Missing boater’s body recovered near Boscobel May 15

By David Krier

Twelve days after he was thrown out of a fishing boat after hitting a submerged log in the Wisconsin River, the body of a 64-year-old Boscobel man was recovered Friday not far from where the initial accident occurred.

“Frank Etheridge was located at approximately 8 a.m. by Warden Cody Adams and Boscobel Police Chief Jaden McCullick,” Crawford County Sheriff Dale McCullick said Friday. “They had gone out looking for him and found him approximately 80 yards from where he was last seen going under the water. The family has been notified.”

The DNR is investigating the boating accident and has yet to comment publicly on the matter.

“Usually there is a time period before we release any information,” DNR Warden Supervisor Joe Frost said last week. “Everything is not complete. I’m still receiving reports from officers and wardens in the field. As long as that’s the case, we typically don’t release any information. The accident itself is still under investigation.”

From the beginning, the search was centered around where Etheridge initially went in, which was the north bank near the intersection with Highway 60 and Rivendell Lane. Water levels on the river have dropped substantially since the search first began, making recovery more likely.