By Shereen Siewert

A Mosinee man is accused of dumping his brother’s lifeless body next to a bridge and railroad trestle, where he was found last month following a 911 call.

Michael Gendron, 39, faces charges of hiding a corpse and bail jumping in connection with the discovery, in a case filed Nov. 11 in Marathon County Circuit Court.

Police responded at about noon on Oct. 13 to a parking area adjacent to the Hwy. 34 bridge in Knowlton, where the man’s body was found in a seated position along the edge of a small hill leading to the riverbank. There, they found cash and a theater customer reward card but no identification, according to the criminal complaint.

The man was identified through numerous tattoos, police said.

Gendron’s mother told police her late son was living with his brother, Michael Gendron, and that Michael contacted her on Oct. 12 and said the alleged victim had gone outside their Third Street home and his whereabouts were unknown.

Investigators reviewed video footage from a nearby business that showed a vehicle on Oct. 12 parking in the location of the parking area. Minutes later the Sheriff’s Department took a 911 call from a man claiming there was a person lying in the roadway on Hwy. 34. The phone number was traced to a man who eventually told police he was at the home when the alleged victim was found unresponsive in a bedroom.

Gendron’s friend told police he tried using Narcan and administering CPR, but his efforts to revive the man were unsuccessful. The friend, who has not been charged in connection with this incident, told police he begged Gendron to call 911 or take his brother to a hospital, but Gendron refused.

Four children were inside the home at the time the alleged victim overdosed, police said.

Gendron allegedly carried his brother’s body out of the home and into his Buick Lucerne, and eventually dumped the body near Lake DuBay after determining the parks in Mosinee could have surveillance cameras, the complaint states.

Gendron, when questioned, allegedly told police he loved his brother and was trying to protect his family when he made the decision to dispose of the body. Police say Gendron feared having his children taken away from him, which had happened previously, but he knew about the 911 call and wanted his brother found.

During an initial appearance Friday, bond was set at $10,000 cash. Gendron remains behind bars as of Nov. 12. A plea hearing is set for Nov. 15.