DOOR COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) – The search continues for a missing Grand Chute doctor who was last seen June 29 in Ephraim.
Door County Sheriff’s investigators say they’re expanding their search in hopes of locating 63-year-old Jeffrey Whiteside.
“We had three deputies going door-to-door in Ephraim with the flyer and see if anybody had seen him or anything suspicious,” Door County Sheriff Steve Delarwelle said Wednesday. “We also had the DNR do a grid search with their airplane of Eagle Harbor in case he would’ve been in the water.”
Delarwelle said that the plane did several passes over Eagle Harbor and found nothing. For the first time, they will put to use search dogs in the area both Friday and Saturday.
The sheriff admits that time is not on their side.
“We haven’t had anybody that has sighted him yet, some possibilities and ideas here or there, but not a lot of them no,” Delarwelle said of the frequency of citizen tips. “Without any (tips), Door County is a large area with a lot of wooded area. Without any idea where to even start the search, it’s difficult.”
Delarwelle also denied a Gannett Wisconsin Media report which said an email notification from the Wisconsin Crime Alert Network was sent to the Sturgeon Bay Visitor Center from the Sturgeon Bay Police Department last Friday saying Whiteside was vacationing with his family on a boat in Ephraim when he had an argument with his wife and left the marina on foot. It also stated that it’s happened previously.
“No, I don’t know anything about that,” Delarwelle said when asked about it. He did say that the Sturgeon Bay Police Department is not assisting in the search for Whiteside, only distributing fliers.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Door County Sheriff’s Department at (920) 746-2416.
