MISSING: Thomas Hecht

[HelixAir6]

Hello all,

My colleague's brother went missing on Saturday night after a night out on Water Street.  Any information that you may have would be greatly appreciated.  His name is Tommy Hecht and was last seen at Rosie's around 10pm on Saturday.  If you have any details or information, please contact the Milwaukee Police department.

http://www.todaystmj4.com/news/local/142341335.html

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/police-searching-for-missing-water-st-bar-patron-b54hmr2-142340385.html

[awilhelmscream]

I worked with Tom at the same real estate company in college.  If you have any info please call the police.

[Goose]

In our prayers...I hope for quick and safe return.

[MU B2002]

I hope this young man is found safe, soon.



I posted this in the Philbin thread awhile back, but I thought I would link it again.

How is it not in the news about the similarities between all these college to 30 year old guys dissappearing from bars/nights out with friends?
In the past 2 months you have had 3 examples in Wisconsin alone. I understand an occassional person fall into the river (although I can't recall it happening to 1 drunk friend in 4 years.), but cmon.

Jan 8th
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7657889/toxicology-reports-show-joe-philbin-son-drunk-time-death

March 5th
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/03/04/police-search-for-missing-wisconsin-college-student/

Now this.



http://sfkillers.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smiley_face_murder_theory

[GGGG]

Criminologists smarter than anyone here have debunked it repeatedly.  That doesn't mean it isn't the case now, but I find it very odd that it is all males...all about the same age...and all falling into rivers. 

[MU B2002]

And all from a handful of states, primarily Wisconsin and Minnesota.

[Blackhat]

got sent a flyer on him making the rounds on facebook. that's good.

[Goose]

Whole thing is scary and I do not understand how it only happens to men. There just seems to be something else going on out there. Again, our prayers for the family in this difficult time.

[Blue Horseshoe]

Disappearances under mysterious circumstances happen to men and women. Lauren Spierer disappeared last summer at IU and is still missing.

http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/news/gallery/Search-Continues-for-IU-Student-123189648.html

[reinko]

Disappearances under mysterious circumstances happen to men and women. Lauren Spierer disappeared last summer at IU and is still missing.

http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/news/gallery/Search-Continues-for-IU-Student-123189648.html

Unfortunately yes they do, this young man has been from BC for a few weeks now too.

http://www.boston.com/Boston/metrodesk/2012/03/search-for-franco-garcia-missing-boston-college-student-resumes-chestnut-hill-reservoir/TZhqmYz8X4FvfZEN3fFsUK/index.html

[swoopem]

Dr. Zevits, the criminology teacher with the eye-patch, has claimed for years that something is going on with these men disappearing. He suspects foul play and to be honest I agree.

Hope this guy is found and alright.

[bellairehusky]

Hi:

Newbie here.  An alum sent me this link.  A dear friend of mine passed under similar circumstances almost exactly two years ago.  See this link:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,588714,00.html

The organization that searched for my friend is called Texas EquuSearch.  I met TE in New Orleans for a water search at the request of the family.  I was at first skeptical but when I met them, they knew exactly what they were doing - they had with them wind reports, water current charts, river maps, weather reports, etc.  They surveyed the situation and told me exactly where they thought the body would be.  They even asked for a Ferry to not move since they felt the body would be disturbed and lost in the Gulf Coast forever.  They used very sophisticated Sonar equipment.  WITHIN ONE HOUR of undocking their boats they found my friend.  We had one advantage of already suspecting that our friend had fallen in the MS River.  I was so impressed with them that I became a Board Member.

I pray that your loved one has not met a similar fate.  However, some quick tips on the stuff that we did:

1.  Almost all businesses have video recording on the outside of their place of business.  Do a perimeter search of all business' video footage and see if you can trace his whereabouts.  You will need the Police to request that of the places of business.  Its critical to do it now before businesses loop erase their data.  Also, all government buildings and many public places have good video recording on the outside.

2.  Scent dogs can have some success.  Some organizations provide them free of charge.  You'd be amazed at what dogs can pick up even days after a presence.

3.  If, God forbid, he is in the water, you have to do the search right away as bodies will float and head downstream after a few days (as I learned, cold temps and water delay the process a bit).

Finally, if you would like to enlist the help of Texas EquuSearch, have your local police department make the request.  They may already know about the organization.  For your information, here is the link:  www.txeq.org  Texas EquuSearch does not charge for their services, but they are funded through individual donations (mostly help from the families that they have helped).

PM me if you wish to know more.

God Bless and good luck.



 

[StillWarriors]

And all from a handful of states, primarily Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Similar story in Chicago last week. Hope this story has a happier ending.

[Golden Avalanche]

Dr. Zevits, the criminology teacher with the eye-patch, has claimed for years that something is going on with these men disappearing. He suspects foul play and to be honest I agree.

Hope this guy is found and alright.

What does he suspect is happening?

[Blackhat]

IMO, if you had killers taking out college kids after drinking hours outside of bars, there'd be some survivors, stories by now of a person(s) taking them down to watersedge but them getting away.   Especially with young dudes and if they fought there'd be gun fire/knife assaults to trace.

[NavinRJohnson]

IMO, if you had killers taking out college kids after drinking hours outside of bars, there'd be some survivors, stories by now of a person(s) taking them down to watersedge but them getting away.   Especially with young dudes and if they fought there'd be gun fire/knife assaults to trace.

There has been, and not surprisingly there was no foul play involved. Without looking it up, there was a drunk UW-Lax student who fell in the Mississippi and lucky for him, some people saw it, and was saved. He was a lucky one that someone happened to see.

People don't seem to want to accept that young otherwise intelligent college students do some really foolish things when they drink to much, so they go the other extreme and convince themselves that there has to be more to the story. They say there is no way/no reason they would go down to the river to take a leak, swim, whatever. Well, then explain the case above. Had the onlookers not been there, he would have been the latest victim of the "smiley face killer." Of course, without one single solitary piece of evidence to suggest that such a killer actually exists, he might as well be Bigfoot.

[Coleman]

Dr. Zevits, the criminology teacher with the eye-patch, has claimed for years that something is going on with these men disappearing. He suspects foul play and to be honest I agree.

Hope this guy is found and alright.

I had Zevitz the semester when he transformed from non-eye-patch to eye-patch-wearing awesomeness. I thought it was temporary at first, and then it just stayed.


Zevitz is also known to employ "the biggest curve known to man" (his words), where you can get a 70% and get an A. Great class. 

[Benny B]

Disappearances under mysterious circumstances happen to men and women. Lauren Spierer disappeared last summer at IU and is still missing.

http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/news/gallery/Search-Continues-for-IU-Student-123189648.html

Somewhat similar perhaps, but I wouldn't compare these types of incidents... they've at least recovered the bodies in the drowning incidents.  Is Spierer still missing?

I'll admit, it makes for a great serial killer story or at the very least, shifts the potential for blame away from the deceased, but when guys get completely ripped... some of us can get pretty irrational and do stupid things.  When girls get completely ripped and bad things happen, it's typically an issue of vulnerability, not stupidity.

[Blue Horseshoe]

Somewhat similar perhaps, but I wouldn't compare these types of incidents... they've at least recovered the bodies in the drowning incidents.  Is Spierer still missing?

I'll admit, it makes for a great serial killer story or at the very least, shifts the potential for blame away from the deceased, but when guys get completely ripped... some of us can get pretty irrational and do stupid things.  When girls get completely ripped and bad things happen, it's typically an issue of vulnerability, not stupidity.

Note, "and is still missing." in regard to the Spierer story.

[muhoosier260]

I had Zevitz the semester when he transformed from non-eye-patch to eye-patch-wearing awesomeness. I thought it was temporary at first, and then it just stayed.


Zevitz is also known to employ "the biggest curve known to man" (his words), where you can get a 70% and get an A. Great class. 

Same here, fall 2005 Intro to Crim?

[Coleman]

Same here, fall 2005 Intro to Crim?

You bet. How many times did you go to class?

[muhoosier260]

more often than i should've, i was just a stupid freshman. sometimes it seemed like i was the only one there for such a large lecture.

[Coach Norman Dale]

Is Spierer still missing?

Sadly, yes, she is still missing.

[🏀]

You bet. How many times did you go to class?

I had him in 2005 as well. TallTitan34 did as well. He went to class all the time, PTM not so much.

[TallTitan34]

I had him in 2005 as well. TallTitan34 did as well. He went to class all the time, PTM not so much.

I believe Blackledge was also in our class.  His legs stretched over the whole row of chairs in front of him.

[Goose]

Sounds like the sad ending we all feared. His family is in our prayers.

[Blue Horseshoe]

Sounds like the sad ending we all feared. His family is in our prayers.

http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/Milwaukee_Police_Searching_for_28-Year-Old_Man_142352755.html

[mu_hilltopper]

This story did not end well.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/body-recovered-in-milwaukee-river-el4moj0-143836116.html

[jaybilaswho?]

I find the location of where he was found interesting. Granted we dont know where he entered the river, but come on... 12 days later he was found floating maybe 500 yards from where he was last seen? considering how many people and how many searches they did for him... why did it take 12 days?

Not trying to insinuate any conspiracys or anything... i just find it puzzling.

[nyg]

I find the location of where he was found interesting. Granted we dont know where he entered the river, but come on... 12 days later he was found floating maybe 500 yards from where he was last seen? considering how many people and how many searches they did for him... why did it take 12 days?

Not trying to insinuate any conspiracys or anything... i just find it puzzling.

When a body falls into water, it will sink.  If you fell into a swimming pool and drowned, your body will be found at the bottom of the pool, not on top.  That is why police and rescue units will utilize "drag" devices to skim the riverbed in the search for human remains.  The depth of the water plays a huge factor in the recovery process.

When this young man fell into the river he sunk to the river bed.  His body might have been moved by the current and got tangled up in some river debris or vegetation which would have held the body in place temporarily.  As human body decomposition takes place, gases build up within the body causing a "balloon" effect within the body.  If the remains are not securely tangled up by an underground branch or something, the balloon effect which cause the body to rise to the surface area. The current then usually takes the remains to the shoreline and then found.  Police refer to these remains as "floaters". The decomposition process takes about 7 to 8 days, so not suprising in this man's death and recovery.

[jaybilaswho?]

When a body falls into water, it will sink.  If you fell into a swimming pool and drowned, your body will be found at the bottom of the pool, not on top.  That is why police and rescue units will utilize "drag" devices to skim the riverbed in the search for human remains.  The depth of the water plays a huge factor in the recovery process.

When this young man fell into the river he sunk to the river bed.  His body might have been moved by the current and got tangled up in some river debris or vegetation which would have held the body in place temporarily.  As human body decomposition takes place, gases build up within the body causing a "balloon" effect within the body.  If the remains are not securely tangled up by an underground branch or something, the balloon effect which cause the body to rise to the surface area. The current then usually takes the remains to the shoreline and then found.  Police refer to these remains as "floaters". The decomposition process takes about 7 to 8 days, so not suprising in this man's death and recovery.

Thank you.

[Henry Sugar]

In an extremely morbid way, I found nyg's post really interesting.

[The Lens]

I am a big believer that there is a serial killer in La Crosse, however here I think it may have been the case of jumping a fence to create a short cut home, he lived in the Union Point building, far end of Commerce. 

I lived in Brewers Hill for 5 years and made the walk from Water Street a number of times.  I can imagine he made a routine jump of a fence / railing or the like and tripped, fell and drowned.   While there are parking lots utilized by Water Street patrons there is not a ton of foot traffic on the Cherry street bridge and even less on the Pleasant street one.  Someone falling in the water could have gone unnoticed.  Really, really sad. R.I.P.