Authorities have determined the cause of death for Wisconsin graduate student Eliotte Heinz, whose body was discovered in the Mississippi River a few days after she disappeared while walking home from a bar this past July.

The La Crosse County Medical Examiner’s Office has classified Heinz’s death as accidental drowning, as outlined in an autopsy report released to Fox News Digital on Thursday morning.

The 22-year-old student from Viterbo University went missing around 2:30 a.m. on July 20 after leaving Broncos Bar in La Crosse, Wisconsin, following an evening out with friends.

Her lifeless body was located three days later, at approximately 10:30 a.m. on July 23, by a fisherman in the river near Brownsville, Minnesota — over a dozen miles from her last known location, according to officials.

Eliotte Heinz, 22, was last seen during an early morning walk in La Crosse, Wisconsin, on July 20, 2025. (Amber Heinz; La Crosse Police Department)

There was “no gross evidence of trauma,” according to the autopsy report, which noted that there were no indications of foul play, physical assault or inflicted harm.

Authorities were desperately searching for missing grad student Eliotte Heinz, 22, who was last seen early on July 20, 2025. Her body was recovered in the Mississippi River on July 23, 2025. (Amber Heinz)

Toxicology tests showed Heinz had no drugs in her system, though she tested positive for alcohol. She had 193 mg/dL of ethanol in her system, according to the report, which is roughly a 0.19% Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC).

According to health experts, a BAC of 0.19% is associated with severe impairment to gross motor skills, speech, vision and reasoning. For comparison, the standard legal limit for driving is 0.08%.

Heinz was last seen walking along the Mississippi River waterfront at about 3:30 a.m. and later spotted on surveillance footage heading toward her apartment, which was less than a mile away.

The owner of a marina bar near the location where Heinz’s body was spotted told Fox News Digital in July that the young fisherman found the body face down and wrapped in duckweed. The body could be seen from the shore.

Jonathan Strike, who lived in Heinz’s apartment building, told Fox News at the time that Heinz had only moved in a few months ago, but her kindness radiated in the community.

“Very sweet, quiet girl,” Strike said. “[She] always said ‘Hi’ every time she walked by. Ever since she moved in, [she] always made an attempt to be as friendly as she can be, even with my dog jumping all over everybody. It’s just heartbreaking.”

Heinz’s family released a statement to Fox News Digital in July remembering the 22-year-old as a “beautiful person.”

Eliotte Heinz, 22, was a graduate student at Viterbo University in Wisconsin. (Amber Heinz)

“She was smart, funny, caring, and loved fiercely by us. We don’t know why we were so blessed to have her as a daughter, or why we are unable to keep her,” it read, in part. “She is amazing and would have continued to amaze us. We are devastated that she is no longer with us. Our family will forever have a missing piece.”

“Eliotte’s walk home is finished. Unfortunately, our family’s walk down this new hard path is just beginning. We love you Eliotte,” the statement concluded.

The University of Wisconsin River Watch, a program started in 2006 to prevent alcohol-related accidental drownings, reported that eight college students drowned in the Mississippi River as a result of excessive drinking between 1997 and 2006.