Baby, daddy loves you so much. Don’t you worry. He’s on a work trip with Jesus so he can afford your blueberry budget.'”
Both Charlie Kirk and Erika Kirk shared glimpses of their home life on social media, sharing photos of their children, though not sharing their names or faces.
When Utah Gov. Spencer Cox announced at a Sept. 12 press conference the arrest of a suspect in Charlie Kirk’s fatal shooting, he spoke of the activist’s family.
“I especially want to thank the family of Charlie Kirk — Erika, Charlie’s parents, his children,” Cox said. “I want us to be thinking of them as we bring justice in this case. They will be involved in that justice. We will be working very closely with them as we move through this process as well.”
On Sept. 13, Turning Point USA announced details of a celebration of life ceremony for Kirk. The ceremony is set to be held Sunday, Sept. 21, in Glendale, Arizona, at State Farm Stadium, the NFL stadium in Arizona where the Cardinals play. The venue has a capacity of 63,000, according to the stadium’s website.
Here is more to know about Erika Frantzve Kirk
Erika Kirk is a former Miss Arizona USA and collegiate basketball player who is currently studying for a doctorate in Biblical studies at Liberty University, according to her biography on her website.
She is the founder of Proclaim, a faith-based clothing line, the host of the “Midweek Rise Up” podcast and the founder of two nonprofit organizations, according to her website.
Erika Kirk has also been a frequent presence by her husband’s side at speaking engagements and public appearances.
The couple went on their first date in New York City seven years ago this month, according to a post Erika Kirk shared on Instagram.
“5 years ago today, we sat inside Bills Burgers in NYC deep in conversation and banter over theology, philosophy, and politics and at the end, you paused, looked at me and said, ‘I’m going to date you,'” she wrote in a Sept. 5, 2023, post.
Following Charlie Kirk’s death, Erika Kirk shared a video on Instagram of Charlie Kirk telling the story of how they met to their daughter while sitting at a table at Bill’s Burgers in New York City.
“It started as a job interview … and then I realized momma was beautiful and smart and elegant and Christ-like, and so I said, ‘Forget this job interview. I want to date you.’ I said, ‘I have enough friends,'” Charlie Kirk is seen in the video telling their daughter as she sits on his lap. “And that’s where your journey began.”
Charlie Kirk proposed to Erika Kirk just two years after their first date, in December 2020, and they wed in Arizona on May 8, 2021, according to social media posts she shared at the time.
The couple sat down together for an episode of “The Charlie Kirk Show” in April to talk about marriage and family life.
“Keep your faith, obviously first, and try to identify any fleshy problems that you might be having,” Charlie Kirk said of his advice to young married couples, according to a YouTube video of the podcast.
Erika Kirk added, in part, “You have to continually invest in the confidence in one another, that you’re on the same team. You support each other. You love each other. You’re not going to undercut each other. You’re not going to undercut each other.”
