IL Il - Michael Schmidt, 59, Sangamon County, 10 Jun 2018 *endangered*

[cybervampira]

Sangamon County Sheriff's Office Investigating a Missing Person Report

For Immediate Release

June 11, 2018

Contact Person: Sheriff Wes Barr
217-299-8519

Springfield, IL – On June 10th, at approx. 6:00 p.m., the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office responded to a missing person in the 7600 Vigal Road, Pawnee, Illinois.

Initial reports indicate Michael W. Schmidt, male, white, 59 years of age, and a friend were in the area looking for Arrow heads. Schmidt is approximately 5’8, 135 pounds, with Brown hair. Schmidt is in poor health, and has a breathing tube in his neck.

The friend said Schmidt is unable to speak because of the breathing tube, but he can hear and see. The friend waived for Schmidt to return to the vehicle and Schmidt acknowledged but never returned. The friend looked in the area for Schmidt. When he was unable to locate Schmidt, the friend went to a house in the area and reported him missing.

Deputies, Sheriff’s Office K-9, members of the Sangamon County Rescue Squad, and the Illinois State Police Air Operations searched the area until approximately 9:30 p.m. The search had to be called off due to the weather and dark conditions.

Today, the search resumed and the Sheriff’s Office contacted the Illinois Search and Rescue Council to assist.

The Sheriff’s Office is asking for residents in the area to keep an eye out for Schmidt. See attached photo of Schmidt. If they see anything suspicious to call the Sheriff’s Office at 753-6666 or 911.

Missing person information:
Sangamon County Sheriff's Office

Photo: Sangamon County Sheriff's Office

 

[cybervampira]

Missing man can't call for help

He's in poor health and has a breathing tube in his neck. Schmidt can see and hear, but not speak because of the breathing tube.

 

[Valerio]

Not being able to call out to searchers is not a good thing at all.

 

[JerseyGirl]

still missing: Sheriff's office looking for man missing near Pawnee

 

[cybervampira]

Floodwater complicating search for missing man in rural Springfield

Sangamon County Sheriff Wes Barr said Tuesday afternoon that there isn’t much more that can be done in the search for a missing 59-year-old man until floodwaters recede.

 

[JerseyGirl]

A group of volunteer searchers made their way through mud and dense underbrush Tuesday as the search for missing arrowhead hunter Michael W. Schmidt of Hillsboro continued.

Search continues for man missing near Pawnee since June 10

 

[Cagle]

Monday will mark the one year anniversary since Michael went missing and Tena was recently told a new detective would be working the case.

"He's going to start from the very beginning with fresh eyes and maybe pick up on something maybe they didn't see," Tena said.

More at link

Illinois man still missing after a year

 

[ADKGemini]

Michael W. Schmidt – The Charley Project

• Missing Since06/10/2018
• Missing FromPawnee, Illinois
• ClassificationEndangered Missing
• Age59 years old
• Height and Weight5'7 - 5'8, 130 - 140 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry DescriptionA gray shirt, blue jeans and cowboy boots.
• Medical ConditionsSchmidt suffers from cancer and was in poor health at the time of his disappearance. He has a stoma (surgically created hole) on his trachea with a breathing tube inserted, and as a result he is unable to speak.
• Distinguishing CharacteristicsCaucasian male. Gray hair, brown eyes. Schmidt had a scruffy beard at the time of his disappearance.

Details of Disappearance
Schmidt was last seen in the 7600 block of Vigal Road, near where the road intersects Brush Creek, in Pawnee, Illinois between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. on June 10, 2018. He was hunting arrowheads with a friend. His friend tried to wave for Schmidt to return to their vehicle, but Schmidt merely acknowledged the wave and never went to the car. He has never been heard from again.

In the hours after Schmidt went missing, it rained approximately six inches in the area and Brush Creek rose to a depth of ten to twelve feet. The extreme rain flooded the timber and nearby fields for about one hundred to two hundred yards around the creek, with the floodwaters knee- to waist-high in places. What followed was a heat wave. The inclement weather seriously hindered search efforts.

Due to his state of health and the circumstances of his disappearance, Schmidt is considered to be in danger. His case remains unsolved.

 

[iulia]

Michael W Schmidt NamUs page The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[JerseyGirl]

Missing persons cases gain attention in Sangamon County

Currently there are seven open missing adult cases in Sangamon County. Records show that most cases are old and cold. In the last five years, there only remains one open case - Michael Schmidt, who went missing in June 2018.

“He and a friend were out hiking and looking for Indian artifacts in the area southeast of Lake Springfield Vigil Road near Pawnee," Prange said. "When the friend got back to the car, he waited 20 minutes. Mr. Schmidt never returned."

Exhaustive searches began in the days that followed, using dogs, infrared planes, and kayakers. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a polygraph for the last person to see him.

Prange says that the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office has a working theory.

“Fell into the creek bed and was injured because of his medical condition could not call for help," Prange said, "or had some sort of medical condition and collapsed out in the field and was swept into the water that night."