Dewey honors deputy with after tricky marsh rescue

By Brandi Makuski

DEWEY — A Portage County sheriff’s deputy who helped locate a missing man trapped in a marsh last month was honored this week by the Dewey Fire Department.

Fire Chief Brian Lepper presented Deputy Brad Mathwich with a department challenge coin during the department’s weekly meeting on Sept. 2, before about a dozen department members and Town Chairman Maurice King.

Lepper said the coin, given sparingly in the small volunteer department, recognized Mathwich’s quick actions during the Aug. 15 search.

“Nobody wanted to go into those woods like you did, but they would have if ordered,” Lepper told him. “It was cold, wet, dark, and raining — and you helped us make contact before that turned into an all-night operation.”

Mathwich, who has served with the Portage County Sheriff’s Office since 2012, has been a K-9 officer since 2022 with his partner, Lexa, a Belgian Malinois.

“We didn’t have a clear direction of travel, and the track was already a couple of hours old,” he said. “With the heat and humidity, I didn’t want to use [Lexa] until we had a better idea where he might be. She probably would have had 20 to 30 minutes of work before needing a break.”

Deputies also deployed a drone equipped with a thermal camera, but dense summer foliage limited its effectiveness. “The equipment is good, but battery life, weather, and conditions can all play a role,” Mathwich said.

The call came on a stormy night with intermittent rain and lightning visible to the south. Lepper said the weather added urgency. “It was the kind of night where if we didn’t make contact soon, we’d be looking at hypothermia risks, even in August,” he said.

The search began when a man went into the woods near Oriole Lane, off County Y, around 7:30 p.m. to look for his dog and didn’t return. Dewey Fire and EMS were paged at 9:19 p.m., with mutual aid requested from Hull, Stockton, Rosholt, and Rudolph. Crews staged fire trucks and ambulances nearby as deputies arrived with the K-9 unit and drone.

Around 10:30 p.m., Mathwich made voice contact with the man, who was stuck in ankle-to-knee-deep water in a boggy section of woods. He was exhausted but unhurt, escorted out by deputies and firefighters, evaluated by EMS, and declined further treatment. No responders were injured.

“Everybody came together that night,” Lepper said. “Brad’s actions prevented what could have been a long, wet, and dangerous search for all of us.”