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the opening weekend of Oktoberfest has been marred by the drowning death of a college-age man.
According to La Crosse police, a Milwaukee man, who attends college in the Twin Cities, drowned early Sunday morning after falling from the Cass Street Bridge into a slough immediately west of the main channel that connects to Pettibone Lagoon.
The man, whose name has not yet been released, was located between the main channel and west channel of the Mississippi River on the south end of Barron Island, said a news release from the La Crosse Fire Department.
Police and rescue crews were called to the scene about 1:30 a.m. by an eyewitness who said a man jumped from the Cass Street Bridge, according to the fire department.
When police arrived, they talked to a woman who said she had been walking on the bridge and saw the man fall from the bridge.
Campers in the Pettibone Resort campground said they heard a loud splash, observed someone in the water and called 911, police reports said.
Rescue workers searched the area using a fire department boat, a hunting boat and a dive boat, but were unable to find anyone.
La Crosse Area Dive Rescue arrived at about 2:23 a.m. and recovered the man’s body from the river.
Fire department first responders and Tri-State Ambulance paramedics tried unsuccessfully to revive the man.
Police notified the man’s family early this morning but have chosen not to release his name until the family has more time to notify extended relatives, police report.
La Crosse police said they are unsure whether the man had been drinking or about the circumstances related to the fall. They are continuing the investigation, which typically includes an autopsy.
More details of the incident are expected later today.
“This tragic and unfortunate incident overshadows a relatively quiet and successful Oktoberfest weekend,” La Crosse Police Chief Ed Kondracki said in a statement.
On Sept. 30, 2006, Luke Homan, a 21-year-old University of Wisconsin-La Crosse student, went missing after a night of drinking during the first weekend of Oktoberfest. His body was found two days later in the Mississippi River near the Riverside Park levee.
In August, La Crosse Police announced that an FBI review of drownings of eight college-age men in area rivers over over the last 10 years found no foul play or link between the victims.
“It is their opinion that no evidence exists to support the conclusion that a serial offender has been targeting males in La Crosse,” Kondracki said in August.
Dan Springer can be reached at (608) 791-8269 or dspringer@lacrossetribune.com.
Wake Up wrote on Oct 2, 2007 6:05 AM: