TOWN OF MONROE — A man drowned after trying to rescue an injured eagle in the Town of Monroe in northern Wisconsin, the Adams County Sheriff's Office announced on Friday.
Deputies were first notified on Wednesday afternoon, at around 1 p.m., after they received a report of a male who had gone missing from a boat launch at Lake Petenwell.
The dispatchers had learned that the man had been missing since he left his home around 5 p.m. on Tuesday. The reporting party had said that the missing person had gone fishing near the boat launch on Tuesday and saw an injured eagle in the water.
The man called the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and a raptor rescue facility, which both said that they would respond the next morning. He then returned home and told a family member that he was going to return to the lake to rescue the eagle.
Deputies arrived at the boat launch and found the man's unoccupied, locked vehicle. They also found equipment on the scene that could be used to rescue injured animals.
Officials used drones, watercraft and a ground search to find the missing person.
The body of 72-year-old Robert R. Marti from Necedah was found Wednesday evening just offshore. Investigators found a large fishing net and eagle feathers near the man, who was not wearing a life jacket.
According to their investigation, Marti got stuck in underwater debris just offshore and drowned.
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