Detectives look for ‘Smiley Face’ killers

The I-94 killer has now become the Smiley Face Killer.

Over the past two years, various theories have emerged concerning the drownings of young men along the I-94 corridor. Now, two retired detectives from New York have gone public with the results of their investigation and attribute the drownings not to a single serial killer, but an organized group of killers.

On Friday and Saturday of last week, KSTP Channel 5 Eyewitness News aired reports presented by reporter Kristi Piehl. The reports chronicled the efforts of Steve and Jan Jenkins to uncover the events surrounding the drowning of their son, Chris, who disappeared during the same two-week period in 2002 as Joshua Guimond of Maple Lake. However, the body of Chris Jenkins was found in the Mississippi River in February of 2003 and no trace of Joshua has ever been found. Joshua disappeared after leaving a gathering of friends in an apartment on the St. John’s Campus in the early morning hours of Nov. 10, 2002.

Two years ago, the St. Cloud State students of Professor Lee Gilbertson studied the disappearances of 11 college students in Minnesota and Wisconsin, leading them to the theory that an I-94 killer was at work. That story was repeated last year in an article entitled “Why Are These Young Guys Dying?” featured in the July issue of Cosmopolitan.

But now, retired New York police detectives Kevin Gannon and Anthony Duarte have pursued the investigation and provided new clues that suggest the drownings were not accidents, but homicides. In the KSTP report, Gannon and Duarte said they’ve discovered a link between the death of Chris Jenkins and the drownings of at least 40 other young men in 25 cities located in 11 different states.

More information appears in this weeks issue of the Messenger.