BARABOO, Wis. — The Sauk County Sheriff’s Office is looking into about 120 tips in the Devil’s Lake homicide investigation, nearly two months after a man was found dead along the Grottos Trail.
The body of 24-year-old John Craig Schmutzer, of Wauwatosa, was found in the park on Oct. 14. Detectives believe John Craig Schmutzer was hiking alone when he was attacked by a stranger. His death is being investigated as a homicide.
Last month, detectives stressed how important community tips will be in solving the case and asked the public to report any information that may be useful in solving the crime.
Tips can be sent anonymously to the Sauk County Crime Stoppers at 1-888-847-7285.
Sauk County detectives said the FBI and the Division of Criminal Investigation with the Wisconsin Department of Justice are also helping with this case.
Officials with the Sauk County Sheriff’s Office had previously called this the department’s “highest priority” case.
Schmutzer was a 2014 graduate of UW-Madison. He was working in the financial field in the Milwaukee area at the time of his death.
Friends and family remember him as an intelligent and thoughtful person who had a “zest for life.”
Devil’s Lake State Park is the most popular state park in Wisconsin seeing about 3 million visitors per year.
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