PORT ANDREW, Wis. – The family of Parker Kruse, the 22 year old thrown overboard in a boating collision last July, said they will continue to search for the rest of his remains.
On Saturday the Grant County Sheriff’s office announced they had found some of Kruse’s body after receiving a call from a group of vacationers canoeing in the Wisconsin River.
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Kruse’s mother Jackie Johnson-Kruse she learned of the news from Sauk County Sheriff Chip Meister, she and her husband Joel Kruse were tasked with identifying what authorities found.
“You know he kept apologizing saying I’m sorry to give you this news, but actually it was like rejoicing, it’s like our prayers were answered,” Johnson-Kruse said. “It was hard but I’m 100 percent certain it was him he still had on his American Eagle blue jean shorts.”
She said she was glad to have so much of him back but she still wanted more, keeping the vow she made, when Kruse first went missing last July, to continue looking for as long as it takes.
“He wasn’t whole,” she said. “We found quite a bit of him but not all of him so we just wanted to use our resources to see if we could maybe find a little bit more of him.”
Kruse’s family has been searching for his remains almost every weekend for about a year with the help of volunteer search teams known as Parker’s Warriors.
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On Sunday they continued their search on the Wisconsin River near Steamboat Island where much of Kruse’s body was recently found.
Family said they are still looking for his extremities and more especially his head. They’re sharing those difficult details because they hope the many people who have looked for Kruse so far, continue to offer their help.
Johnson-Kruse said she is thankful to those who help them in their search, shared her son’s story, and even people on Facebook helping cheer her on, offering prayers and kind words.
Most of all she is grateful for her son.
“Thank you for being an amazing son and thank you Parker for being located,” she said through tears. “I am so happy.”
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