The Huron County Sheriff’s Office reports that alcohol might have had a factor in a mushroom picker going missing for several hours on Wednesday in McKinley Township.
Sheriff Kelly Hanson reports that around 9:15 p.m. on May 1, Huron County Sheriff’s Deputy Nathan Leppek responded to a wooded and swampy area at the western end of McKinley Township’s Crown Road after a 12-year-old boy reported his mother missing.
The boy reported that he and his nine-year-old brother had been mushroom hunting with their parents and a friend when the mother wandered off and became lost. He added that she had contacted him via cell phone to share that she was lost, but had been reluctant to call 911. However, after being contacted by the deputy, the mother was convinced to call 911 so that dispatchers could try to figure out her location.
As night fell, the sheriff’s office and the Windsor Fire Department began searching, with the woman found shortly before 11:00 p.m. by Huron County Sgt. Bradley Strozeski. When found, the 37-year-old woman was found in thick brush and surrounded by over knee deep water. Sheriff Hanson shared via press release that alcohol had a likely role in the incident, with the woman only suffering from wet feet and picker cuts in the aftermath.
All responders cleared the scene before midnight.
