A 21-year-old Pound, WI man was injured after a one vehicle rollover Tuesday afternoon in the Town of Pine River. Just after 1 p.m. the driver was heading east on State Rd. 64 at High Ridge Road when he lost control of his truck and it rolled off the roadway into a cornfield, overturning both the pickup truck and a trailer containing metal tubing. The driver was transported to Ministry Good Samaritan Health Center for treatment of minor injuries. The Pine River Fire Department and First Responders assisted at the scene which took over two hours to clear and get traffic moving normally again.
A 33-year-old woman with ties to both Wisconsin and Illinois is in an Illinois jail after Lincoln County deputies investigated a complaint of interference with child custody. On Wednesday an Irma man reported that the woman, the non-custodial parent of two children aged 7 and 8, had most likely left the state with the children. Additional investigation showed the suspect may have used credit cards and a check book that were stolen as she traveled south. After working with authorities in Illinois, the woman and the children were found in Bethalto, IL and the children were safe and healthy. The woman was taken into custody for violating terms of her probation in Illinois and on Friday a Lincoln County Judge signed a warrant charging the woman with felony interference with child custody. She remains jailed in Illinois awaiting the conclusion of her charges there.
Lincoln County deputies assisted a father and son from Amherst who became lost in the Ackley Wildlife area on the Lincoln/Langlade County line on late Wednesday evening. Just after 11 p.m., a 911 caller reported the man and his 12-year-old son were lost in the woods. Lincoln County deputies found the pair’s vehicle and used sirens and emergency lights to guide them back out to safety about 40 minutes after the call for assistance was received. No injuries were reported.
A 38-year-old Merrill man is in the Lincoln County Jail and is expected to be charged this week after a deputy and Merrill Police officers responded to a report of a possible moving disturbance on Thursday morning. A motorist observed what they thought may have been a disturbance taking place in a vehicle that was on West Main Street in the City of Merrill. A Merrill Police officer located the vehicle on Sunset Drive and stopped it on Copper Road. He was soon joined by a deputy and the pair determined the suspect was wanted by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections on a felony warrant for violating terms of his probation. The victim told the deputy she was injured after a fight at a residence in the Town of Pine River. Misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and battery have been forwarded to the Lincoln County District Attorney. The man was also cited for driving after revocation.
Two people were injured after a two vehicle crash Friday morning in the Town of Merrill. At 7:19 a.m., cell 911 callers reported the crash on County Rd. G at Nickel Lane. According to the deputy’s report, a west bound vehicle being driven by a 54-year-old Wausau woman had slowed and was signaling to turn into the Church Mutual property when she was struck from behind by a vehicle being driven by a 17-year-old Merrill man. Both drivers were transported to Ministry Good Samaritan Health Center for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. The crash caused the road to be closed for over an hour as the crash was investigated and debris was cleared. The Merrill Police Department assisted at the scene. The 17-year-old was cited for inattentive driving.
A 20-year-old Merrill woman was arrested Friday on warrant charges. The deputy assigned to security at the court house arrested the woman just after 9 a.m. The woman had appeared in court on a family matter but a check showed she was wanted by the Marathon County Sheriff for contempt of court. The woman was brought to the county line and turned over to a Marathon County deputy there.
A Lincoln County deputy is credited with potentially saving a young boy’s life after a report of a possible drowning was received at Otter Lake Campground in the Town of Harrison Sunday afternoon. Just before 5 p.m., a cell 911 caller reported that a person flagged her down and asked her to call for help as someone was drowning in Otter Lake. The Town of Russell Fire Department along with Tomahawk EMS and the Tomahawk Fire Department dive team were all paged to respond to the scene. A deputy from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office was at the scene within three minutes of the call. He found the 11-year-old boy from Stanley, WI clinging to a buoy with his head barely above the water. The father of the boy explained they had tried to swim out to the boy but he would push him under water by trying to climb on him. The deputy used an emergency rope but could not get it close enough, so he stripped his emergency equipment off and swam to the boy with the rope. Once the deputy reached the boy he grabbed hold as the boy’s mother pulled them back to shore safely. The pair were examined by Tomahawk EMS but they refused medical transport.
Sheriff Jaeger would like to warn you about two phone scams that he and other local sheriffs are dealing with. This past week the IRS scam had a new twist as residents of Marathon County reported a man was calling and identifying himself as a Wausau Police officer who was assisting the IRS in getting back taxes paid. The other case involves the Wisconsin Public Service scam, which has residents and business owners in Lincoln and Marathon County and as far south as Wisconsin Rapids are reporting that a male was calling and telling them their WPS account is past due. The scammer tells the potential victims if they don’t pay their service will be disconnected within the hour. A Town of Merrill resident fell victim to this scam this past week. Another take on this scam is the resident is informed that their electric meter is being changed out and they must pay $,1000 in order for the meter to be changed. In all cases the scammers are using computers to spoof caller ID’s to make their calls seem more real. An alert Town of Corning man failed to fall victim to a scam this past week. The man had listed a piece of farm equipment for sale on Craigslist. A person contacted him and indicated he was sending a check for the equipment and asked that the man send the piece of equipment to an address in New York. When the check arrived it was for $1,000 more than what the man was asking for the item. The check was made out from a bank in Tennessee and the address where the farm equipment was supposed to be sent turned out to be an apartment building in New York. In this scam the thief has the victim wire them the extra funds which is usually done before the victim discovers the check is a fake.