For the Tomahawk Leader
TOWN OF BRADLEY – The body of a Town of Bradley man was recovered from Lake Nokomis today after a Silver Alert had been issued in an effort to locate him.
According to a release from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, a request for a welfare check on an elderly male at an address on County Rd. N in the Town of Bradley was received shortly after 9 p.m. on Monday, July 24.
The request was made after out-of-town family members had been unable to contact Leroy H. Rupnow, 83, for more than 24 hours.
After deputies responded to the address but were unable to make contact with Rupnow, a search of the residence, surrounding wooded area and shoreline of Lake Nokomis was conducted. A K9 unit track indicated Rupnow may have potentially “walked up to and perhaps even into the lake, though Mr. Rupnow was unable to be located,” the Sheriff’s Office said.
In the early morning hours of Tuesday, July 25, after enough information had been developed to warrant an activation, the Lincoln County 911 Center requested a Silver Alert be sent out, asking for the public’s assistance in locating Rupnow or providing information regarding his whereabouts.
“Shortly after that alert was broadcast, day shift deputies searching the area with the benefit of added daylight were able to spot what appeared to be an abnormality approximately 30 yards offshore from Mr. Rupnow’s residence,” the Sheriff’s Office stated. “Further observation, which included the assistance of the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office’s drone team, led to confirmation that it was, in fact, the body of Leroy H. Rupnow in the water.”
Members of the Tomahawk Fire Department assisted in removing Rupnow’s body from the water, and Rupnow was pronounced deceased by Lincoln County Coroner Valerie Caylor.
The Sheriff’s Office said no foul play is suspected.
The incident remains under joint investigation by the Sheriff’s Office and the Coroner’s Office.