(Published Thursday, September 20, 2007 11:46:30 AM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
By Chris Schultz cschultz@gazetteextra.com
LAKE GENEVA-The search for a Lake Geneva man is over.
The body of Blair Cassell, 46, was found Wednesday afternoon by a hiker about a mile southwest from where he had parked his car near the John Muir Trails in the Kettle Moraine State Forest in northern Walworth County, Sheriff David Graves said.
Graves said Cassell was the victim of an apparent suicide. A firearm was found nearby.
An autopsy was scheduled for today.
The body was found by a hiker. Graves said spotting Cassell from the hiking path was a stroke of luck, because the body was in heavy brush.
Cassell was a speech specialist in the McHenry School District, and first-year girls tennis coach at Catholic Central High School in Burlington.
Cassell's mother and sister reported him missing at 12:10 p.m. Monday after they got a call from McHenry schools saying he hadn't shown up for work.
A family member found Cassell's 1998 black Volvo parked in the lot there about 10 p.m. Monday. The trails are about 25 miles north of Lake Geneva.
The sheriff's department, DNR, state Highway Patrol and Whitewater police searched the area near the car from about 10 p.m. Monday until 2 p.m. Tuesday and found nothing. Up to 30 officers were involved in the search, on foot, and driving ATVs, mountain bikes and patrol cars. A helicopter was also used.
