Body of grad student who vanished after leaving Wisconsin bar found in Mississippi River

The Wisconsin graduate student who mysteriously vanished after leaving a waterfront bar in Wisconsin early Sunday morning was tragically found dead in the Mississippi River Wednesday.

Eliotte Heinz, 22, was discovered in the river just before 10:30 a.m. near Brownsville, Minnesota – more than 10 miles from where she was last seen – following a four day search, authorities said.

“This was not the outcome we had hoped for throughout this search,” La Crosse Police Chief Shawn Kudron said.

“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 Elliotte.”

Heinz, who was enrolled at Viterbo College in La Crosse, Wisconsin, had been at the Bronco Bar in the college town for a night out with friends, who said she left around 2:30 a.m. Sunday.

Security footage caught her about an hour later walking near the Mississippi River waterfront, about a 30-minute walk from the bar — the last time she was seen.