Coincidence?

The spate of drowning of college-aged men along the I-94 corridor has spawned renewed interest, and has left many wondering if the occurrences are merely coincidences:

Chris Jenkins was a popular student at the University of Minnesota who disappeared one night in 2003.

Four months later, he was found dead in the Mississippi River. At first police thought Jenkins was just a drunk college kid who accidentally fell into the river and drowned after a night on the town.

But for two retired New York City Police detectives, Jenkins' death became the link that connected the drowning deaths of 40 young men — usually high-achieving college students — in 25 cities in 11 different states.

Chilling Discovery

Detectives Kevin Gannon and Anthony Duarte have been tracking the suspicious drowning deaths of young men across the country ever since they investigated the death of college student Patrick McNeill, who drowned in New York City in 1997. Gannon made a promise to McNeill's parents that he would never give up on his case.

When the detectives took a look at Jenkins' death, they discovered that the position of his body and other physical evidence proved that the college student didn't drown accidentally. The cause of death on Jenkins' death certificate was changed to "homicide."

The belief that the deaths have been something more than coincidence is nothing new, with speculation being raised as early as 2002 with the disappearance of Josh Guimond from St. John's University in nearby Collegeville, and later on with the disappearance and subsequent drowning of 21-year old Scott Radel.

Apparently, at some of the sites of the deaths, the alleged "murderer(s)' left behind signs, such as a smiley face, gang graffiti symbols and other evidence that lead investigators to believe that at least some of those deaths were not coincidental:

"Because there's such a wide range of states the killings are through," Gannon said today in an exclusive interview on "Good Morning America." "Besides the fact that we have multiple victims on the same night."

At the crime scene of a drowning in Michigan, Gannon and Duarte discovered grafitti that they believed was written by the killers, but were puzzled by a word they hadn't seen before.

"We found 'sinsiniwa,' which was very suspicious at the time," said Gannon.

Then the detectives found the strange word in Iowa, where they were investigating the drowning death of 24-year-old Matt Kruziki.

Bloodhounds tracked Kruziki's scent to an intersection near the Mississippi River. The detectives believe that is the location where the killers slid Kruziki's body in the water — it was at Sinsiniwa Avenue.

"We believe they were specifically leaving a clue for us or anyone who was paying attention to these drownings, that the cases were ultimately linked," Gannon said.

The suspicious deaths attracted the attention of St. Cloud State criminology professor Douglas Gilbertson, who assisted Detectives Gannon and Duarte in their investigation, and the parents of some missing kids have hired private investigators to look into their sons' untimely deaths:

The Jenkinses said if they have to, they'll have the evidence tested themselves. They're stepping up their investigation and offering a $175,000 reward for answers."We are doing this because there's enough significant evidence pointing to foul play, pointing to murder, and if the MPD is not helping us," Chris' father, Steve Jenkins, said.

So the Jenkinses hired private investigator Chuck Loesch. He's been on the case since Jenkins disappeared. Loesch said two different sets of bloodhounds made a remarkable discovery -- both traced Chris' scent from the Lone Tree bar where he was last seen to a deserted underground garage nearby.

"The dog took us into the parking area," Loesch said. "The dog took us down to these stalls here," Both dogs did. One was within five days of Chris missing, six days. The second was about three to four weeks later," Loesch said."Two totally different dogs took you to the same parking space?" 12 News investigative reporter Colleen Henry asked."Right," Loesch said.

Minneapolis police believe Jenkins jumped or fell off a bridge over the Mississippi as he walked home, but the bloodhound indicated Jenkins got into a car, which headed west on Interstate 94.

"I think Chris was either abducted or walked into a position where he was murdered," Loesch said.

Loesch's investigation expanded when two other college students disappeared in the next nine days. Three days after Jenkins, 80 miles east on I-94, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire senior Michael Noll disappeared after leaving a college bar.

Six days after that, 50 miles northwest of Minneapolis, St. John's University junior Josh Guimond vanished after leaving a card party on campus.

In the next two months, from South Bend to Sheboygan, three other college-aged men disappeared under similar circumstances. All eventually turned up in nearby lakes or rivers, all but Guimond, who's still missing a year later.

In each case, police ruled out foul play. They called the deaths accidents or suicide.

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