Accident or Murder? Why do missing men keep turning up in rivers?

True Crime Society

Almost daily we hear of a case of a different missing man that vanishes after a night out with friends. It happens everywhere - Boston, Chicago, Wisconsin, Minnesota. Even in England. Big cities and small towns. The stories of these men play out in the same way. Family and friends conduct desperate searches and make frenzied social media posts in an attempt to find him before time runs out. And then the worst happens, a body is pulled from a lake or river, usually not far from where the man was last seen. The search is over.
Can all of these cases really be attributed to accidents? Why do these cases seem to happen in clustered locations?
In this episode of the True Crime Society Podcast, we look at the cases of five men who were missing and later recovered in water. We also discuss one current case where the man is still missing and a river is currently being searched:
- Christopher Jenkins went missing from Minneapolis in 2002 on Halloween night. His body was found in a river four months later. Police originally classified his death as an accident and had to apologize to Chris' family when they determined it was actually likely a homicide.
- Zachary Marr went missing from a bar in Boston on February 13, 2016. He had gone outside for a cigarette and messaged his friends that he wanted to leave. In the matter of minutes while they were getting their coats, Zachary vanished into the night. His body was found in a river one month after he disappeared and his death is thought to be accidental.
- Dakota James was last seen alive on January 25, 2017 in Pittsburgh. He was walking home after a night out with friends. His body was pulled from a river 40 days later. Dakota's family believe he had been drugged on the night he disappeared and that the condition of his body was too 'pristine' to have been in the water for so long. A smiley face was found spray painted on an underpass near where Dakota's body was found.
- Jelani Day went missing in August and his body was pulled from a river in September. Pathologist Dr Jame Bryant said within his 50 years of experience he had never examined a body as destroyed as the 25-year-old.
- Dakota Bingham went missing from a bar in Nashville on October 10, 2021. He called a Lyft to get home but never made the ride. There is apparently CCTV of Dakota falling into the Cumberland River and struggling to swim. His body was recovered just days after he disappeared.
- Brendan Santo was visiting friends at Michigan State University on October 29. He left to walk to another area and has not been seen since. As of November 24, 2021, Brendan is still missing. The Red Cedar River has been searched many times for him and police are hopeful of a breakthrough now that the water level is receding. The FBI are also involved in the search for Brendan.
You can read our blog for the men we discuss in this episode here - https://truecrimesocietyblog.com/2021/11/10/missing-men-and-waterways-what-is-going-on/
In next week's episode, we delve more into the Smiley Face Killer theory, so make sure you listen to this one first!
In terms of other updates, we also discuss the case of Jacob, Noah and Amber Clare. Jacob abducted his son and niece and went on the run with them. There is a lot going on - if you want to skip to the Clare update, goto 51.30 in the podcast.

Spotify link - https://open.spotify.com/episode/34H1dMmMjZYO6sZ6p0aHN1?si=Xo16M11NRlq4NUASiGpYWg
Apple link - https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/true-crime-society/id1504300714?i=1000543019867

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