HARTFORD, Wis. (WFRV) – A search for a missing 80-year-old man is ongoing after his wife reported that he had gone out on Pike Lake in southeastern Wisconsin on Wednesday night and never returned home.
According to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, authorities were made aware of the situation shortly after 9 p.m. on October 18 when a caller reported that her husband had gone out to Pike Lake several hours prior but had not yet returned home.
Authorities responded to the lake and found a pickup truck and an empty boat trailer in the parking lot that was reportedly registered to the 80-year-old man.
A search of the lake began immediately, and roughly five minutes after arrival, deputies were able to find the man’s unoccupied boat on the east shore of Pike Lake, north of the Pike Lake State Park beach.
Deputies noted that the boat did not appear to have been involved in a collision.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team was notified, leading to a search of the lake and its immediate vicinity. Authorities used multiple patrol boats with sonar capabilities and an aerial drone but after several hours of searching, search operations were suspended for the night.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office’s release stated that search efforts were scheduled to resume during the daylight hours on Thursday.
The following agencies have assisted the Washington County Sheriff’s Office with the search:
- Allenton Fire Department
- Hartford Fire Department
- Hartford Police Department
- Kewaskum Fire Department
- Richfield Fire Department
- Slinger Fire Department
- Washington County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team
- West Bend Fire Department
- Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
- Wisconsin State Patrol
The incident remains under investigation by the Wisconsin DNR and no further information has been released.
Local 5 will update this story when more details are provided.
