He had been reported missing after tactical situation in Wheatland
By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer
A man found dead along the Lily Lake shoreline Saturday was involved in an earlier domestic dispute that required the Sheriff’s Tactical Team.
According to Sgt. Daniel Ruth of the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department, Richard L. Warnke Sr. became distraught after the May 23 domestic dispute with his wife at a residence in the 7800 block of 336th Avenue, and later turned up missing.
“He had been involved in a domestic dispute with his wife earlier in the night and had been seen with a gun by his wife and neighbor,” Ruth stated. “He fled the scene prior to the Sheriff’s Department arrival in an unknown direction, apparently despondent over domestic issues.”
Ruth reported the Kenosha Sheriff’s Department Tactical Team canvassed the area from 8 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.
When Warnke Sr. failed to show up for work May 24, his family notified authorities, who listed him as missing and endangered due to the nature of the original call.
According to a Sheriff’s Department press release, a local resident discovered his body along the shoreline of Lily Lake near the 7700 block of 334th Avenue early Saturday afternoon.
Authorities were unable to positively identify Warnke Sr. until Tuesday when a medical examiner’s autopsy confirmed his identity.
Ruth stated Warnke had been “missing for about five days total.”