With frigid temperatures for a second day in a row, authorities postponed the search on Jan. 20 for a missing Wisconsin Rapids man with plans on searching the following day with the assistance of canines.
“We are not searching due to the recommendation of the dog handlers coming (Jan. 21),” Grand Rapids Police Chief Dave Lewandowski said. “The dog handlers want the scene to settle down so the dogs get a better scent.”
Approximately six tracking dogs from Portage County and southern Wisconsin along with about 15 rescue workers will be meeting at the Grand Rapids Fire Department command center at 8 a.m. on Jan. 21 to begin searching the Whitrock Avenue area that was intended to be searched Jan. 20.
“We are going out with the dogs regardless of what the weather is like,” said Lewandowski.
Greg Senn, a 29-year-old Wisconsin Rapids resident, was dropped off at the 6000 block of 80th Street to visit a friend on Jan. 13 and decided to leave the residence at 5:30 a.m. on Jan. 14.
While Senn has family and other friends who live in Grand Rapids, he has not visited any of those locations, Lewandowski said in a Jan. 16 interview.
Three sources informed the police that Senn was last seen walking north on 80th Street around 6:30 a.m. on Jan. 14.
With help from local agencies, searches have been conducted daily until inclement weather canceled searches Jan. 19 and Jan. 20. The search on Jan. 18 consisted of investigating an area north of South Park to Lake Wazeecha where members of Wood County Rescue suited up in dive gear and looked under the 80th Street bridge. However, the search on Jan. 18 lasted only a couple hours due to cold temperatures.
“Weather is playing a major factor on what we’re trying to do,” Lewandowski said.
Lewandowski is hoping that assistance from the dogs will answer some of authorities’ questions, such as whether or not Senn had continued walking after being last seen walking north on 80th Street.
“I think the dogs will help us with that question tomorrow,” he said.
The rescuers plan on taking the dogs to see if Senn’s scent goes past the Whitrock Avenue and 80th Street intersection where he was last seen. Future searches and additional areas will be covered depending on what the dogs uncover in the morning.
Events leading up to Senn’s disappearance are still under investigation and the Wood County Crime Stoppers have put up a reward for tips that lead the authorities to him, Lewandowski said.
“All of our efforts are just trying to find him,” he said.
logo are available only to subscribers. 
Join the conversation