PRESS RELEASE
Media Release – Marathon County Sheriff’s Office/Wisconsin State Patrol Post 6
Approximately 290 pounds of marijuana, drug paraphernalia, three firearms & two stun guns were recovered after two separate pursuits that originated near Osseo yesterday.
On Thursday, January 18, DCI Agents and members of the Marathon County Special Investigations Unit requested assistance from the Wisconsin State Patrol in stopping two vehicles suspected of transporting a large amount of illegal contraband. The Marathon County Special Investigations Unit is comprised of members of the Marathon County Sheriff’s Department, Wausau Police Department and Everest Metro Police Department.
Four units from the State Patrol along with units from Osseo PD, Trempealeau County S.O. and Strum PD assisted DCI and the Marathon County Special Investigations Unit in attempting to stop both suspect vehicles near Osseo. One suspect, driving a GMC Yukon, fled westbound into Osseo and after a short pursuit the suspect exited his vehicle and attempted to flee on foot. Troopers were able to subdue the man without incident. The second vehicle, a Subaru Forester, fled eastbound on US 10 and led officers on a 30 mile chase through Trempealeau, Jackson, Eau Claire, and Clark Counties. The female suspect turned onto CTH B in Clark County where the State Patrol was able to perform a Pursuit Intervention Technique (PIT) maneuver to induce the vehicle to stop. The female driver was taken into custody without incident.
Search warrants were obtained and the suspect vehicles were searched for contraband. Both drivers were booked into the Trempealeau County Jail for DOC warrants, felony eluding, possession with intent to deliver THC, felon in possession of a firearm, and other misdemeanor and traffic charges.
The driver of the Yukon was identified as Joel J. Helding, age 32, from Tomahawk, WI. The driver of the Forester was identified as Valerie A. Flores, age 25, from Wausau, WI. The agencies involved were the Marathon County Special Investigations Unit, DCI, Merrill Police Department, Strum PD, Trempealeau County Sheriff’s Department, Clark County Sheriff’s Department, Jackson County Sheriff’s Department and Wisconsin State Patrol. The case remains under investigation.
No other information will be released at this time.
SHERIFF SCOTT R. PARKS
On January 20, 2018 at 3:02 a.m. Marathon County Communications received a 911 call of a shooting at 406 East Maple Street in the City of Abbotsford.
The Colby-Abbotsford Police Department, Clark and Marathon County Deputies responded to the scene. Officers found one injured victim who was transported to the hospital for non life threatening injuries. Two deceased victims were found in the residence by officers. The lone suspect was apprehended near the crime scene and is i...n custody at the Marathon County Jail. The scene was then secured.
The Colby-Abbotsford Police Department and the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office Investigations Division are conducting the investigation. They are assisted by the Wisconsin State Crime Lab, State Patrol’s reconstruction team, Marathon County Medical Examiner’s Office and the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
No other information will be released at this time. The names of the victims are not being released at this time until all family members have been notified. A press conference is scheduled on January 20, 2018 at 1:00 p.m. at the Colby-Abbotsford Police Department.
Jason Bauer
Chief of Police
Colby-Abbotsford Police Department
The Sheriff's Office was recently recognized with the "Patriot Award". The award program recognizes supportive employers whose support and good will are important to retaining highly skilled and qualified members of the Guard and Reserve.
One of our Detectives nominated our office with the following nomination:
"My employer is the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office. I currently am assigned to Investigations as a Detective in our Special Investigations Unit which focuses on ...drug offenses. Our current Sheriff is Scott Parks, my Captain is Greg Bean and my Lieutenant is Randy Albert. Although I put my Sheriff’s information in the award, I truly would like to award it to our Department as a whole. I have been sent to multiple trainings throughout my career with the Wisconsin Army National Guard, MOS-Q, Annual Training, Warfighters and a Deployment are just a few.
The Sheriff’s Office has always supported my training and looked after my family when I am gone. This Department as a whole is full of current and past members of the Armed Forces form every branch. Our Sheriff continues to hire reservists to fill our ranks and understands the commitments we have to make, sometimes at a moments notice.
This year my National Guard unit was activated for hurricane relief in Florida. Sheriff Parks on down let me know that if my family needed help when I was gone to call. This brought great relief to me and my wife as we have two small children. Co-workers would stop by to check in on her to see if anything was needed. The Law Enforcement community is a close community and it makes it easy for me to step away and serve my nation when needed."
The Sheriff's Office is forever grateful to have amazing members of our team across all divisions. Many of them, like this Detective also serve our country as members of the United States Armed Forces. They are committed to the service of our community locally and across this great nation. Thank you for the nomination Detective and to each and every one of you who have and continue to serve!
The Marathon County Sheriff's Office is warning local businesses of counterfeit/fake money that are being passed.
Fake $20 bills have been passed in the Rib Mountain area as well as $20, 50, and $100 have been passed in the Medford area. These bills have the words, "MOTION PICTURE USE ONLY" printed on the front and back.
Please be on the lookout for these bills and report any counterfeit/fake bills that are located.
On January 11, 2018, at approximately 2:48 pm, the Marathon County Sheriff's Office dispatch received a report of an injury traffic crash on STH 13 near Brighton Ln., Township of Brighton.
The traffic crash involved three vehicles. Four people were transported to the Marshfield Medical Center in Marshfield with unspecified injuries. It is believed weather and road conditions were a factor in the traffic crash.
The Marathon County Sheriff's Office was assisted on scene by t...he Spencer Fire Department and Spencer EMS.
This investigation is on-going. This is all the informaiton that will be released at this time.
Roadways, parking lots and sidewalks are getting very slippery in spots! We strongly urge our followers to drive and walk carefully! County Highway and Wausau DPW are on the way out. Stay safe, folks!
After a year of planning and collaboration, the Marathon County Sheriff's Office, Wausau Police Department and Northcentral Healthcare are excited to announce that our Crisis Assessment Response Team (CART) is formed.
Over the next couple of weeks the team will be in the community developing relationships and learning about all of the resources available in Marathon County. We are blessed to have great community partners and providers who have offered to help us make CART ...a success. In addition to this work they will also be responding to calls for service related to mental health needs. These calls could be associated with a crisis, working with individuals and families who manage a mental illness and working with homeless persons.
The goal of this team is to reduce the number of involuntary detentions to mental health facilities, work with individuals and families to find the least restrictive means of getting assistance for mental health needs and reducing the number of individuals who are incarcerated due to an underlying mental health disorder. This is a tall task and something we are confident this team can handle.
The individuals selected to work on this team are Deputy Megan Sowinski of the Marathon County Sheriff's Office, Officer David Bertram of the Wausau Police Department and Stacey Rozelle and Chuck Kerstell from Northcentral Healthcare. The law enforcement officers and crisis workers will be paired daily in order to best meet the needs of individuals in the community. Together we will have better and more consistent care for those we serve!
The four individuals selected are Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) trained and are a resource for the collegues.
We are excited about the opportunities this program provides but couldn't have done it without the generous support of the Community Foundation of Northcentral Wisconsin, Greenheck Foundation, Marathon County Board of Supervisors and City of Wausau. Without their help we wouldn't be able to make this team a reality!
Together we will create better opporunities for people in need!
