Law Enforcement

Human remains discovered along Highway 53 in Onalaska

Published

3 years ago

April 25, 2021

Human remains have been found near a southbound ramp onto Highway 53 in Onalaska.

The remains were discovered Sunday morning by two people who were cleaning up trash along the highway, in an area south of Sand Lake Road.

The La Crosse County medical examiner and the state Justice Department Crime Scene Response Team were sent to the location, along with the State Patrol.

Onalaska Police Chief Charles Ashbeck says the first officers at the scene believed that the remains had been at that spot for some time.

The southbound ramp onto Highway 53 has been closed for several hours during the investigation.

The person’s identity is not known, and Ashbeck says it could take weeks to identify the body, or determine a cause of death.

Brad Williams

A native of Prairie du Chien, Brad graduated from UW - La Crosse and has worked in radio news for more than 30 years, mostly in the La Crosse area. He regularly covers local courts and city and county government. Brad produces the features "Yesterday in La Crosse" and "What's Buried on Brad's Desk." He also writes the website "Triviazoids," which finds odd connections between events that happen on a certain date, and he writes and performs with the local comedy group Heart of La Crosse. Brad been featured on several national TV programs because of his memory skills.