May 6, 2022 – Dodge County, WI – At approximately 7:57 p.m. on May 5, 2022, the body of a male subject was located and recovered from Fox Lake. The male was returned to Dodge County Medical examiner’s office after recovery.
Although a preliminary identification has been made, it is prudent to ensure that a final positive identification can be made by the Dodge County Medical Examiner’s Office before a name is released.
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This matter is still under investigation by the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office and the Dodge County Medical Examiner’s Office.
To recap search efforts, at 12:23 p.m. on April 21, 2022, the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office responded to a capsized canoe. A female, who we can now identify as Alicia Johnson (34 from the Fox Lake campaign) was rescued, while the male subject was not found. Weather conditions that day included high winds, which grew increasingly strong from 10.30am that morning, gusting to 30mph. This created dangerous conditions for anyone aboard small craft. There was no personal flotation device (PFD) on the canoe.
That afternoon, an extensive search began. Unfortunately, responding dive teams were unable to locate the subject and water visibility was reported as “zero”. Weather conditions for several days after this event made searches dangerous and difficult for dive personnel. When weather conditions improved, dive operations continued at the sheriff’s request. The dive teams, of course, always have the final decision on whether divers will go into the water out of the safety of the divers and these teams felt that several of the following days were unsafe for diving.
Regardless, the sheriff’s office or officers from the sheriff’s office have been on the water every day since April 21 conducting surface searches and underwater searches with sonar from various resources, including a side-scan device on the sheriff’s office boat. Points were marked for divers to then go back and search.
This is certainly a very moving and difficult incident for everyone involved and we thank everyone who participated in this long search. Sheriff Dale Schmidt would like to thank the many people who assisted in the search and eventual recovery of this missing subject.
These entities include:
Dodge County Sheriff’s Office Staff
Dodge County Sheriff’s Office Chaplain
Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team
Columbia County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team
Marathon County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team
Brown County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team
Beaver Dam Fire Department
Beaver Dam Fire Department Dive Team
Beaver Dam Fire Department paramedics
Campbellsport Fire Department Dive Team
Fox Lake Fire Department
Fox Lake EMS
Fox Lake Police Department
Waupun Fire Department
Hustisford Fire Department
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Many groups of volunteers
Dodge County Medical Examiner’s Office
