Police and university officials in Wisconsin are pleading for help locating missing graduate student Eliotte Heinz

A desperate search is underway in Wisconsin after 22-year-old Eliotte Heinz, a promising graduate student at the University of Minnesota, vanished in the early hours of Sunday, July 20.

According to her family, Eliotte was last seen leaving a local bar in La Crosse around 3:00 a.m. and was captured on surveillance footage walking alone near the Mississippi River just minutes later, at approximately 3:22 a.m.

Since then, there has been no activity on her phone, no trace of her social media being used, and her loved ones say she has never gone silent like this before.

The disappearance has rattled the tight-knit riverfront community and ignited an outpouring of concern, with friends, family, and volunteers organizing search parties across nearby trails, the riverbank, and wooded areas.

Local authorities, assisted by drones, dive teams, and K9 units, have been combing the region since the early morning hours of July 21.

The La Crosse Police Department confirmed that Heinz had been out with friends that night and was believed to be walking back to her off-campus apartment, but never made it home.

Her phone last pinged near Riverside Park, a location hauntingly close to the Mississippi River — a spot known both for its beauty and its history of tragic accidents.

Eliotte’s mother, Karen Heinz, made a tearful plea at a press conference Monday afternoon: “She’s not someone who just disappears. She was supposed to come home. She always comes home.”

Friends have described her as reliable, thoughtful, and deeply dedicated to her studies in environmental science. “She was talking about internships just last week.

We were planning a camping trip next month,” said her roommate, who has since joined the community-led search effort.

The circumstances have drawn attention to a troubling pattern in the region. Over the past decade, multiple young people — often students — have vanished or been found deceased under suspicious or unexplained conditions near the riverbanks in La Crosse.

While authorities have hesitated to link these cases, locals often refer to the area near the river as “the black zone” — a stretch of town where darkness, isolation, and late-night foot traffic often collide.

Police have not ruled out foul play, but are currently treating the case as a missing person’s investigation. “At this time, we have no evidence suggesting criminal activity, but every hour counts,” said Sgt. Nathan Gillespie during Tuesday’s media briefing.

The department is urging anyone who may have been in the downtown La Crosse area between 2:30 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. Sunday to come forward with any information, no matter how minor it may seem.

Bartenders, Uber drivers, and nearby residents are being interviewed, and local businesses have been asked to review surveillance footage for any signs of Heinz in the hours leading up to her disappearance.

Her last known outfit was described as a black denim skirt, white sneakers, and a maroon tank top — the same one she wore while dancing with friends just hours before she vanished.

Flyers with her photo and description have been plastered across La Crosse and shared widely online under the hashtag #FindEliotte, which has now gone viral on social media, with thousands of users offering prayers, tips, and support.

Meanwhile, the Heinz family — who flew in from Minneapolis and New York — are staying in a nearby motel and working around the clock with local law enforcement.

“We’re not giving up,” said Eliotte’s father, Brian Heinz. “We know someone saw something. We just need them to speak up.”

With each passing hour, worry intensifies. For now, a town waits, and a family clings to hope, praying that the young woman who disappeared into the early morning quiet will soon be found and brought safely home.