Caller · moment 18 of 21
Caller's Story: Safety Habits and Why Wisconsin
from The Smiley Face Killers · #132
Audio-only archive episode — no video to seek.
5 minCaller
The caller explains detectives' advice to drink only bottled beer, his own new wariness around dams and rivers, and his theory that Wisconsin's campus rivers, drinking culture, and icy winters make it a hotspot.
- 1:07:41Detectives advised ordering bottled beer and keeping it in sight at all times to avoid being drugged.
- 1:08:16The caller explains he's from Wisconsin and has become careful around water after his near-death experience.
- 1:08:47His stomach dropped when he zoomed in and saw the smiley face with devil horns graffiti.
- 1:09:31He hasn't heard recent missing person reports but occasionally sees stories of dead college kids.
- 1:10:38The caller theorizes why Wisconsin has a high concentration of smiley face incidents.
- 1:10:51Wisconsin rivers run through nearly every UW campus, providing locations for the incidents.
- 1:11:16Wisconsin's drinking culture creates easy targets—tons of people out at bars.
- 1:11:29Most cases happen in winter when there's thin ice and cold water, making survival unlikely even sober.