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

[Rosiebones]

https://www.facebook.com/michael.neiger.35
This this the organization that did two different searches of the area where Nick went missing last year. Scroll down to March 18th for an update on plans.

 

[Luckyzmom]

I too have thought this was very possibly foul play, just an odd place ,unless car wasn't functional. Have not seen a thing I check less often now, hope the family gets some answers. If this was self harm or planned disappearance it was very well thought out !
But just doesn't make be sense. And LE generally figures an adult has every right to walk away from their life . So I figure this vehicle out there , gear out of the car and Samantha collar didn't strike them as odd. For that I am so sorry MOO

 

[PayrollNerd]

https://www.facebook.com/michael.neiger.35
This this the organization that did two different searches of the area where Nick went missing last year. Scroll down to March 18th for an update on plans.

Glad to see they are not forgotten.

NICHOLAS HIETPAS CASE UPDATE (Mountain, Wisconsin): There's currently 12 to 16 inches of snow on the ground in the Hietpas search area, according to NOAA snow models. Based on a review of 10 years of NOAA's records, it's highly probable the snowpack will be completely gone by May first. Team MibSAR is hoping to resume the search for answers to Nick's disappearance in the 1.5-million-acre Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in 45 days and a wake-up....

>> CASE SUMMARY: Nick was last heard from on April 1, 2019. An ATV rider found his black, 2012 Ford Fusion along a forest road near the junction of Highway 64 and Shadow Lake Road, west of Mountain, Wisconsin, in Oconto County. A tarp and camping gear were found near the vehicle, and his dog’s unclasped collar was found a half mile away. Investigators and Nick's parents describe him as follows: hometown of Appleton, Wisconsin; age 22; white male; 6'; 200 lbs; normal build; brown eyes; short brown hair; small ribbon-type tattoo on inside of left wrist; likely wearing a green-lettered “Get Your Gooch On” black hooded sweatshirt, American Eagle blue jeans, and mustard-colored steel-toed work boots. Nick was accompanied by Samantha, his white German Shepard (65 lbs, brown eyes, spayed, not chipped).
>> TIPS: If you know anything about Nick's disappearance, or his current whereabouts, report it to the Oconto County Sheriff’s Office at 920.834.6900 or anonymously via Crime Stoppers at TipSubmit.com.
>> NICK'S MISSING-PERSON WEBPAGE ON MIBSAR: Nick Heitpas' Missing-Person Page
>> NICK'S MISSING-PERSON WEBPAGE ON NAMUS: The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
>> NICK'S CASE IN THE MEDIA...
• April 24, 2019 Green Bay Press Gazette (Green Bay, Wisconsin): Information sought on missing Appleton man; car found in Oconto County
• April 25, 2019 Green Bay Press Gazette (Green Bay, Wisconsin): Three searches conducted in northern Oconto County for missing Appleton man Nicholas Hietpas
• May 2, 2019 Green Bay Press Gazette (Green Bay, Wisconsin): Sheriff: Visitors to Oconto Co. this weekend could help find missing Appleton man
______________________________
SAR Special Operations Blog

 

[Valiant]

I hate to bring this up, but apparently there are odd cases where people request their pets be killed and buried with them in their final requests.
I would not be surprised if someone decided to kill their pet before committing suicide, especially given that many mentally ill parents will kill a child (or children) before they kill themselves.

I don't really think that's the case here though.

 

[Rockfarmer]

bump
a year

 

[Al Ka]

Nicholas Hietpas of Appleton went missing a year ago in Oconto County. The case remains a mystery

One year ago, Nicholas Hietpas, a 22-year-old Appleton man, drove his black 2012 Ford Fusion to Oconto County, parking the car near the Nicolet National Forest, a sprawling, pristine land mass that is densely thick with trees, extensive undergrowth and heavy vegetation.

The car was found by Oconto County Sheriff’s deputies, but there was no sign of Hietpas or his German Shepherd, Samantha.

Hietpas was last seen on April 1, 2019. He was wearing a black sweatshirt with green lettering, jeans and brown work boots, according to the Appleton Police Department.
---
The Appleton Police Department posted messages on Twitter and Instagram this week about the year-long case.

Both Skarban and Appleton Police Detective Chad Riddle stressed that there's nothing suspicious about Hietpas’ disappearance.

“He is a missing person,” Riddle said. “He hasn’t done anything wrong.”
---
Hietpas “was an outdoors-type of person,” Riddle said, but there’s no indication why he went to Oconto County one year ago.

Nicholas Hietpas of Appleton went missing a year ago in Oconto County. The case remains a mystery

 

[Luckyzmom]

Stopped by to bump for Nicholas and Samantha, spring is coming hoping for some signs out there . Prayers for them and loved ones

 

[bombardier]

Nicholas Hietpas of Appleton went missing a year ago in Oconto County. The case remains a mystery

One year ago, Nicholas Hietpas, a 22-year-old Appleton man, drove his black 2012 Ford Fusion to Oconto County, parking the car near the Nicolet National Forest, a sprawling, pristine land mass that is densely thick with trees, extensive undergrowth and heavy vegetation.

The car was found by Oconto County Sheriff’s deputies, but there was no sign of Hietpas or his German Shepherd, Samantha.

Hietpas was last seen on April 1, 2019. He was wearing a black sweatshirt with green lettering, jeans and brown work boots, according to the Appleton Police Department.
---
The Appleton Police Department posted messages on Twitter and Instagram this week about the year-long case.

Both Skarban and Appleton Police Detective Chad Riddle stressed that there's nothing suspicious about Hietpas’ disappearance.

“He is a missing person,” Riddle said. “He hasn’t done anything wrong.”
---
Hietpas “was an outdoors-type of person,” Riddle said, but there’s no indication why he went to Oconto County one year ago.

Nicholas Hietpas of Appleton went missing a year ago in Oconto County. The case remains a mystery

glad to see mainstream news articles are still being written on Nicholas (and Samantha) a year on...

 

[Luckyzmom]

It's just the anniversary thing I think. Most of the local media was to around the time they disappeared, and another Re the Oconto Co SO when the tourist season started asking the public to BOLO from Nicholas and Samantha. Thanks very much @Al Ka for finding this article MOO

 

[Luckyzmom]

Still praying for you and Samantha !! Hopefully the weather is good. We never give up

 

[PayrollNerd]

Looks like they’re prepping for another search!

Michael Neiger

TEAM MibSAR SITREP (Marquette, Michigan): Team MibSAR is stuffing rucks with kit for multi-day SAR operations in Northern Wisconsin’s 1.5-million-acre Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest.
____________________________________
>> NEW >> FREE WILDERNESS SKILLS/SURVIVAL CLASSES — Pocket survival kits, daypack kits, fire-starting, snow-free shelters, snow shelters, map and compass navigation, GPS navigation, man-tracking, what to do when lost, and custom classes — www.facebook.com/Free-Wilderness-Skills-Classes-by-Michigan-Backcountry-Search-Rescue-108229050793146. To discuss scheduling a class, contact Michael Neiger at [email protected].
>> Team MibSAR assists victims, their families, and agencies in the search for answers to select, long-term, missing-person cases and cold-case murders in the bush between the Upper Great Lakes and Canada’s Arctic Ocean. All investigation, searches, missing-person websites, full-color posters, work products, consults, and outdoor skills and wilderness survival classes are free. Team MibSAR does NOT collect rewards or accept donations for its work — if you want to support the search-and-rescue community, please donate to your local, regional, national, or international SAR team, or to Team MibSAR's home team: Marquette County Search and Rescue (MCSAR) at the Marquette County Sheriff's Office.
>> Michael Neiger, NASAR-certified SARTECH I and Crew Leader, Lead Investigator, Long Range Special Operations Group (LRSOG), Michigan Backcountry Search and Rescue (MibSAR), Marquette, Michigan, www.MibSAR.com, [email protected] • #TeamMibSAR • #PayItForward • Read Team MibSAR's international 'Special Operations Blog' for SAR operators at SAR Special Operations Blog

 

[Luckyzmom]

Thank you @PayrollNerd , they have been on my mind lately. Lord please keep SARS people safe !
Please let this family get some answers, and hopefully be able to bring Nicholas and Samantha home . Never far from my thoughts.....
To all WS buddies be safe and well

 

[Rosiebones]

I read the theories on here and the only piece of known information (in MSM) that I cannot fit into any of them with any sense of possibility, is the finding of Samantha's unclasped collar on in the middle of another road some distance away. Why, why, why?

 

[Luckyzmom]

Been over and over this in these months and now year that followed. Didn't see to me to be a good place to camp , but all I have to go by is Google Earth... Gear sitting outside of vehicle...was he looking for something while stopped there or was he ever there at all ?
If he was robbed or carjacked and vehicle dumped there, did the perp/perps still have Samantha with them ? And the collar is super hinky to me as well.
Lots we don't know, hopefully his family has a pretty good idea and I hope they find answers that bring them comfort.
That scene would have screamed foul play to me ... Unless Nicholas had a breakdown and just said screw it and walked away. Can't see him leaving the scene and taking her collar off.
Any thoughts from y'all on this scene where car and gear were found ?
Could it have been planned by Nicholas and someone else to ditch car and disappear ? Having someone pick him up there ?
Thanks all, this makes me nuts !! Try not to dwell on am not LE and I guess nothing found there bothered them. We don't even know if car broke down there or was just stopped....MOO MOO Pray for them daily still hoping....

 

[Rosiebones]

Have there been any more searches or any updates? Just checking in and hoping and praying.

 

[PayrollNerd]

Have there been any more searches or any updates? Just checking in and hoping and praying.

There’s a repost at the end of May on the SAR page. Good timing right before the Memorial Day weekend too.

Michael Neiger


NICHOLAS HIETPAS CASE UPDATE (Mountain, Wisconsin): Team MibSAR recently completed 3 days of searching for Nick Hietpas, who has been missing without a trace in the 1.5-million-acre Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. Unfortunately Nick remains missing.

>> CASE SUMMARY: Nick was last heard from on April 1, 2019. An ATV rider found his black, 2012 Ford Fusion along a forest road near the junction of Highway 64 and Shadow Lake Road, west of Mountain, Wisconsin, in Oconto County. A tarp and camping gear were found near the vehicle, and his dog’s unclasped collar was found a half mile away. Investigators and Nick's parents describe him as follows: hometown of Appleton, Wisconsin; age 22; white male; 6'; 200 lbs; normal build; brown eyes; short brown hair; small ribbon-type tattoo on inside of left wrist; likely wearing a green-lettered “Get Your Gooch On” black hooded sweatshirt, American Eagle blue jeans, and mustard-colored steel-toed work boots. Nick was accompanied by Samantha, his white German Shepard (65 lbs, brown eyes, spayed, not chipped).

>> TIPS: If you know anything about Nick's disappearance, or his current whereabouts, report it to the Oconto County Sheriff’s Office at 920.834.6900 or anonymously via Crime Stoppers at TipSubmit.com.

>> NICK'S MISSING-PERSON WEBPAGE ON MIBSAR: Nick Heitpas' Missing-Person Page

>> NICK'S MISSING-PERSON WEBPAGE ON NAMUS: The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

>> NICK'S CASE IN THE MEDIA...

• April 24, 2019 Green Bay Press Gazette (Green Bay, Wisconsin): https://www.greenbaypressgazette.co...n-missing-car-found-oconto-county/3567216002/

• April 25, 2019 Green Bay Press Gazette (Green Bay, Wisconsin): Three searches conducted in northern Oconto County for missing Appleton man Nicholas Hietpas

• May 2, 2019 Green Bay Press Gazette (Green Bay, Wisconsin): Sheriff: Visitors to Oconto Co. this weekend could help find missing Appleton man

_____________________________________

>> NEW >> FREE SURVIVAL CLASSES AND WILDERNESS TRIPS & EXPEDITIONS — Pocket survival kits, daypack kits, fire-starting, snow-free shelters, snow shelters, map and compass navigation, GPS navigation, man-tracking, what to do when lost, and custom classes; wilderness backpacking, spelunking, canoeing, and winter-camping trips and expeditions in the bush between the Upper Great Lakes in Michigan and the Arctic Ocean in Ontario, Canada — www.facebook.com/Free-Survival-Skills-Classes-and-Wilderness-Trips-Expeditions-1082290507931466. To learn more, contact Michael Neiger at [email protected].

>> ABOUT TEAM MibSAR: MibSAR assists victims, their families, and agencies in the search for answers to select, long-term, missing-person cases and cold-case murders in the bush between the Upper Great Lakes and Canada’s Arctic Ocean. All investigations, searches, missing-person websites, full-color posters, work products, consults, outdoor skills and wilderness survival classes, and wilderness trips and expeditions are free. Team MibSAR does NOT collect rewards or accept donations for its work — if you want to support the search-and-rescue community, please donate to your local, regional, national, or international SAR team, or to Team MibSAR's home team: Marquette County Search and Rescue (MCSAR) at the Marquette County Sheriff's Office.

— Michael Neiger, NASAR-certified SARTECH I and Crew Leader, Lead Investigator, Long Range Special Operations Group (LRSOG), Michigan Backcountry Search and Rescue (MibSAR), Marquette, Michigan, www.MibSAR.com, [email protected] • #TeamMibSAR • #PayItForward • Read Team MibSAR's international 'Special Operations Blog' for SAR operators at SAR Special Operations Blog

 

[Luckyzmom]

Bump for Nicholas and Samantha, in my thoughts and prayers

 

[Luckyzmom]

Thinking of Nicholas and Samantha this morning, so stopped by to bump. Always in my prayers

 

[PayrollNerd]

I don't see where I posted this May 6, 2020 update. The comments regarding a body of water may hold clues is interesting. I am not familiar with this terrain. What bodies of water would this be, anyone have any idea? They're apparently seeing animal evidence in the area which could indicate remains but they don't state that. JMO

Michael Neiger

MISSING 400 DAYS: NICHOLAS HIETPAS CASE UPDATE (Mountain, Wisconsin): Team MibSAR recently completed 10 days of searching for Nick Hietpas, who has been missing without a trace in the 1.5-million-acre Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. Unfortunately, Nick remains missing. Team MibSAR would like to thank MibSAR Investigator Todd Theoret, and Nick's loving parents, for their assistance with this search.

Spring has certainly arrived in Northern Wisconsin. Coyotes, wild turkeys, snakes, and porcupines are on the move; ruffed grouse and woodcock are busy nesting; and ticks and black flies are everywhere.

>> CASE SUMMARY: Nick was last heard from on April 1, 2019. An ATV rider found his black, 2012 Ford Fusion along a forest road near the junction of Highway 64 and Shadow Lake Road, west of Mountain, Wisconsin, in Oconto County. A tarp and camping gear were found near the vehicle, and his dog’s unclasped collar was found a half mile away. Investigators and Nick's parents describe him as follows: hometown of Appleton, Wisconsin; age 22; white male; 6'; 200 lbs; normal build; brown eyes; short brown hair; small ribbon-type tattoo on inside of left wrist; likely wearing a green-lettered “Get Your Gooch On” black hooded sweatshirt, American Eagle blue jeans, and mustard-colored steel-toed work boots. Nick was accompanied by Samantha, his white German Shepard (65 lbs, brown eyes, spayed, not chipped).
>> TIPS: If you know anything about Nick's disappearance, or his current whereabouts, report it to the Oconto County Sheriff’s Office at 920.834.6900 or anonymously via Crime Stoppers at TipSubmit.com.
>> NICK'S MISSING-PERSON WEBPAGE ON MIBSAR: http://www.mibsar.com/Cases/Hietpas/Hietpas.html
>> NICK'S MISSING-PERSON WEBPAGE ON NAMUS: https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/58278
>> NICK'S CASE IN THE MEDIA...
• April 24, 2019 Green Bay Press Gazette (Green Bay, Wisconsin): https://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/news/local/oconto-county/2019/04/24/appleton-man-missing-car-found-oconto-county/3567216002/
• April 25, 2019 Green Bay Press Gazette (Green Bay, Wisconsin): https://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/news/local/oconto-county/2019/04/25/three-searches-conducted-northern-oconto-county-missing-appleton-man-nicholas-hietpas/3576120002/
• May 2, 2019 Green Bay Press Gazette (Green Bay, Wisconsin): https://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/news/local/oconto-county/2019/05/02/weekend-visitors-oconto-co-could-help-search-missing-appleton-man/3656142002/
_____________________________________
>> NEW >> FREE WILDERNESS SKILLS/SURVIVAL CLASSES — Pocket survival kits, daypack kits, fire-starting, snow-free shelters, snow shelters, map and compass navigation, GPS navigation, man-tracking, what to do when lost, and custom classes —
www.facebook.com/Free-Wilderness-Skills-Classes-by-Michigan-Backcountry-Search-Rescue-108229050793146
. To schedule a class, contact Michael Neiger at [email protected].
>> ABOUT TEAM MibSAR: MibSAR assists victims, their families, and agencies in the search for answers to select, long-term, missing-person cases and cold-case murders in the bush between the Upper Great Lakes and Canada’s Arctic Ocean. All investigations, searches, missing-person websites, full-color posters, work products, consults, outdoor skills and wilderness survival classes, and wilderness trips and expeditions are free. Team MibSAR does NOT collect rewards or accept donations for its work — if you want to support the search-and-rescue community, please donate to your local, regional, national, or international SAR team, or to Team MibSAR's home team: Marquette County Search and Rescue (MCSAR) at the Marquette County Sheriff's Office.
— Michael Neiger, NASAR-certified SARTECH I and Crew Leader, Lead Investigator, Long Range Special Operations Group (LRSOG), Michigan Backcountry Search and Rescue (MibSAR), Marquette, Michigan, www.MibSAR.com, [email protected] • #TeamMibSAR • #PayItForward • Read Team MibSAR's international 'Special Operations Blog' for SAR operators at
https://www.facebook.com/SpecOpsBlog

 

[Schmitz5100]

I don't see where I posted this May 6, 2020 update. The comments regarding a body of water may hold clues is interesting. I am not familiar with this terrain. What bodies of water would this be, anyone have any idea? They're apparently seeing animal evidence in the area which could indicate remains but they don't state that. JMO

Michael Neiger

MISSING 400 DAYS: NICHOLAS HIETPAS CASE UPDATE (Mountain, Wisconsin): Team MibSAR recently completed 10 days of searching for Nick Hietpas, who has been missing without a trace in the 1.5-million-acre Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. Unfortunately, Nick remains missing. Team MibSAR would like to thank MibSAR Investigator Todd Theoret, and Nick's loving parents, for their assistance with this search.

Spring has certainly arrived in Northern Wisconsin. Coyotes, wild turkeys, snakes, and porcupines are on the move; ruffed grouse and woodcock are busy nesting; and ticks and black flies are everywhere.

>> CASE SUMMARY: Nick was last heard from on April 1, 2019. An ATV rider found his black, 2012 Ford Fusion along a forest road near the junction of Highway 64 and Shadow Lake Road, west of Mountain, Wisconsin, in Oconto County. A tarp and camping gear were found near the vehicle, and his dog’s unclasped collar was found a half mile away. Investigators and Nick's parents describe him as follows: hometown of Appleton, Wisconsin; age 22; white male; 6'; 200 lbs; normal build; brown eyes; short brown hair; small ribbon-type tattoo on inside of left wrist; likely wearing a green-lettered “Get Your Gooch On” black hooded sweatshirt, American Eagle blue jeans, and mustard-colored steel-toed work boots. Nick was accompanied by Samantha, his white German Shepard (65 lbs, brown eyes, spayed, not chipped).
>> TIPS: If you know anything about Nick's disappearance, or his current whereabouts, report it to the Oconto County Sheriff’s Office at 920.834.6900 or anonymously via Crime Stoppers at TipSubmit.com.
>> NICK'S MISSING-PERSON WEBPAGE ON MIBSAR: http://www.mibsar.com/Cases/Hietpas/Hietpas.html
>> NICK'S MISSING-PERSON WEBPAGE ON NAMUS: https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/58278
>> NICK'S CASE IN THE MEDIA...
• April 24, 2019 Green Bay Press Gazette (Green Bay, Wisconsin): https://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/news/local/oconto-county/2019/04/24/appleton-man-missing-car-found-oconto-county/3567216002/
• April 25, 2019 Green Bay Press Gazette (Green Bay, Wisconsin): https://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/news/local/oconto-county/2019/04/25/three-searches-conducted-northern-oconto-county-missing-appleton-man-nicholas-hietpas/3576120002/
• May 2, 2019 Green Bay Press Gazette (Green Bay, Wisconsin): https://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/news/local/oconto-county/2019/05/02/weekend-visitors-oconto-co-could-help-search-missing-appleton-man/3656142002/
_____________________________________
>> NEW >> FREE WILDERNESS SKILLS/SURVIVAL CLASSES — Pocket survival kits, daypack kits, fire-starting, snow-free shelters, snow shelters, map and compass navigation, GPS navigation, man-tracking, what to do when lost, and custom classes —
www.facebook.com/Free-Wilderness-Skills-Classes-by-Michigan-Backcountry-Search-Rescue-108229050793146
. To schedule a class, contact Michael Neiger at [email protected].
>> ABOUT TEAM MibSAR: MibSAR assists victims, their families, and agencies in the search for answers to select, long-term, missing-person cases and cold-case murders in the bush between the Upper Great Lakes and Canada’s Arctic Ocean. All investigations, searches, missing-person websites, full-color posters, work products, consults, outdoor skills and wilderness survival classes, and wilderness trips and expeditions are free. Team MibSAR does NOT collect rewards or accept donations for its work — if you want to support the search-and-rescue community, please donate to your local, regional, national, or international SAR team, or to Team MibSAR's home team: Marquette County Search and Rescue (MCSAR) at the Marquette County Sheriff's Office.
— Michael Neiger, NASAR-certified SARTECH I and Crew Leader, Lead Investigator, Long Range Special Operations Group (LRSOG), Michigan Backcountry Search and Rescue (MibSAR), Marquette, Michigan, www.MibSAR.com, [email protected] • #TeamMibSAR • #PayItForward • Read Team MibSAR's international 'Special Operations Blog' for SAR operators at
https://www.facebook.com/SpecOpsBlog

The Oconto River and Oconto is nearbLake Michigan. Also there are many other lakes and rivers in that area.