MARINETTE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — In October 2024, 76-year-old Norman Hoefert went missing while out on a walk.
For three days, Marinette County law enforcement crews and volunteers searched for him, and miraculously, Hoefert was eventually found lying on the ground in a heavily wooded area, alive and able to speak to officers.
Now, Hoefert and his wife, Carolyn, are giving back to those who helped bring him home safely.
On Wednesday, the Hoeferts donated $20,000 to the Marinette County Sheriff’s Office — $10,000 to both the K9 unit and the drone unit. Their son, Dan, gave a presentation of the events leading up to his father being located.
Multiple aerial and drone units were deployed to search for Hoefert, in addition to K9 and mounted horse teams, firefighters and motorized search teams.
“It meant a lot to our deputies to be able to spend some time visiting with Norman today,” the sheriff’s office wrote in a Facebook post Wednesday.
