WI WI - Andrew “Andy” Thomas Viater, 22, Ashland, 22 Jan 1980

[Coffee56]

Doesn’t look like anyone submitted Rhinelander or battle lake to namus directly. Can you folks please confirm? Really wish you’d submit the ones you really suspect - I know some of you are afraid to get involved but I’ve done it a bunch of times and it’s painless. Just email the namus contact

I did not contact. It’s anxiety that drives most of us non contacters not fear. Feel free to contact for any of my suggestions. I’m rarely confident enough in a match to do anything other than ask for thoughts on that match.

 

[Keiri]

I did not contact. It’s anxiety that drives most of us non contacters not fear. Feel free to contact for any of my suggestions. I’m rarely confident enough in a match to do anything other than ask for thoughts on that match.

Alright. I have anxiety myself about other things, so I get it. I’ll submit - I think a. Neal at namus may be sick of me by now. But at least he’s updating cases with the pictures I send so I can’t be that annoying.

 

[TSL7584]

An age progression has been done.

Andrew Thomas Viater

Andrew “Andy” Viater was last seen at his family’s home in Ashland, Wisconsin on January 22nd 1980. There was a blizzard that evening and at 4:00am Andrew’s father heard the front door slam. When he looked outside and saw footprints in the snow. He followed them to the nearby railroad tracks...

www.wimissing.org

 

[Snowshoe21]

Jarrett Did you learn more about contacting Ashland PD about Andrew “Andy” Viater <modsnip - not an approved source>

 

[Teamir]

I sent an email to the Namus contact on the Battle Lake unidentified.

 

[Keiri]

I would love it if we could have a map of the house to the tracks, so we could see if he maybe stepped onto ice or the road to make the tracks vanish. Or if he did hop a train, my understanding is they don’t slow down there. Is it even possible to jump a train on that (?) speed? Are the tracks still there? Where did the train run to from there? I’m starting to realize so much info isn’t shared.

 

[Keiri]

The address was 109 8th St. East, Ashland, WI 54806 - passenger trains stopped in 1961. Now we need to find where the tracks were and where the train went.

 

[Keiri]

I got info! Someone!s grandpa on Reddit remembers the trains in 1980 Ashland! “According to Grandpa, a 2nd generation SOO Line engineer - "Soo line ran east along what would have been 4th street to Stuntz than over Bay City Creek and out of town the 5th street tracks ending at Stuntz were Burlington Northern. Chicago Northwestern runs by Hodgkin Park and over the SOO at Bay City Creek. They ran along 6th Street to the depot on Chapple Avenue." I’m going to compare it to a map. Sounds like they may have changed streets, too, I’ll check.

 

[Keiri]

Red dot is where the house was/is, the red is the path father indicated to the tracks. That was the Chicago and northwestern and it was solely a cargo train at that point. The end location for that train was Proviso/Green Bay, but I’m not sure if there were stops. Or if it was hoppable… it would have slowed down in town.

This is an old map that matches as it was in 1980, streets have been renamed and the tracks are gone since then.

Based on the freight train tables from 1978-1979, the Green Bay --> Proviso would have been running that. So his likely next stop, if he hopped the freight, was Proviso - but I think he'd have jumped off at some slowdown well before the city proper.