Awareness=Answers

Since the disappearance of Jonathan Lacina in January, many people have emailed me and written on this site about other mysterious cases in Iowa. The interest in this topic has been so high, I thought you’d like a little more information about the incidents.

Jacob Hobson

Jacob Hobson, 27, was found in College Creek on the campus of Iowa State University in Ames on July 19, 2005.  Officials concluded that Hobson, who was visually impaired, drowned in a few inches of water after he accidentally fell from a creek bridge onto a concrete culvert.  An autopsy showed Hobson died as a result of drowning and blunt force trauma to the head. Police investigators found no sign of foul play and no evidence Jacob’s body was moved. 

Abel Bolanos

Abel Bolanos disappeared after leaving a party on March 31, 2007.  The 19-year-old freshman planned to walk from a party on South Hyland to his dorm, Wallace Hall, on the campus of Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.  At about 4 am, officials say Abel unsuccessfully tried to enter his dorm building. He was spotted in the area by several witnesses and his debit card and credit cards were found along Hayward Avenue. On April 3, Abel’s body was recovered in the southeast corner of Lake LaVerne on the ISU campus. His death was ruled an “accidental drowning.” Click here to read more.

Paul Shuman-Moore

Paul Shuman-Moore disappeared on September 25, 2006.  When the family and friends of the Grinnell College student discovered a suicide note, they were shocked. They say he was happy, healthy and making plans with his band. His body was discovered 7 months later under a tarp covering a nearby country club pool. There are reports his hands were tied. Police ruled his death a suicide and his family is trying to raise awareness about undiagnosed depression in young people. Click here to see the website created in memory of Paul.

Jon Lacina

Kristi Piehl Connection or Coincidence

Joshua Kaneakua

Joshua Kaneakua was last seen leaving Gabby’s Bar in Minneapolis on St. Patrick’s Day – March 17, 2007.  His body was recovered in the Mississippi River later that month. According to reports, his death was ruled a suicide. 

Antwann Tucker was last seen leaving Gabby’s Bar in Minneapolis on May 7, 2009.  His body was found in the Mississippi River on May 15, 2009. His friend says Tucker had been drinking and his death was ruled a suicide. 

Here is the report the Associated Press released about Antwann’s death:

The Hennepin County medical examiner has identified a body found in the Mississippi River near the Hennepin Avenue bridge last week in Minneapolis.

He is Antwane Terrell Tucker, 24, of St. Cloud. Officials said he is also known to spell his first name as Antwann. Tucker’s body was found just before 10:30 a.m. Friday.

Investigators are still trying to determine how he died and whether foul play was involved.

** Thanks to Antwann’s friend who mentioned Gabby’s in an email. It made me think of Joshua’s case. Sorry, the information is not detailed. If I can find more data, I’ll post it.

Kristi Piehl Connection or Coincidence

 Right now, there are two active missing person cases in Portland, Maine and Portland, Oregon. This isn’t the first time two young men have gone missing from cities with the same name in different states. 

Ken Christiansen was last seen in Duluth, Minnesota on April 13, 2001. His body was recovered in Chester Creek. Justin Gaines was last seen in Duluth, Georgia on November 2, 2007.  Gaines is still missing. 

Scot Radel went missing after a night of hanging out with his friends in St. Cloud, Minnesota. He was last seen on February 2, 2006. When James Beasley didn’t return to his  St. Cloud, Florida home, his parents called police.  He was last seen in 2007 at a 4th of July house party in a nearby town. His body was found in a retention pond. 

In Portland, Maine, police are using boats and cadaver dogs to search for Ezra Milan. He was last seen on March 10, 2009. A new tip has led police to search the water below Veterans Bridge. According to a newspaper reporter, few people walk along the busy bridge. Ezra’s home was in the opposite direction of the bridge.  Police are not saying much about the new tip or the search.  In Portland, Oregon, Juan Garcia is listed as a missing person. He was last seen on March 15, 2009. Juan was a freshman at the University of Portland. He left campus and was reported missing when his personal belongings were found in the downtown area. 

Kristi Piehl Connection or Coincidence

 The number of similar drowning deaths and disappearances is hard to comprehend. During an interview yesterday, the host made the point that the size of the case is daunting. He asked me, “Where would you start?”  

All it will take is for one case to get reclassified as homicide and for an arrest to be made. The suspect can lead investigators to another suspect and down falls the house of cards. (Note – the Chris Jenkins case in Minneapolis was reclassified as homicide. It is unsolved and open.) If I were going to select a starting place, it would either be Josh Szostak’s case or Todd Geib’s.

Todd Geib

Todd Geib was last seen on June 12, 2005.  He was walking home from a house party in Casnovia, MI.  The cause of death was ruled “drowning.”  The manner of death was ruled “undetermined.”  The Michigan State Police closed Todd’s case. 

* The couple who found Todd thought he was standing upright in the water because his head and shoulders were out of the water. They took photos and called police. In the official autopsy report, it states that Todd was “floating in a prone position with head and shoulders out of the water, no noted anchors or ligatures were found on or near the body.” The definition of prone position is “lying face downward.”  (Note -drowning victims are typically found floating face down)

* Was he drugged?  According to the autopsy report, more than one prescription drug was found in his system. According to Todd’s family, he was not taking any medication at the time of his death.   

* Almost all of Todd’s jewelry (including a plain neck chain) was recovered. His cross neck chain is missing.

* BAC .12

Josh Snell

NOTE: Todd disappeared the same night as Josh Snell. Josh was last seen in Eau Claire, WI. Each of the men made a strange cell phone call to a friend on the night they went missing. 

Josh Szostak

 Josh Szostak was last seen on surveillance outside a bar in downtown Albany, NY on December 23, 2007.  His case is closed and the Albany Police maintain that Josh’s death was a tragic accident.

* On the tape, Josh walks outside the bar and is talking calmly with a friend. All of a sudden, he rips off one of his shirts and struggles to tie it around his waist. Then Josh doubles over, stands up and can barely walk. He struggles with his phone and stumbles down the street and is never seen alive again.

* There are surveillance cameras recording all along the streets between the bar and the water.  According to a police report, Josh was NOT seen on any of them.  Detectives have not explained how Josh got from downtown Albany to the water.  

*  The pants that Josh was wearing on the night he disappeared appear to be different than the ones he was wearing when he was recovered.  All of Josh’s clothes were returned to his family. However, the pants are missing. None of the investigating agencies can account for the whereabouts of the pants. 

* The celtic cross neck chain that Josh always wore is missing.

* BAC .12 (studies show BAC increases after death – click here to read earlier post about BAC)

recovery photo of Josh Szostak's cell phone

* Josh’s cell phone had 8 voicemail messages on it when it was found. The police report says there were no text messages on his phone and does not specifically reference the voicemails.  When it was returned, Josh’s parents say the phone didn’t have any messages on it.

Kristi Piehl Connection or Coincidence

You’d expect drunken accidents to happen on random dates.  You might see a   peak on holidays associated with rowdy parties – like New Years Eve.  

So are the dates of the disappearances significant?  

New Year’s Eve Parties : 1997 Ryan Getz (12/31/97) –  1998 Larry Andrews (1/1/98) –  2000 Brian Welzein (1/1/00) – 2009 David Martinez & Kambili Moukwa 

January 20: 2003 Jeremy Stienkeoway – 2007 Brad Olsen – 2008 Tommy Booth

February 2: 1997 Franklin Gottschalk – 2006 Scot Radel 

March 1: 2001 Patrick Runningsen – 2003 Jeremy Houk

March 10: 2001 Justin Hayduk – 2007 Matthew Grendel

April 1: 2006 Brian Shaffer – 2008 Huaijun Meng

April 13:  1999 Jeff Geesey – 2001 Ken Christiansen – 2005 Keith Ryan

June 12:  2005 Todd Geib & Josh Snell

Halloween parties: 2002 Chris Jenkins – 2003 Matt Schiess

November 5: 2000 Ryan Katcher – 2008 Trevor Boehm

November 9: 2002 Josh Guimond – 2007 Matt LaCrosse & Kyle Fleischmann

November 21: 2006 Jesse Ross – 2007 David Reilly

December 23: 2005 Matt Kruziki – 2007 Josh Szostak

 ** 18 victims went missing within 1 day of another victim

** 23 victims have a unique date of disappearance

Kristi Piehl Connection or Coincidence

The more research I do, the more similarities I find.  

I’m going to continue to post these items under the Category “Connection or Coincidence.” Are these random coincidences or clear connections the killers are leaving? 

LaCrosse – means “the cross” 

 Town: LaCrosse, Wisconsin is a college town.  To date, seven young men have  disappeared and been found drowned in LaCrosse. 

 Sport: Chris Jenkins (disappeared 10/31/02) was the co-captain of the University  of Minnesota lacrosse team.

  Victim:  Matt LaCrosse disappeared in Bagor, Maine on 11/9/07.  He was last  seen at Carolina’s bar.  On the same night, Kyle Fleischmann vanished in  North  Carolina.

Kristi Piehl Connection or Coincidence