Authorities are currently searching for a 22-year-old graduate student, Elliot Heinz, who went missing early Sunday morning in La Crosse, Wisconsin. According to the La Crosse Police Department, Heinz was last seen walking near the waterfront just before 3:30 AM.
Within an hour of her disappearance, she had been at a Bronco bar downtown with a friend. The bar closed at 2:30 AM, and the distance to the place where she was last seen is about 0.4 miles, taking roughly two minutes to walk.
Despite numerous efforts from her family, friends, and the police, no trace of her has turned up, as noted in an official statement.
Elliot, who is described as 5-foot-4 with blonde hair and blue eyes, was last noted to be wearing a white T-shirt and jersey shorts.
In a message shared on Facebook, Viterbo University conveyed gratitude on behalf of the Heinz family, who are actively spreading the word about her case. “Thank you from the bottom of our hearts,” the family wrote. “The community’s outpouring of support has been truly overwhelming, and we deeply appreciate the kindness, prayers, and encouragement.” They also urged locals to check their home security footage from the early hours of Sunday morning.
“Even the smallest details could help,” they emphasized. “If you have any information that might assist, please contact the La Crosse Police Department. Keep Eliotte and our family in your thoughts.”
Elliot’s mother, Amber Heinz, shared that her daughter is studying mental health counseling at Viterbo. She expressed her concern about being unable to reach Elliot on Sunday morning. “We communicate regularly and had just been in touch that week,” Amber explained. “When we couldn’t connect, we knew something was off.”
Amber mentioned that her daughter was likely attempting to get home that night. She and the family are now in contact with the police and are focused on distributing Elliot’s pictures to help in the search.
The police are following up on all leads, striving for a positive outcome. Amber noted that Elliot has no known connections to a prominent family in Pittsburgh.
The situation echoes a prior tragic event involving Samantha Josephson, a University of South Carolina student who was murdered in 2019 after mistakenly getting into a car she thought was an Uber. Amber noted that it is still unclear whether Elliot was attempting to contact a ride-sharing service when she went missing. Inquiries to Uber went unanswered, while Lyft stated they had no involvement in the incident.
Anyone with information regarding Elliot’s whereabouts is encouraged to call the non-emergency police number at 608-782-7575 or report anonymously to local crime stoppers at 608-784-TIPS or online.
The La Crosse Police Department declined to provide further comment due to the ongoing investigation. The Bronco bar has also not responded to inquiries.
