FOND DU LAC COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) – A body found along the shore of Lake Winnebago on Sunday is being identified as a 57-year-old Fond du Lac man, but very little other information is currently known in that case.
It remains unclear exactly how the man ended up partially submerged near a vacant lot in the town of Friendship on Sunday.
“The person [who called 911] was riding their UTV along the shoreline, just kind of making a loop looking at the lake, and happened to see what they thought was a portion of a body partially submerged in the water along the shoreline and called us right away,” said Fond du Lac County Sheriff Ryan Waldschmidt. “He saw something suspicious and out of place, he didn’t really want to check it out himself – which is totally understandable – but thankfully he contacted us and we sent a deputy to check it out.”
That deputy then confirmed that it was a man’s body in the water.
“We treat it as a homicide investigation until proven otherwise. If you treat it as anything less, you have the potential of missing evidence,” Waldschmidt told WTAQ News. “We don’t believe foul play is suspected. However, what led to this victim ending up at this location on the lakeshore partially submerged, are all things we’re working through now.”
Autopsy results showed no signs of injury or trauma. A toxicology report is pending.
While investigators wait for those results, they’re working with family, friends, acquaintances, and anyone the man may have had some sort of relationship with to figure out what happened, and re-trace his steps.
“It wasn’t a missing persons case, but we still want to know when last had contact with him when he was alive, and then what are the circumstances surrounding his death and how he ended up at the specific location,” Waldschmidt said.
Waldschmidt credits the caller for recognizing something out of place and dialing 911, especially considering that the area isn’t particularly well-traveled.
“Had this caller not called in the suspicious circumstances that he observed, [the man] would still be out there today and we wouldn’t know about this,” Waldschmidt said. “There’s a lot of people who live on the shorelines of Lake Winnebago, or really any body of water, so when they something suspicious or out of the ordinary and they aren’t comfortable checking it out themselves, certainly give a call…[If it’s] something inconsequential or not what maybe it first appeared to be, that’s okay too. No harm, no foul in sending an officer to check these things out.”
The victim’s identity is expected to be released after family is notified and further investigation is conducted.
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