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Chris Jenkins

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Chris jenkins

Chris Jenkins

Real Name: Christopher Mark Jenkins
Nicknames: Chris
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Date: October 31, 2002

Case[]

Details: Twenty-one-year-old Chris Jenkins was a smart, popular business student at the University of Minnesota. He was the captain of the school's lacrosse team. He grew up in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, with his parents, Steve and Jan, and sister, Sara. Jan says Chris is most remembered for his sense of humor.
On the night of October 31, 2002, Chris dressed as a Native American and went with his girlfriend and another couple to a Halloween party at the Lone Tree Bar & Grill in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Around midnight, he was kicked out of the bar. He left behind his phone, wallet, and jacket. The bouncer watched him take a left on Hennepin Avenue. He was never seen again. He was the first of several young male college students to vanish in the Upper Midwest.
Six days later, on November 6, twenty-two-year-old University of Wisconsin student Michael Noll vanished after celebrating his birthday at a bar in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Three days after that, on November 9, twenty-year-old Josh Guimond disappeared after leaving a small party at an apartment in Collegeville, Minnesota. All three vanished within a 100-mile radius of Minneapolis. All were white males about the same age, height, and weight. All vanished at night after visiting bars or parties. And all were drinking and were last seen near water.
It was theorized that a serial killer was targeting young men along the Mississippi River. On February 27, 2003, Chris' body was found in the Mississippi River between the Third Avenue Bridge and St. Anthony Falls. It was stuck between some logs. One month later, on March 25, Michael's body was found in a lake. Both were found not far from where they were last seen. The FBI and local investigators ruled out a connection between their deaths and Josh's disappearance.
An autopsy determined that Chris drowned. His blood alcohol level was well above the legal limit. The manner of death was listed as "unknown". However, the police believed his death was either an accident or suicide. They theorized that Chris was drunk and either accidentally fell or jumped from the nearby Hennepin Avenue Bridge into the river. They believed he was upset after a fight with his girlfriend. In 2004, the case was closed.
Chris' parents, however, believed he was murdered. They hired a private investigator to look into it. He noted that Chris did not have the injuries one would expect to find if he had fallen from a high bridge. His parents discovered discrepancies that suggested his body was not in the river the entire time he was missing. They also claimed that the police did not handle the investigation well. They said initial investigators failed to interview people at the bar and did not treat the site where Chris' body was found as a crime scene.
Retired detectives Kevin Gannon and Anthony Duarte have looked into the drowning deaths of several young men along the Interstate 94 corridor in the Midwest. They took a look into Chris' death and discovered that the position of his body and other physical evidence indicated that he had not drowned accidentally.
In 2005, the police received a tip about Chris' death. They located and questioned a man who was incarcerated on unrelated charges. He told them that he and another man accosted Chris on the Hennepin Avenue Bridge's pedestrian walkway that night. He said that Chris was an "easy target" for a mugging because he was drunk. He said that his accomplice, angry that Chris had nothing of value on him (his costume had no pockets, so he did not have his wallet on him), flung him over the bridge's railing into the Mississippi River.
In November 2006, the police reclassified Chris' death as a homicide. Chris' family, however, does not believe he was thrown from the bridge because he was still wearing his slip-on shoes, his shirt was tucked in, his costume was still intact, and his arms were crossed. His family believes he was forced into a van, driven around, and eventually murdered and dumped in the river.
Suspects: In 2005, a jailed man gave police a new lead regarding Chris' death. He claimed that Chris was the victim of an attempted robbery that ended with him being thrown over a bridge railing into the Mississippi River. The inmate was reportedly an accomplice to the man who was responsible.
In 2007, a suspect was identified in Chris' case. The Minneapolis Police Department presented the suspect's name to the county attorney, hoping that charges would be filed. However, the county attorney determined that there was not enough evidence to file charges. Police say the person remains a suspect.
Jaramy Lynn Alford was reportedly at the same bar as Chris on the night of his disappearance. Alford is currently serving time in prison for murdering Douglas Miller in 2005. He has refused to talk about Chris' case.
Another man went to the same bar that Chris did a few months before he disappeared. After having a drink, he became very sick, almost losing consciousness. Some men tried to put him in a car; fortunately, he was saved by a friend. When the man was taken to the hospital, a high amount of GHB was found in his system. It was theorized that something similar may have happened to Chris.
Chris' parents do not believe he was thrown from the bridge after a mugging. They believe he was taken into a van, driven around, murdered, and then dumped in the water.
Retired detectives Kevin Gannon and Anthony Duarte believe that Chris' death is linked to the drowning deaths of forty young men, mostly college students, in eleven states. According to them, a smiley face was found painted near the crime scenes. The detectives believe it is the killer's signature, claiming responsibility for the deaths. They believe the victims were drugged and then dumped in the river. However, many are skeptical of their theory. FBI investigators believe the deaths were accidental.
Extra Notes:

  • This case was first released on October 25, 2022, as a part of the third volume of the Netflix reboot. It was released in the second part of a three-week Halloween event. The episode mainly focused on Josh's disappearance.
  • It was also profiled on the shows Dateline and Breaking Homicide, and The Trail Went Cold podcast.
  • Jan wrote a book, Footprints of Courage about it.
  • Some sources state that Chris left the bar on his own.

Results: Unsolved
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