The story of a missing boy, a freezing swamp and a rookie tracker's instincts

By Todd Richmond / The Associated Press 57 min ago



In this March 5, 2020 photo, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Warden Austin Schumacher stands on the edge of a marsh in Edgerton, Wis., where a 13-year-old boy disappeared after running away from school in November 2019. (AP Photo/Todd Richmond)

AP

EDGERTON, Wis. (AP) — Austin Schumacher parked his unmarked squad truck and watched pheasant hunters work their way into the woods under the overcast, late-fall sky. The rookie Department of Natural Resources warden had just popped the lid of his salad container when the radio squawked: a 13-year-old boy, missing.

The boy had run away from Edgerton Middle School after a dispute with his teachers — he swore at them before he ducked out of the school and headed into the swamp across the street. Principal Clark Bretthauser tried to follow, but lost him in the mucky underbrush.

The boy was clad only in a T-shirt and sweatpants. The temperature was 39 degrees Fahrenheit (3.89 degrees Celsius) and falling as the sun dipped toward the horizon; forecasts called for a snowstorm at nightfall.

Schumacher put down his salad, flipped on his lights and sirens and headed for Edgerton.

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