After six months, the toxicology report in the Alexander Grant case has finally been released, raising further questions in a case defined by its uncertainty. According to a statement made by Grant’s family, the report shows that the 19-year-old was not under the influence of drugs at the time of his death. The statement does not say whether or not alcohol was found in his system.

These findings fail to explain Grant’s disoriented behavior. His rationale for his bizarre journey west—from 146 Church St. to 3 Care Lane, into the woods, and ending in a frozen bend in Putnam Creek—also remains a mystery

Lt. Greg Veitch of the Saratoga Springs Police said that it is still unclear whether law enforcement will press charges, though Grant’s family has once again expressed their anger “that some of the people involved in this tragedy have not come forward with the information necessary for us to understand what happened to Alex on the night of March 5, 2011.”

More than six months after 19-year old Boston College sophomore Alexander Grant drowned in Putnam Creek while visiting friends at Skidmore College a toxicology report may shed some light on what exactly happened the night of his death.

The Saratogain explains that the report, which has been in processing since Grant’s body was recovered from the shallow brook on the morning of Tuesday March 8th, needed to be sent out for a further battery of tests after initial tests returned “surprising” results—a possible explanation for the long delay.

Astonishingly little is known about Grant’s last night. The tragedy, a baffling story of college parties, a bizarre breaking and entering, strange behavior and a two-day search and rescue mission, initially dominated front pages across Saratoga County, Boston and Westchester County (Grant is from Briarcliff Manor) but as the trickle of details surrounding the case evaporated, Grant’s story fell victim to the news cycle and all but disappeared. Aside from a brief story on June 22nd on the case’s inexplicable stall—a peculiar non-news news item—Grant’s story has been largely missing from the local media. The College, slow to comment on the tragedy in its early days, also remained silent.

As Executive Editor, I covered this story for SkidmoreUnofficial.com when it first broke and I am writing about it here again because, until recently, the Alexander Grant case has fallen victim to the familiar phenomenon of forgetfulness that has long been Skidmore’s all too convenient solution to many of its problem. On a campus that in recent years has made it de-facto policy to address every issue, big and small, with an exhausting public dialogue, the issues raised by Alexander Grant’s death quickly blew over.

Click to continue »