Body found in Rib Mountain in August identified as 74-year-old homeless Vietnam veteran
WAUSAU – A body found in Rib Mountain last month has been identified as a 74-year-old man who died of natural causes.
Robert E. Wenitschka was a homeless Vietnam veteran, according to the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office. Detectives found he had no ties to the Wausau area, and family in Illinois and Indiana said they had not had any contact with him since he returned from Vietnam more than 40 years ago.
“We send our condolences to Mr. Wenitschka’s family,” Marathon County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Sarah Severson said in a statement. “We have many employees that are Veterans, and it was important to us to ensure Mr. Wenitschka be honored for his service to our country and receive a proper burial, while also providing some closure to his family.”
Wenitschka's body was found Aug. 22 in a wooded area south of Cloverland and Woodchuck lanes in the town of Rib Mountain. Wenitschka was identified through DNA analysis, the sheriff's office said.
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Contact Kelli Arseneau at (920) 213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @ArseneauKelli.
This article originally appeared on Wausau Daily Herald: Body found in Rib Mountain identified as homeless Vietnam veteran
