Missing Muscoda man found safe

A missing man was found safe Saturday. 71-year-old Ray Pulvermacher of Muscoda was reported missing to the Avoca Police Department Saturday afternoon around 1:30.

Pulvermacher, who suffers from dementia, had traveled to Avoca with other members of his group home for the annual St Patrick’s Day parade, but walked away from the group. Workers from the group home searched for about an hour unsuccessfully.

Avoca Police, along with Deputies from the Iowa County Sheriff’s Department and Highland Police, initiated a search for him.

At 2:00, help was requested from the Avoca Fire Dept., Avoca EMS and lowa County K-9 Phoenix. A command post was set up at the Avoca Fire Station, and a unified command structure was established. Responders checked roadways and railroad track areas, including a residence where the subject may have spent time in the past, but were unable to locate him.

Additional resources were requested from lowa County Emergency Management, Highland Fire Dept., Highland EMS, the lowa County Drone Team, lowa County Tech Rescue Team and the Wisconsin DNR. The lowa County Sheriff’s Department Communications Center sent out a message on Facebook regarding the missing man and gave out his description. A Silver Alert was activated through the Wisconsin Dept of Justice a short time later.

K-9 Phoenix discovered a track for the subject through a part of the village. Responders were broken into search groups and a grid search of the village was conducted on foot. Drones deployed and worked with the groups but did not locate Pulvermacher. At approximately 3:40, a call for assistance was placed to the Wisconsin Drone Network and to a K-9 search organization known as “S.O.S.”. Officials believed the man may have entered a wooded hillside south of the village. The search was expanded to include the wooded area and the rural area surrounding the village and around Avoca Lake.

At 5:38, a citizen notified Avoca Police that a subject matching the description of Ray Pulvermacher was seen southeast of the village exiting a wooded area. The citizen offered him a ride and transported him to the Avoca Fire Dept. The subject was the missing 71-year-old Ray Pulvermacher of Muscoda. Pulvermacher was uninjured and reunited with his caretakers.

Avoca Police Chief, Chad Kanable, said ten emergency agencies and over 50 responders assisted in the incident which lasted almost five and a half hours.