Every now and then you see reports from local news affiliates around the nation: Young man leaves bar. Missing. Days later, sometimes weeks, the man is found floating dead in a river, stream, or lake. Usually close in proximity to where the watering hole was.. normally in a place where police already looked. Often times the missing men have the same outward appearance: Between 21 and 28, muscular build, athletic..
There is a strange theory that dates back to about 2006 or so. At that time, Kevin Gannon, a retired detective with the New York Police Department and another former NYPD officer, Anthony Duarte began investigations into strange deaths of young men showing up in bodies of water. Those deaths appeared to be related to the former police. They thought that deaths nationwide had a grim connection.. And they also found a term coined by a calling card: A graffiti smiley face found near the scenes where the bodies washed ashore.
The theory posits that each alleged victim was drugged before their bodies were dropped into water to demolish evidence and make the deaths appear accidental. The theory would state that the motive is jealousy of attractive men. Jealousy of men with jobs, younger professionals who have more status in society than the presumed alleged serial killer or killers..
All far fetched? All bizarre?
There are hundreds of websites if not more dedicated to the theory. There are countless Facebook pages popping up with the term Smiley Face Killer in the title..
FBI released a statement in 2008 saying there was no evidence of any kind that such a theory should hold validity..
The theory is rearing itself again. Boston Police Commissioner William Evans told people in his city that alcohol was the factor, not a serial killer, in men showing up dead in waterways in the city.. (https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/05/23/bpd-commissioner-refutes-serial-killer-theory-for-bodies-found-waterways/51A35WMn4zHhOjcvJ3htXO/story.html) .. Other US cities have had similar incidents, and police authorities have said the vast majority of the deaths were accidents or suicides.
There is logic to the denials. If the body loses heat faster than it can produce it, it brings on hypothermia, which causes confusion and memory loss... And the amount of alcohol that is consumed so often in bars goes not only beyond the legal limits but limits of what a body can handle.
But others would counter the police argument like this: Police departments are primarily focused on their Clearance Rate, a number which refers to % of cases that end with an arrest, or an identified culprit. The Clearance Rate for Homicide 50 years ago was 90%; however, in 2015 it had dropped to 64%. And that, some would say, is why cops are denying any connection to an ill-will motive. Because it would lend the public to believe and perceive correctly that a number of unsolved crimes are taking place.
The latest plot twist in the entire Smiley Face killer saga is Boston: The third case THIS MONTH was of 20-year-old Michael Doherty. He was missing for a week and found deceased. Smiley Face conspiracy theories are now heavily focused on the bodies of water in the Boston area. This is why police have issued such emphatic denials. Here is an interesting map of the names and places where men have been found in the Boston area: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1wrmfzHTMN25TnVqJkTHX00szpSM&ll=42.27210110000003%2C-70.94947100000002&z=9
I add no opinion on whether this is all true or false. I will only say this: For those who promote the Smiley Face killer theory, you need to consider the mileage difference between missing men and also the fact that we don't often hear anything about a 'smiley face' being painted anywhere near the scene. If cops are hiding that nationwide, that would be a giant conspiracy.
And for those who deny the Smiley Face killer idea, you have to admit--and I know the dangers of alcohol and bars near bodies of water--but the amount of men who seemingly have the same build and appearance going missing and being found dead in the same manner throughout geographic clusters should be at least a little cause for pause...
The rest is up to you.