Body found in Rib Mountain identified as elderly man

RIB MOUNTAIN, Wis. (WSAW) - The Marathon County Sheriff’s Office has positively identified the body found in Rib Mountain on Aug. 22 as Robert Wenitschka, a 74-year-old male, who died of natural causes.

Investigators said Wenitschka was homeless with no ties to the Wausau area.

A social media search led detectives to Wenitschka’s family in Illinois and Indiana that had not had contact with him since he returned from Vietnam more than 40 years ago.

The body was found in a wooded area south of the intersection of Cloverland Lane and Wood Duck Lane, just off of Rib Mountain Drive. The Marathon County Medical Examiner’s office said the last known contact anyone had with Wenitschka was on Aug. 5, 2022.