SHAWANO, WI (WTAQ) – After six years, a Shawano County Fatal Hit and Run Investigation has expired.
Shawano County Sheriff Officials say the Statute of Limitations has been reached into the investigation of a Michigan Man, 22-year-old Timothy Meade who was found dead on County M back in 2013.
On June 28, 2013, the Sheriff’s office received a call of a man lying dead in the roadway. The caller stated that it appeared that the man had been run over.
Both the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department and Shawano Police Department investigated.
Sheriff Adam Bieber says after a lengthy investigation, they can’t reach closure through charges.
“By all appearances, it appears to be an accident with no criminal intent, and there is a statute of limitations for cases like that.”
The final report indicated that minimal evidence was located at the scene to point to any one particular vehicle.
The investigation by the Sheriff’s Department included checking with local businesses including car washes, hotels, and vehicle repair shops. Detectives also obtained cell phone records to locate anyone that would have made a call around the time of the incident.
“I think they did everything they possibly could, Sheriff Bieber said. They did interviews, checked many vehicles, brought in media presence, and drummed up everything they possibly could to get a conviction.”
He says investigators did reach a female witness through information obtained by the family. They indicated that she may have been able to provide crucial information.
That woman was identified as Savanna Curtin.
According to the final report, the witness indicated that she was at the same bar that Meade was at and later she overheard one of Curtin’s friends making odd statements at work. She told investigators that it indicated she may have known something about the crash. According to the Sheriff’s Department, Curtin requested a lawyer and decided not to speak with investigators for the six years.
“People will always have to judge whether she should have to talk or not, but she was exercising her rights and did everything legally.
According to the report, the witness told Sheriff Investigators that she went to the Shawano Police Department and told now Shawano Police Chief and then Lt. Dan Mauel about what she knew the next day. The Sheriff’s officials stated that they did not learn of this until 2018.
“They are the ones that gave the information about a possible witness that we did not know had been given to the police department,” Bieber said.
According to the report released this week. Chief Dan Mauel remembers talking to the witness but does not recall who the information would have been passed on to, None of the detectives remember hearing about the information.
According to the Sheriff’s report, a friend of Curtin remembers talking to her when she indicated she thought she saw someone on the road.
Detectives discovered that Curtin had family that lived in the area of the crash and that she did make a phone call that morning and that the car that she had registered under her name at the time of the incident was sold two years later to a party in Indiana.
It was then that detectives attempted to question her and she requested a lawyer who eventually told investigators that she was not interested in speaking with them.
“Individuals have rights and that is the way that the system works,” Sheriff Bieber said. “We don’t have enough evidence to charge anyone in this case and the District Attorney agrees.”
Sheriff Bieber says he wishes he could get family and friends more closure but is glad that conditional rights make sure there is enough evidence obtained in order for there to be a conviction.
“That is the America that we live in. There is a burden of proof that is needed and in this case, we don’t have that burden of proof.”
He says unless new evidence emerges that suggests intentional homicide, the case is closed.
“There is only one person that knows what happened that night. That is the driver of the vehicle and that person has not talked for six years. We don’t expect that person to disclose what happened that night. The other person, unfortunately, is dead.”
