Sheriff talks prolonged searches for missing people

This summer Cook County was the center of two missing persons cases that have stretched on for several months. Gene Dougherty was last seen on July 1 in Silver Bay, and his car was found near Cascade Lake in Cook County on July 11. Wayne Storch has been missing since Sept. 18. His vehicle was found on the Gunflint Trail on Sept. 24.

Searches for both men involved the Cook County Sheriff’s Office along with Cook County Search and Rescue.

Sheriff Pat Eliasen told WTIP that while local SAR efforts typically yield prompt results, the county has finite resources.

“It gets to a point where we have exhausted all the resources. We’ve exhausted everything that we can do,” Eliasen said. “The search is basically suspended until any new evidence would come up, where it would point us in a certain direction where we could focus our energy on.”

In Cook County the SAR teams are staffed by volunteers. Eliasen emphasized the commitment that the volunteers show each time they are called into the field. “We cannot say enough for what they do,” he said.

Despite their efforts, the searches organized through the Sheriff’s office have not resulted in locating either Storch or Dougherty.

Eliasen said that especially with a team of all volunteer searchers, a prolonged search can prove difficult. “Of course, you want to go find somebody’s loved one. You want to give them some closure. You want to, you know, do what you can for it’s for everybody in that family,” he said.

At this point, Eliasen said that any additional searches in the absence of new evidence would be independently organized. He said the families of missing people are welcome to continue searching, and that the sheriff’s department will share information with searchers about what areas have been searched or which they recommend focussing on.

WTIP’s Kirsten Wisniewski spoke with Sheriff Pat Eliasen, including about Search and Rescue. The excerpt during which SAR is discussed can be found below.

Kirsten Wisniewski November 23, 2025