Wausau Pilot & Review
An elderly man who was the subject of a Silver Alert was found dead Tuesday in Lake Nokomis, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department.
Police say they received a call at about 9 p.m. Monday requesting a welfare check on 83-year-old Leroy H. Rupnow after family members were unable to reach him for 24 hours.
Deputies responded but did not make contact with Mr. Rupnow. Deputies and a K9 searched his home and the wooded area surrounding it and a K9 track suggested Rupnow could have walked up to or even into the lake, but efforts to find him were not successful.
Early Tuesday, Lincoln County requested a Silver Alert asking the public’s help in locating Rupnow. A short time later, day shift deputies searching the area spotted his body about 30 yards off the shoreline from Rupnow’s home. An Oneida County drone team confirmed the body was in the water, and crews with the Tomahawk Fire Department pulled him from the lake.
Rupnow was pronounced dead at the scene. Lincoln County’s news release did not specify the cause of death, though the title of the release suggests Rupnow drowned.
No foul play is suspected, but his death remains under investigation.
