(FLORENCE, WI.)-On Monday, at 4:45pm, Florence County Sheriff’s Office received a phone call from a citizen reporting a vehicle was on the ice of the Brule River, approximately 400-yards upstream from the boat landing in Florence Township. When deputies arrived, they located the vehicle on the ice 30-feet from shore. The front of the vehicle was on the ice, the rear of the vehicle in open water. The driver was not located. A preliminary examination indicated the vehicle was driven by 60-year old Jerry Hamilton of Crystal Falls. Tire tracks indicated he drove out onto the ice at the boat landing and along the shoreline to the location where the car was found. It appears Hamilton may have tried to turn the vehicle around on the ice, backing up the vehicle when the rear tires fell from the ice into open water. Deputies searched the shoreline but did not locate Hamilton. Unstable ice conditions and strong river currents are prohibiting divers from entering the water at this time. Ice is covering the boat landing denying access by Department of Natural Resources (DNR) personnel to launch a boat equipped with underwater surveillance. Hamilton, according to Chief Deputy, David Gribble, was last seen by family members at 8pm on Sunday. If anyone has information concerning the location of 60-year old Jerry Hamilton, you are asked to contact the Florence County Sheriff’s Office. A dog was found in the vehicle but the driver was not.
(Aaron Harper WJNR,WOBE,WHTO)
aaronharper22@gmail.com