On Dec. 30, 2015 at approximately 3:54 p.m. the Washington County Sheriff’s were notified of a lost hunter in the Jackson Marsh. A woman reported her 42-year-old husband called to say he had fallen in the marsh and was stuck. Future attempts by the Sheriff’s to re-contact the man via cell phone were unsuccessful.
Deputies located the man’s vehicle in a DNR parking lot off of CTH M/Country Aire Drive in the Town of Jackson. Two deputies, carrying rescue supplies, began following the man’s footsteps into the marsh. At 5:19 p.m. these deputies believed they could hear the man yelling, but were unable to pinpoint his location or ascertain any information related to his welfare.
A resident, with extensive knowledge of the marsh, assisted other deputies’ attempt to access the marsh via snowmobile.
At approximately 6:15 p.m., a deputy positioned at the dead end of Church Road located the man on the south side of Cedar Creek. The man could not cross the creek due to the high water level. The man reported he was wet and cold, but uninjured.
Deputies attempted to reach him from the south via snowmobile, but were also unsuccessful due to high water levels. A Jackson Fire Department ambulance and a boat from the West Bend Fire Department were called to the scene.
Just prior to the arrival of West Bend’s boat, another neighbor arrived with a canoe and West Bend firefighters rescued the man at approximately 7:30 p.m. He was evaluated by Jackson Rescue, allowed to warm up, and eventually released.
It turns out the 42-year-old Milwaukee man entered the marsh around 1 p.m. He became lost and fell into the water. Shortly after contacting his wife, his cell phone died.