Family of Nick Wilcox say they suspect foul play in his death
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- The family of 24-year-old Nick Wilcox spoke with FOX6 News on Tuesday, April 2nd -- less than one week after his body was pulled from the Milwaukee River. Wilcox disappeared while out celebrating with friends on New Year's Eve. He was last seen at the Irish Rec Room bar in the Third Ward -- not far from where his body was discovered on March 28th.
Friends last saw Wilcox, and UW-Milwaukee student, heading down an alley outside the bar between 1:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. on New Year’s Day.
An autopsy performed on March 29th found no trauma or injury and attributes Wilcox's death to accidental drowning. Toxicology testing is still pending.
"We did find him. We can put him to rest, and we feel good about that. But there are still some unanswered questions," Wilcox's dad, Nick Wilcox Sr. said.
Wilcox's father says fatherly intuition tells him foul play was involved in Wilcox's death -- though the Medical Examiner has ruled his death as an accidental drowning.
"I have no proof of that or anything, I just knew him well," Wilcox Sr. said.
"For me, there is no closure. I would like to know what happened to my brother," Wilcox's sister told FOX6 News.
The Wilcox family says police told them Wilcox was kicked out of the Irish Rec Room and then wandered over to the Milwaukee River to relieve himself.
"The fact that he would have gone to the bathroom down there -- I don't believe that. I knew him. He would not do that. He would have found a place inside to go," Wilcox Sr. said.
Wilcox Sr. says his son used to work with him outdoors. He added that Wilcox and his friends have drank in the area and returned home safely in the past, and says bar surveillance of Wilcox before his disappearance casts more doubt.
"By watching videos of him, he didn't seem to be that disoriented," Wilcox Sr. said.
"None of this situation makes any sense whatsoever. I know my dad and I believe that this is not an accident -- and there is something going on," Wilcox's sister said.
The funeral for Nick Wilcox is set for Saturday, April 6th at Westbrook Church in Hartland.
Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with the service to follow.
The burial will be held on Sunday, April 7th at Lisbon Merton Union Cemetery on Lake Five Road in Merton.
Family members, friends and strangers spent days, weeks and months searching for Wilcox -- even taking out digital billboards with his picture and information.
"Words can't express what people have done. The help and just the support and well-wishes and everything," Wilcox Sr. said.
Wilcox has become the second young man to drown in the Milwaukee River after drinking downtown. 28-year-old Thomas Hecht disappeared during a Shamrock Shuffle pub crawl on March 10th of 2012.