2 years later: Family continues search for missing grandpa

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - A family continues searching for answers more than two years after their loved one disappeared during a family reunion in Wisconsin.

Norbert “Tony” Dantzman, 89, disappeared on August 30, 2019. Dantzman has dementia and is currently the only unresolved Silver Alert in the state of Wisconsin.

At the time of his disappearance, he was visiting Wisconsin from California for a 100-year family reunion.

Tony grew up on a farm near the Village of Winter in Sawyer County. He would be 91 today. His family believes he likely wandered off and possibly got in the car with someone. “They had the search and rescue dogs out there tracking grandpa’s smell from the hotel room through the trailer park where witnesses saw him pass through and then the dogs kind of lost his scent at one of the highways out there,” said Kasey Downey, Dantzman’s granddaughter.

Crews searched for months but nothing turned up. More than two years into the search for answers, the family is holding on to the possibility that Tony could still be out there, alive.

“He didn’t have his ID or phone on him. Being away from us this long, we think maybe he found a little old lady he claimed as his wife and started a new life,” said Downey.

Kasey says her grandfather always said he wanted to remarry after her grandmother passed away. “We hope he’s out there still but a part of us knows there could be a darker side to what happened that are hearts aren’t ready for yet,” she said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Sawyer County Sheriff’s office at 715-634-5213.

The family is offering a $10,000 reward for tips leading to the recovery of Tony Dantzman.

Below is a statement from Attorney General Kaul:

The Silver Alert program provides an important service to Wisconsinites. Any missing person case is tragic, but the fact that the program only has one long-term missing person shows how effective the program is in helping to locate at-risk or vulnerable seniors in Wisconsin.

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