LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT) – The La Crosse Police Department released autopsy and toxicology reports for 25-year-old Hamud Faal.
According to a medical examiner’s report, Faal, a Sun Prairie High School graduate, died of drowning and had a high level of alcohol in his system.
Faal went missing last February and was found by fire department crews nearly a month later in the Mississippi River.
There was no indication of foul play in the report.
According to the report, Faal was seen on security cameras in areas of downtown La Crosse on February 19. He was also seen walking down the middle of West Avenue, which police say was busy at the time.
That evening, he was seen dancing with a woman and police say he was going to meet up with her on Front Street after bars close. Investigators interviewed the woman, who said she never mentioned meeting up with him on Front Street.
In the early morning hours of February 20, a bartender saw him outside. The bartender said he looked heavily intoxicated. He was offered a ride home by the bartender. Faal said he lived near Legends, and was taken to the downtown bar on Pearl Street. La Crosse investigators note that Faal did not live near Legends at the time.
Camera footage shows him staggering towards Front Street from Pearl Street. He’s last seen on cameras on Front Street near the Courtyard by Mariott.
While police were investigating, search dogs picked up Faal’s scent along that same path to the edge of the Mississippi River. Investigators noted a small opening in the ice near the shore.
Faal’s body was found on March 17 by the La Crosse Fire Department during a search operation.
Faal was a psychology student at UW-La Crosse.
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