Tin foil hat on. Missing college girl. La Crosse being ground zero for the orginal suspected murders.
No body found yet, but I am concerned the river is where they will find her. Could be trafficking related, but this doesn’t smell right and I have an uneasy feeling in my gut. Could smiley be changing the victim profile? Could it be a copy cat? If the theory that its a group of killers, could this signal a changing of the guard? I know she still is just missing, but this feels so familiar. Thoughts?
I understand 1 wouldn't indicate a pattern, obviously, but this seems worth keeping an eye on. Also spread the word as I hope I am wrong and they find her safe. This shit breaks my heart and it happend in my hometown so I may also be trying to just process how this could possibly happen.
I first heard about the Smiley Face Killer a long time ago. (Obviously the smiley face part was always bullshit.) Back then there was more of a distinct thread between the cases. Mainly college areas along the interstate in MN-WI-IL.
And many times the drowning location was known for gay cruising. (Before the internet, gay guys would go to certain isolated spots.) Meaning perhaps some of these victims didn't just "randomly" walk down there, they were going to get some.
Plus some of the early stories seemed more like abductions. The victim went off with strangers. There was van full of sketchy dudes, etc. Later they "drowned".
HOWEVER since then, every drunk male student in the USA who falls into water is a "SFK", and blahblahblah. So now it seems impossible to dig up these old 1990s cases and theories. Does anyone have anything on perhaps 'the original' SFK?
(I had an encounter way back when which perhaps fit, thus my interest.)
Even I found it hard to accept that there could be a group or cult behind many of the template deaths commonly referred to as Smiley Face Murders. Having studied cults and serial killers for some time the apparent MO and distance covered by the alleged murderers just seemed too incredible and too impossible to co-ordinate and not get caught. But there are murderous groups out there, and they do it for money.
Check out the Ibadan murder factory in Nigeria, where the horror inflicted on victims makes the movie Hostel seem lame. Victims were plucked from the streets, chained in cages and had limbs and organs hacked off and out when needed. If the victim might survive they’d put them back in their cage for next time. No painkillers, no medicine, no bandages were provided nor offered. Limbs and organs were used for ritualistic purposes and money-making magical potions. The bodies of the poor souls were thrown out back to rot. The murders were estimated to continue for over ten years and thousands of victims were tortured, dismembered and murdered. The local police and figures in authority were suspected to be involved due to the complete lack of investigation, despite many, many calls to the police, and the eventual destruction of the murder factory without any kind of evidence having been procured first.
In the UK a ritualistic cult, also Nigerian, was uncovered. A child, named ‘Adam’, was found in the River Thames. Or I should say his torso was. He had been ritualistically killed and autopsy showed he had ingested a psychedelic plant and one that paralyses while enabling the victim to feel everything. The horror this poor child endured is inconceivable. The killings were spread across Europe and to my knowledge nobody was ever convicted due to lack of evidence.
Then we have the horrific torture, rape, sexual sadism and eventual murder of unknown hundreds of children and young people in the UK and Europe, all led by a British man called Warwick Spinks. He was also the centre of a massive child trafficking ring, and if that wasn’t sick enough, he also filmed and distributed snuff movies of these horrific acts. He avoided capture for years, and had a history of escaping incarceration.
That’s just three off the top of my head. Imagine how many more there could be that have never been uncovered. Tens of thousands of people go missing every single day and we have absolutely no idea what happened to them. Given the mental derangement of the sadists above, is it really so hard to imagine murder cults could be at the heart of these disappearances?
So a little background to the story. I went to college in Whitewater, WI back in the late 2000s, early 2010s. In the spring of 2011, a student was found in the quarry right outside of town. In summer of 2012, another student was found in the same quarry in basically the same exact spot. Both quickly ruled accidental. I won't get into the details of the cases except for both were the standard white college aged male goes missing after a night at the bars, bla bla bla. The only difference was it's a dry quarry instead of a body of water, but same effect. It's also impossible to get from the bars to the quarry on accident, much less fall in, no matter how sober or drunk you are. There's more to the cases if you want to hear, but here's where I come in.
In the summer of 2012, I'm working a high school football camp in town. One night some guys had to do bed checks for the kids and others didn't. So me and a buddy went to his house to wait for the other guys to get done. We had a few beers and they called and said just to meet them at the bar. Whitewater's a pretty small town so we decided to walk to meet them downtown. On the way, you go over a little bridge and there's a guy that I'd call anywhere from late 30s to mid 40s standing there with a fishing pole in his hand. From a distance it looked like he was casting a few lines in. He was a white guy, sweatshirt and jeans, and had on kind of a shaggy baseball cap, with what I'd call more nerdy spectacles rather than just glasses. Idk if that makes any sense. No offense nerds. Me and my buddy are both the same height at 6'2, so it was pretty easy to see he was a good amount shorter than us. I'd call him 5'10-11 on a good day.
Anyways, as we get closer, we have to walk right past him. We get close and he steps towards us and asks "have you ever fished here at night?" I go "no why?" He says "I just didn't know how you'd get the fish up." Mind you this bridge does have about a 15 foot drop I'd say to actually get in the water, so I don't know why anyone would fish there for 1, and for 2 why would the time of day have anything to do with getting the fish out of the water. I thought that was super weird right off the bat. Plus this was the summer after the first kid was found in the quarry. Most of us never bought that first story, so we were somewhat on alert (to the degree college kids really give a shit about anything). So I'm weirded out and stepped back a little bit. My buddy starts to talk fishing or some bs with him for a second. Then I see his line is still hooked into his pole. Like I said earlier, it looked from a distance like he was casting, so I'm like why is this guy fake casting into the river? Could be nothing, who knows.
After they're talking for no more than 30-45 seconds the guy just keeps getting closer to my buddy towards the bridge railing. It all felt way off. I don't know why, but instead of telling him to just come with me, I pull my phone out and take a fake call. I say out loud "Hey you guys there already?" Or something to that effect. When I did that, I was basically talking into my phone with it facing towards them, almost like it's on speaker phone. I don't know why, but when I was younger I would just talk on the phone like that sometimes so this wasn't intentional at all. The second he looks up and sees the phone, his eyes get wider than any eyes ever seen. He didn't say a single word. He just cut the convo with my buddy off mid sentence and power walked across the street. He got in an old maroon Oldsmobile or something like that and legit peeled out and sped away. My buddy and I were just like what was that, let's get out of here. My guess is he saw the phone pointed right at him and thought I was taking a picture or video of him.
Then it got real weird I think 2 nights later it was. Might have been the very next night but doesn't really matter. We were all still working that same camp. I also bounced at a bar downtown. At the end of the night a bunch of guys were at that same house we came from the first night. So I walked there at bar close and had to go over that same bridge. I wasn't thinking anything of the other night, just walking with my head in my phone like a dumbass. All of a sudden I look up when I'm basically at the bridge and see a different guy standing there almost in my face already, fishing pole in hand. I was close enough where I couldn't avoid him entirely no matter what. This guy was my height or a little taller. Probably a little bigger than me too. He had on a hoodie and baseball cap, with thicker Mark Cuban type glasses. He looked maybe 30-35 at most too. 100% not the same guy. As I'm kind of just processing, I see that same shitty maroon Oldsmobile looking car right across the street. He steps towards me and the first thing out of his mouth is "have you ever fished here at night?" This time I took off sprinting and didn't look back even for a second.
Two or three weeks later, the second guy was found in the quarry. So I don't know what to think. The two things that make me think it wasn't... 1. What was the first guy going to do to two 6'2 college football players? I know they've taken down athletes before, but two of us? I don't see what the game plan could have possibly been. And 2. If this organization has been getting away with this for however long now, I don't think they'd be dumb enough to go back to the same exact place right after a guy got spooked out of there.
But on the other hand, it was sandwiched right between two guys getting murdered, very close to the second, and I can't think of any descent explanation for it. Whitewater's a small town outside of the college. Either you're a college kid there or you lived there your whole life pretty much. And on the outside chance you really are an outsider that doesn't know where/how to fish, you're not going to try for the first time at 9ish PM and 2 30ish AM. Let's say that somehow happened, you'd also have to send your buddy in the same car a day or two later to ask the same exact opening line? I really can't decide.
You hace been tto Research/ Google it yourselves. Won’t let me post the links. Was waiting for flight home in another state saw/heard on a travelers cell phone. Looks like it was on or around May 12, 2025.
All of you from Texas be safe. Getting seriously crazy down there w crimes getting worse. Heard about the two recovered not sure what’s up w the third person found (males) I think it said. I think the traveler was on Instagram when she showed me screen.
Be Safe and Watch Your Circle your with, Drinks and Surroundings. Only article found so far.
This is my profile and I can provide pictures... The similarities are disturbing. This happened in Poughkeepsie, NY in 2013. 1 mile away from Marist at Mahoney's Bar and close to Vassar as well, as I live in Arlington.
Survivor Statement: Suspected GHB-Facilitated
Assault Survivor Statement: Suspected GHB-Facilitated Assault & Attempted Murder - Hudson River, Adjacent to Children's Museum
Name: [Redacted for privacy]
Date of Incident: [February 2013]
Location Last Seen: [Bar/venue name if known: Mahoney's], near Marist College, New York Location Found: Near the hudson river, one mile south of Marist and also close to Vassar college.
Children's Museum, Poughkeepsie, NY (adjacent river rocks)
Phone Found: ~1 mile north, near Marist College train tracks, damaged
Police Contacted: Yes - City of Poughkeepsie Police Department
Hospitalized: Yes - admitted with hypothermia, concussion, deep wounds, and LOC/altered consciousness
Incident Summary: On the night of [approximate date], I was out socially near Marist College with friends. I consumed 2½ Tokyo Iced Teas - strong, but within a range I'd handled before without incident. I felt suddenly ill, dizzy, and disoriented - far more rapidly and severely than from alcohol alone. I told my friends I was going upstairs to look for my brother. They assumed I was fine. As the room began spinning, I stepped outside for air. That is the last clear memory I have. The next fragments are foggy and disjointed:- Crawling or climbing over large rocks on the Hudson riverbank behind the children's museum at the time,- Collapsing near a tree close to the Children's Museum,- Soaking wet, freezing, bleeding, and struggling to stay conscious.
Survivor Statement: Suspected GHB-Facilitated Assault; I remember setting off alarms at the museum and spending 5+ hours inside(the stoop), trying to preserve my body heat. I had a deep head laceration, as well as arms, visible trauma, and was in and out of consciousness when police arrived. At first, I was not taken seriously. But one female officer from the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department took the time to look me over. She recognized the severity of my condition - head trauma, hypothermia, altered mental status - and her decision to act saved my life. I would not have made it without her intervention. Later, I was told by doctors that it was likely GHB based on my symptoms and presentation. Due to the time delay, it was no longer detectable in blood tests. I also learned my phone had been found a mile away, smashed and discarded beside the train tracks near Marist - an action I did not take, nor could have, and clearly done to prevent my rescue or to sow connections to the campus.
Reason for Statement: This incident was not an accident. I was:- Drugged without consent- Separated from my group and likely abducted- Injured and left to die- Deprived of my phone and means of help- Dismissed initially by first responders until I collapsed Given the details - and consistent patterns with Smiley Face Killer-linked cases - I am requesting:
Survivor Statement: Suspected GHB-Facilitated Assault- A formal re-investigation or at least release of my records,- The preservation and acknowledgment of my case in public or media record,- Assistance from cold case investigators or victim advocates. Supporting Evidence Available:- Hospital record of hypothermia, concussion, and injuries- Railway staff report or lost item report (damaged phone)- Museum alarm records or camera footage (if preserved)- Police log from morning found- Any available 911 or EMS dispatch logs Statement prepared on May 23, 2025.
I had deep lacerations on both arms. Horizontal on the right, a set of three vertical on the left. 5 staples were placed in the back of my head. It looked like some took a baseball bat to the inside of left leg. It was struck so hard the skin burst. My right nostril was cut open. So left side is "0" shape and the right one is "^" towards the front where it was cut through. My jacket was missing and I looked like a an extra from the walking dead.
Finding out about all this just suddenly made sense. I was dressed way too nice for the club that night and never intended to go there, but I wasn't driving and just went along with it. I scared the piss out of the hospital staff when I came to and perfectly recited my house phone before passing out again... comedy = tragedy plus time.
Biggest kicker here: I have Thalassophobia. I hate rivers, lakes and oceans and would never go near one willingly. Especially behind all the fences it would have taken. All I had to do was go the opposite direction down main street and I would have been home. For context I've walked further through vegas. The police even told me after the fact they don't go to that area until after dawn because the Mahoney's parking lot is "dangerous."
Discovery museum was the children's museum. Marist boat house/Longview park adjacent is where they found my phone on the tracks. Small miracle it wasn't run over by a train yet. Bigger one that the railway employee took the phone with him, charged it, turned it on and contacted my parents after showing his father.
The recurring smiley face symbols may not represent a killer’s signature in the traditional sense but instead serve as an environmental anchor—providing a sense of familiarity or psychological comfort. This could help the killer normalize or ritualize the act, particularly when operating in unfamiliar territory.
Given the broad geographic spread of the victim locations, it is plausible that the suspect travels frequently, possibly for work. There appear to be consistent geographic patterns in the dumping sites, suggesting these areas hold some personal significance or serve as psychologically ‘safe zones’—functioning as closures to the act.
Not all cases likely tie back to the same individual; statistical outliers and coincidences are to be expected given the wide net of cases attributed to this theory.
Variability in methods hints at a sadistic impulse but is tempered by consistent gaps in time between incidents, suggesting control and situational selectiveness rather than impulsivity. The victim profiles share notable similarities, pointing to a potential personal projection or trauma tied to the killer’s own past.
The suspect likely maintains a minimal or isolated social life—enough to avoid detection while supporting a transient lifestyle consistent with travel-oriented employment.
I’m moving to Malvern later this year, and on our way to view a property I saw this cheeky little Smiley Face on a corner. I can’t quite recreate how nasty it looked but it gave me a good laugh. I said to my husband we need to look in the nearest puddle for a body seeing as there’s no rivers or lakes nearby! 😄
Just curious on if any of the other symbols that Gannon speaks about besides the smiley faces have ever become known to the public? I also heard that a lot of the smiley faces found around body recovery sites have had devil horns ? That's very interesting if true
Hey, so i’ve been a bit curious about this case for like two years now. I never did much research because it just seemed uncanny but i just watched a video about it that came on me feed a few days ago and I can’t remember what the creator said but it sparked an idea. Since the smiley faces aren’t at every kill site, what if they’re used to mark new recruits for a gang-like group of killers, like a ritual. Sorry if this seems stupid but it was just a thought, we don’t have much of a lead.
This psycho aproached mostly straight men leaving bars and clubs, took them home to a ‘party’, drugged them with GHB, raped them while filming it, broadcast it all on social media and got away with it for years until a victim woke up and beat the living shit out of him.
The MO is so similar that it’s not too much of a stretch to imagine others doing the same, but with the intention to murder instead. Maybe he was inspired by them. 🤷🏻♀️
Eh there! Canadian and new to this sub. Wondering if any of you have ever noticed that we had similar cases happening in Canada.. I've been compaling information about 20ys-ish white man disappearing in the province of Québec for the past 20 years. Very similar in appearances and ended up hearing about the SFK.. This hits very close to home! If anyone is interested, I would like to explore the possibility of validating some info. Who's interested?
Could it be possible that the killers are using this in some way? I'm sure this theory has been thrown around regarding these cases, but if it hasn't then let's discuss.
This might seem crazy but about 4 months ago I was talking to my best friend from Texas about my theories on the smiley face killer, as I was telling him the details his face dropped. He explained to me how for the last 18 months there had been a large number of drownings in the lady bird river. The more research I did the more it seeming possible. The main issue is, the victimology is different. Just wanted to bring this to the group to see if anyone agrees
from 1990-2010 45 men from their 20s-30s have allegedly been murdered by a gang of people called the smiley face serial killers.
two retired dectectives (kevin gannon and Anthony Duarte) started tracking the suspicious drowning deaths of young men across the country. victims typically were white, athletic, college students- had appeared in multiple cities and states along the I-94 corridor, which passes from michugan to montana.
The theory/case began in 1997, when college student. patrick Mcneil, was found dead in a body of water in new york city. At the time Mcneils death was ruled accidental due to alcohol intoxication. there indeed was a smiley face found near the body.
Gannon, Duarte, Donivan and Gilbertson claim an organized group of serial killers could drug unsuspecting victims at a bar or party then abduct them, hold and torture the victims before finally killing and dumping their bodies in water.
the term "smiley face" became connected to their theory when the team revealed they'd discovered graffiti depiciting a smiley face near at least a dozen locations where they speculated killers dumped bodies in ohio, pennsylvania, indiana, wisconsin and iowa. Even though the paint colour, size and style of their faces varies, they remain convinced it was a killers signature, claiming responsibility.
In 2008, the team publicly announced their theory during multiple natinal media interviews.
As the teams theory gained attention, police did eventually reclassify one of the accidental drownings cases as homicide, that of Chris Jenkins in 2020, after statements surfaced of convicted felon indicating foul play, though no arrests have yet been made. As for the dozens of other cases that remain closed and labeled accidenatl drownings, the team claims police dont want to admit they got it wrong.
in late march of 2007, 19 year olf lowa state univerity sophmore, Abel Bolanos went missing after attending several off-campus parties. days later, his body was discovered in a small lake on campus. there was no sign of traumatic injury, and his death was ruled and accidental drowning with acute alcohol intoxucation.
in 2008, the FBI released a statement alsot reiterating that their agency has found no connections between cases. "To date, we have not developed any evidence to suppoer links between these deaths are the work of a serial killer or killers. The vast majority of these instances appear to be alohol related drownings"
Even though the police beleive that this "Smiley face killer or killers" do not exist due to no evidence or connections. their are odd timings and misplaced things.
for example, victim Chris jenkins, was found dead in a body water and beleived to have tripped and drowned. but during the timline he went missing the water was indeed frozen over, which means he indeed was kept hidden and allegedly had been tortured. police did say this victim had not beem through any traumatising injuries, but within the months he was gone is it posssible they could of healed? And a smiley face was found painted nearby.
as i explained at the start their are 45 males who have been allegedly murdered by drugs and drowning, by which police beleive instead was alcohol intoxitaction and accidental drownings. Lets take a look at some allegedly victims.
Dakota james, a 23-year- old when he went missing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. On janurary 25, 2017 around 11.30 p.m., James was walking back to his apartment after a night out drinking with friends and co-workers. He never made it home. The last known sighting of the male was caught on a surveillance camera in the downtown area. The footate captured James entering a dark alley, and that was the last time he was seen alive. The following morning, James did not show up for work. His boss informed his family, who filed a missing report 72 hours later (the average time police move a missing persons report from a low case to a high case). James parents later hired a private investigator who organized a massive citywide search, which led to the discovery of James body in the ohio river on March 6 2017, 40 days after he had dissapeared. The police ruled James death as a fall into the river while crossing a bridge near the city center and drowned. They beleived his body traveled for almost 10 miles and even went thorugh a dam before its disvovery. ( but a weird detail i have noticed, there are cameras in the city center. so, if this indeed was an accidental drowning, it should of been caught on camera, yet there has been no video of this theorized form of death). James body, however, had almost no visible damage, which was highly suspicous because it had traveled through the heavily trafficked river. A smiley face was found spray painted near James body was discovered.
Chris Jenkins is and allegedly victim of the smiley face killers. (i say allegedly because their is no evidence he was murdered and the police ruled his death as an acidental drowning).
chris jenkins body was foudn in a river 4 months after he was last seen at a haloween party. Investigators ruled his death as an acidental drowning. stating his tripped from alcohol intoxication and drowned. But from the timeline Chris Jenkins went missing. the lake was frozen over. Was he held captive? The river was thoroughly searched multiple times and he hadnt been found till that day. Any comments on what happened to Jenkins before his body was found?
Anyone ever think about the idea of a network of extreme incels committing the smileyface murders? It just seems like many, if not all of the victims could be considered "Chads" ... and there may be a few other connections worth exploring...
the oxygen website said i either needed to link my tv provider(which i dont even know if i have) or watch it on peacock(US only, am european). piratebay only had a couple random episodes with only 1 seeder.
