The Marinette County Sheriff’s Office has recovered the body of a Little Suamico boater who went missing after he went sailing with his two children in July, according to a news release.
Billy Salnik, 32, was identified after the Marinette County Dispatch got a call at 12:06 p.m. from a boater that they’d possibly located a body near Green Island, according to Marinette County Sheriff Randy Miller.
The Marinette County Sheriff’s Office and the city of Marinette Fire Department responded immediately to the area. Soon after arriving, the departments located, recovered and later identified the body as Salnik’s, who has been missing since July.
Salnik went missing July 13 after taking his two children, Joshua Salnik, 3, and Charlotte Salnik, 5, sailing. The three never made it to their destination in Oconto after departing from Green Island in the bay. On July 15, the capsized vessel that the three were on, as well as the bodies of the two children, were recovered.
“We would like to thank all those involved in the numerous searches for their tireless efforts,” the Marinette County Sherriff’s office said in the release identifying Salnik. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Billy at this time.
Friends searched for Salnik with boats, underwater cameras and along the shore in Menekaunee Harbor in Marinette earlier in August.
Salnik’s mother, Tina, started a GoFundMe account July 15 to help with funeral expenses. As of 3:45 p.m. Aug. 24, $27,205 of the $30,000 goal had been raised.
The incident remains under investigation by the Marinette County Medical Examiner’s Office and the Marinette County Sheriff’s Office. The city of Marinette Fire Department assisted the sheriff’s office, according to the release.
Timeline of events
According to reports from the Door County Sheriff’s Department, Oconto County Sheriff’s Department and U.S. Coast Guard, this is the timeline of events leading up to discovering the children’s bodies.
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Salnik and his two children departed Green Island, in the bay, around 4 p.m. July 13 in an 18-foot sailboat.
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The three were reported missing at 12:42 p.m. July 14 when they didn’t arrive at their planned destination in Oconto. The Coast Guard was notified at 4:27 p.m. that day.
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The father’s truck and trailer were found at the boat ramp on the afternoon of July 15. Calls to the Salnik’s phone went straight to voicemail.
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A capsized vessel was retrieved at 6:22 a.m. July 16 south of Chambers Island and was towed to Fish Creek.
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At 11:21 a.m. July 16, the bodies of two young children were found in the water about 1 mile south of where the boat was found.
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At 12:06 p.m. Aug. 24, a boater reported a body, later identified as Salnik’s, near Green Island.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Missing boater Billy Salnik recovered near Green Island
