vermontaigne
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Today marks a year since Jack Minniecheske was last seen in Wittenberg, WI, out in the boonies west of Shawano.
NamUs #MP56059
#Missing Jack Edward Minniecheske, 56, Wittenberg, Wisconsin. February 17, 2019
The last contact with Jack was on Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019. Jack is believed to have left on foot with unknown direction of travel.
--
Sex
Male
Height
5' 9" (69 Inches)
Weight
170 lbs
Race / Ethnicity
White / Caucasian
NamUs Case Created
March 15, 2019
Hair Color
Brown
--
Left Eye Color
Green
Right Eye Color
Green
https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/56059
Minniecheske was wanted by police at the time he went missing, for being a felon (DUI, as far as I can figure out) in possession of a firearm and related offences, so it's possible that he wanted to avoid prosecution, but there are reasons to be concerned.
Jack's sister Judith's remains were found in her burned out trailer, which were on the Minniecheske family's extensive land-holdings. Jack was the person who saw that the trailer was on fire and called 911. Before Judy (as everyone knew her) died, she had written a letter to a local news channel, which then ran a 2-part series on the background to her presumed suicide (Part 1 here; Part 2 here). Judy said that she'd be dead by the time the got the letter, but that she wanted them to tell the story about the family and the land. Her father Don, the father of Jack and James, had run the Tigerton Dells Ballroom, which in its heyday had been the unofficial town gathering place. Originally built in 1920, it was modified, expanded and re-clad about 1950. There were two upstairs bars, and a public space below, where bands played through the 7os and into the early 80s.
The father, though, got caught up in the Posse Comitatus. As part of a scheme to get out of paying taxes, he established a branch of the Life Science Church. They were white supremacist, "Anglo-Saxon Hebrews," anti-government, anti-IRS. Unlike the Rulo murder branch in Nebraska, the church affiliation in this case seems to have been almost purely a tax dodge. In 1985, there was a government crackdown and the Posse presence on the property was cleaned up, and Don sentenced to prison.
Don and his wife died within a few months of one another, leaving one of his grandsons, Jeremy, as inheritor of his church, to whom the property technically belonged. Jeremy, in turned, passed control to his father, James. James claimed that his siblings were attempting illegally to convey to themselves property that belonged to the church. Jack and Judy lived in trailers on the property and wanted to continue doing so. Judy and one of her sisters were trying to disband the church, which they regarded as a fraud perpetrated by Don (the state ruled that his attempt to set up a township was not legal), so they could continue to live on the property. Judy in particular ran the Diamond D Ranch on the property, and took people for guided horse treks through the woods. She was apparently devastated when James had them all evicted.
Within hours of hearing that his sister had perished in the fire, according to his daughter Tanya, Jack received a text asking why he was still on the property. Now Tanya's father is gone, too. Presumably, he had already moved off the property and was living in Wittenberg, a 10 mile drive northeast, which is where his last known contact was.
So, what happened to him? Did he walk away to try to escape prosecution? Did he walk into the woods and suicide? Was he disposed of by someone with whom he had a conflict? There's a lot of strangeness here.
NamUs #MP56059
#Missing Jack Edward Minniecheske, 56, Wittenberg, Wisconsin. February 17, 2019
The last contact with Jack was on Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019. Jack is believed to have left on foot with unknown direction of travel.
--
Sex
Male
Height
5' 9" (69 Inches)
Weight
170 lbs
Race / Ethnicity
White / Caucasian
NamUs Case Created
March 15, 2019
Hair Color
Brown
--
Left Eye Color
Green
Right Eye Color
Green
https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/56059
Minniecheske was wanted by police at the time he went missing, for being a felon (DUI, as far as I can figure out) in possession of a firearm and related offences, so it's possible that he wanted to avoid prosecution, but there are reasons to be concerned.
Jack's sister Judith's remains were found in her burned out trailer, which were on the Minniecheske family's extensive land-holdings. Jack was the person who saw that the trailer was on fire and called 911. Before Judy (as everyone knew her) died, she had written a letter to a local news channel, which then ran a 2-part series on the background to her presumed suicide (Part 1 here; Part 2 here). Judy said that she'd be dead by the time the got the letter, but that she wanted them to tell the story about the family and the land. Her father Don, the father of Jack and James, had run the Tigerton Dells Ballroom, which in its heyday had been the unofficial town gathering place. Originally built in 1920, it was modified, expanded and re-clad about 1950. There were two upstairs bars, and a public space below, where bands played through the 7os and into the early 80s.
The father, though, got caught up in the Posse Comitatus. As part of a scheme to get out of paying taxes, he established a branch of the Life Science Church. They were white supremacist, "Anglo-Saxon Hebrews," anti-government, anti-IRS. Unlike the Rulo murder branch in Nebraska, the church affiliation in this case seems to have been almost purely a tax dodge. In 1985, there was a government crackdown and the Posse presence on the property was cleaned up, and Don sentenced to prison.
Don and his wife died within a few months of one another, leaving one of his grandsons, Jeremy, as inheritor of his church, to whom the property technically belonged. Jeremy, in turned, passed control to his father, James. James claimed that his siblings were attempting illegally to convey to themselves property that belonged to the church. Jack and Judy lived in trailers on the property and wanted to continue doing so. Judy and one of her sisters were trying to disband the church, which they regarded as a fraud perpetrated by Don (the state ruled that his attempt to set up a township was not legal), so they could continue to live on the property. Judy in particular ran the Diamond D Ranch on the property, and took people for guided horse treks through the woods. She was apparently devastated when James had them all evicted.
Within hours of hearing that his sister had perished in the fire, according to his daughter Tanya, Jack received a text asking why he was still on the property. Now Tanya's father is gone, too. Presumably, he had already moved off the property and was living in Wittenberg, a 10 mile drive northeast, which is where his last known contact was.
So, what happened to him? Did he walk away to try to escape prosecution? Did he walk into the woods and suicide? Was he disposed of by someone with whom he had a conflict? There's a lot of strangeness here.
