NAVARINO (WTAQ-WLUK) – The Shawano County community is pulling together to support the families of the two men who disappeared in Missouri last week, Justin and Nick Diemel.
During the Navarino Ranger’s game Sunday, that support was apparent.
Every hit Ryan Boettcher makes the rest of the season, he’s donating five dollars to the families of Justin and Nick Diemel.
He’ll give 50 dollars for every game the Navarino Rangers win, and he’ll do the same if they lose.
“It’s about them,” said Boettcher. “They’re a second family to me. We’re really close with them. This is the best way I could think of, something with baseball.”
Money wasn’t just being raised on the field at Sunday’s game. It was being raised off the field as well. By selling raffle tickets to the fans and donation jars at the concessions.
“This is about five times as many people that’s usually here,” said Cody Wegner.
While Wegner used to play for the Rangers, he’s here now , like dozens of others, to support the Diemels.
“It just doesn’t seem realistic it doesn’t like something like this can happen to people that you know and people that you love,” said Wegner.
In this community, where everyone knows each other, the news of their death investigation is still sinking in.
“It doesn’t get easier, but you regain that faith and you regain that hope and you see the support from the community, and you hold on to that,” said Wegner. “But nothing’s going to bring them back and it might never make sense.”
Kevin Conradt, the President of the Navarino Rangers organization, says the team is also donating any money raised from Sunday’s admissions.
“This was a way to pull everybody together in the community,” said Conradt.
The team showed support to the Diemel family by painting the initials of Justin and Nick Diemel at the gate of the ballpark. Players also wrote them on their hats.
People filled the park to show their support.
More than 1,500 dollars was raised for the family in the 50-50 raffle alone.
The team doesn’t know yet how much was raised in total.
