Some Self Reflection Needed

Body found in Belmont Harbor.

Patnaude was last seen about 2:30 a.m. Saturday in a cab near Wellington Avenue and Broadway, where he told a friend he was going to the lakefront, police said.

According to family members, Patnaude left the East Lakeview neighborhood where he and a large group of friends had been out drinking a little after 2 a.m. and took a cab to Belmont Harbor.

I'm not going to question Mr. Patnaude's decision to go "to the lakefront." In fact, my heart goes out to his loved ones.

No, I'm questioning his "large group of friends." Drunk people make poor decisions all the time. Groups of drunk people also make poor decisions. I've been in both situations. In a very related situation I was at a big party at a lake house when we discovered a couple had snuck off to "go swimming." This was after copious amounts of shots. One or two people recognized the problem and a search was immediately organized. (They were found safe having a conversation at the end of the dock.)

I've never been in a group where someone didn't recognize and vocalize an idea was not a good one. I don't think the friends should be legally or civilly culpable but there's a large group of people who should be questioning their commitment to friendship.