BARABOO, Wis. — The Sauk County Sheriff’s Office is looking into a dozen new tips in the Devil’s Lake homicide investigation, a day after stressing how important community tips will be in solving this case.
The body of a 24-year-old Wauwatosa man was found along the Grottos Trail in the park on Oct. 14. Detectives believe John Craig Schmutzer was hiking alone when he was attacked by a stranger. His death is being investigated as a homicide.
On Wednesday, detectives provided an update on this investigation and asked the public to report any information that may be useful in solving this crime.
“Crimes like these are very often solved with community members who report critical information to law enforcement,” Sauk County Sheriff Chip Miester said during the media briefing.
Tips can be sent anonymously to the Sauk County Crime Stoppers at 1-888-847-7285.
Sauk County detectives said the FBI and the Division of Criminal Investigation with the Wisconsin Department of Justice are also helping with this case.
Officials with the Sauk County Sheriff’s Office had previously called this the department’s “highest priority” case.
Schmutzer was a 2014 graduate of UW-Madison. He was working in the financial field in the Milwaukee area at the time of his death.
Friends and family remember him as an intelligent and thoughtful person who had a “zest for life.”
“Please, help us identify this individual and bring closure for John’s family who have lost their warm, kind, thoughtful, generous and bright son,” Lt. Christopher Zunker with the Sauk County Sheriff’s Office said.
Devil’s Lake State Park is the most popular state park in Wisconsin seeing about 3 million visitors per year.
Again, anyone who has information about the homicide that took place at the park last month is asked to submit tips to Sauk County Crime Stoppers at 1-888-847-7285.
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