Man with dementia spotted in PdC in 2019 still missing

Family and friends of Norbert Anthony “Tony” Dantzman, of Winter (Wis.), continue searching for the 90-year-old who was last seen Aug. 30, 2019. The missing Korean War veteran, who has dementia, reportedly spoke with a Prairie du Chien antique shop owner the weekend he disappeared.

Dantzman was born and raised in Sawyer County. He grew up on a farm near Winter that his parents bought in 1919. The weekend he disappeared, he was back in Wisconsin for a 100 year family reunion.

The last known images of the 90-year-old are of him walking by security cameras at the Northern Lights Motel, in Winter.

From there, where he went is a mystery. His family believes he must have been picked up by someone.

Dantzman’s granddaughter Kasey Downey, who lives in California, said the family is afraid Dantzman could be completely unaware that he is lost or missing.

One of the promising leads since he went missing was his sighting in Prairie du Chien.

“It was so eerie,” Downey said. “This sounds just like Grandpa Tony, and the detectives investigated. They didn’t get too far because it was a rural area—no surveillance cameras to really confirm. But what we received from that one is that at that point is: ‘I’m heading out west to my family trying to get out west. Oh, I love antique shops.’ And she gave him pamphlets of antique shops all along the route going from Wisconsin west, so if we could do boots on the ground that’s where we would search once we can.”

Dantzman’s family believes they will find an answer to what happened to their dad and grandpa.

The Sawyer County Sheriff’s Department still considers Dantzman missing.

His family is offering a monetary reward for information leading to his recovery.

If you have information, contact the Sawyer County Sheriff’s Department at (715) 634-5213.