WI WI - Nicholas Hietpas, 22, & dog, vehicle found abandoned in Oconto Co., Appleton, 1 Apr 2019

[OnlyFacts]

Have his parents said anything ?

 

[Luckyzmom]

Have not seen a public statement from parents, Mom is on SM from time to time. Seems to be working with SARS group their blog is listed in the thread above. Rosiebones is following , she probably has more information than I. Will keep searching for anything I can find.Had hoped the storm clean up would bring some clues to their whereabouts but nothing that has been reported to the public so far.

 

[Rosiebones]

I check the Appleton WI. Police Dept. Facebook page and read down the comments. Police dept. reposts the original missing poster every month or so. The last reposting was August 13th and there are 134 responses to it. His mom follows that and replies to people who make comments, most of which are about possible dogs that have been turned looking like Samantha. There has been nothing shared about possible sightings of MH, at least that make it to the postings.
The Onconto County Police Facebook page doesn't repost. But, in all fairness to them, the area suffered a severe tornado and subsequent damage and I am sure their limited staff as been responding to that.

There almost no local news papers that carry stories like this that I can find.

I know he has a married sister who lives and works in Minneapolis, I believe, and so is out of the area.
I have never found any public comments from close friends or family for that matter which doesn't mean lack of interest or concern by any means, just that their speculation or concern are not being shared publicly.

Because he is from Appleton and drove up to Oconto County and disappeared from there and that is such a sparsely populated area it is hard to do the traditional things like tacking up posters etc.

If this was a voluntary walk away from his life why did he leave his only means of transportation out of the area?

Why did he (or someone else) take Samantha's collar off?

There has never been any flavor of there being foul play in all of this, so is that why the follow up by LE seems non-existent?

 

[Rosiebones]

Time for another check in and update. Checked the usual sites, nothing updated there. Continued prayers and support given to family but no hard facts of any sort being shared to SM sites
My own perspective is moving more and more into the area of self harm.
The few known facts and the complete lack of active LE involvement almost from the beginning and the lack of apparent outcry from friends and family and last but not least the presence of a support dog in Samantha leads me in this direction.
The involvement of SARS has always made me think they have been looking for a body from the beginning.

 

[PayrollNerd]

I truly think the dogs collar was removed in order to give her a chance to survive. The dog was not microchipped. I think she may have been an emotional support animal, not a working service dog. This young man obviously loved his dog but she wasn’t a SAR dog. She would have stayed with him out of love and loyalty, not gone to retrieve help.

 

[Luckyzmom]

Thank you,,, the more I search the area where car was abandoned the self harm does make sense, but we have really no information to work with....Google Earth that intersection. Either Nick knew where he was going or someone abandon car out there.MOO I continue to check missing persons links and local media, fox green bay has be helpful with anything they have as well. Pray for Nicholas and Samantha and their family. I wish we had something to work with. Don't see him just turning her loose, unless he was dispondant or someone else let her loose. There's nothing out there but the road to lake and a couple farms and homes.Where the heck are you Nicholas ? Wold love to know if the car was in running condition, out of gas ... Did he randomly pick that place to say screw it and walk off.??? Or did someone dump it out there and go through his gear ?? Drift I got from locals up there is LE isn't able or willing to spend much time on missing adults. After initial search by deputies the rest has been SARS. JMO sorry for the rant. Just a sad shame

 

[Beagle]

I am less inclined to think self harm as there isn't much around and how far would he walk before harming himself.... if he did I would think that he would've been found by now.

 

[Luckyzmom]

Just can't get past the bad feeling about the car and the way and place it was found. Your point about how far he would have gone , coupled with just turning Samantha loose out in the sticks alone is very worrisome MOO and thank you

I am less inclined to think self harm as there isn't much around and how far would he walk before harming himself.... if he did I would think that he would've been found by now.

 

[Rosiebones]

Just checking in and to say I have found no updates per LE anywhere.

 

[Luckyzmom]

Stopped by to bump for Nicholas and Samantha, where have you gone !?

 

[OnlyFacts]

This gets more sad every day.

 

[Rosiebones]

This gets more sad every day.

ITA and if we, as total strangers, feel this way, how must his mother, father and sister feel. I wonder how they ever have space in their heads for a happy thought.

 

[Luckyzmom]

Maybe perfect disappearance ?? Keeping them all in my prayers. Still all quiet

 

[Rosiebones]

Just stopping in to see if anyone has heard or read anything.

 

[Luckyzmom]

Still searching media up there, not a thing new. Hoping hunters turn up some sign of them. Stool praying for Nicholas , Samantha and family and friends. Area where car was found still makes me think something is off about the vanishing. Wish we had something to work with !! TYSM RB

 

[Luckyzmom]

Getting cold up there,been thinking about Nicholas and Samantha. Hope family gets some news soon. Prayers for them all !

 

[OnlyFacts]

Yes, it's about 30 degrees in Wisconsin. With more people in the woods during this time of year, I hope they find something.

 

[PayrollNerd]

I poked around on Facebook and the mibsar website again. It's nice to know that Michael Neiger's who is the mibar website owner, keeps a thumbnail of missing persons on his website Nicholas is one of them.
Michigan Backcountry Search and Rescue (MibSAR) home page

Michael Neiger's Facebook page for mibsar did a post on Aug 27th for Nicholas, and there are some hunters' comments relating to how easy it is to get turned around in the woods in that area. One person suggested the dog ran away, and Nicholas went after her and simply got turned around. This scenario is definitely possible and would explain why the supplies were partially unloaded.

This case reminds me of the people who are lost in the Black Hills of SD - they may not be found for years.

 

[nao]

Misadventure by bear would be my guess. They have bear hunting season in that area. So in April bears do not have berries etc. He had supplies. A deer was downed at my back fence. 3 days and every trace of deer gone. Maybe he took the collar off to give dog a rub down before they left. Moo

 

[crhedBngr]

Misadventure by bear would be my guess. They have bear hunting season in that area. So in April bears do not have berries etc. He had supplies. A deer was downed at my back fence. 3 days and every trace of deer gone. Maybe he took the collar off to give dog a rub down before they left. Moo

Fellow Cheese Head, and I wonder about a possible bear attack as well. Mother-in-law lived in a small town in Northern Wisconsin, and she was constantly reporting bear sightings.

JMVHO.