Tim Ryan, tryan@shawanoleader.com
Months after they were filed, two missing person cases remain open for city and county law enforcement, even though their trails have gotten colder and potential leads have gotten fewer.
Heather Szekeres, 32, of Shawano was last confirmed to have been at the former Final Lap Sports Bar and Grill in downtown Shawano at 11 p.m. June 21, not far from the apartment she shared with her husband, Robert, their 11-month-old daughter and Heather’s mother.
Where Szekeres went after leaving the Final Lap is still unknown.
Paul Hudson, 42, of Wescott, was last seen on July 9 by a family member walking in the vicinity of the Loon Lake boat landing.
Shawano County sheriff’s investigators said it was not unusual for Hudson not to have contact with the family for periods of time. The family reported Hudson as missing to the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department on Oct. 10.
In both cases, authorities are at the point where they are hoping for fresh information to come forward that could provide new leads to follow up on.
Shawano police officer Kurt Kitzman has been handling the Szekeres disappearance.
“Any information he gets, he’s on it right away,” Police Chief Ed Whealon said.
That has even included Facebook postings, which have so far produced nothing, Whealon said.
“We had a tip a while back that she was possibly in Michigan; that was a false lead,” he said.
Previous tips have put Szekeres in Texas and on the Menominee Indian Reservation. Neither panned out.
There is no foul play suspected in the case, but, Whealon said, the state Division of Criminal Investigations is involved.
“They’re doing some things behind the scenes I don’t really want to talk about,” he said. “We’re hoping with the help of DCI we can track some other stuff down electronically.”
Whealon said the DCI may also be able to assist with some out-of-state interviews, including in Tennessee where Szekeres was known to have been in the past.
The case is complicated by the fact that this is not the first time Szekeres has disappeared.
“There’s a history of this,” Whealon said.
Szekeres is described as a slender, 5-foot-4-inch brunette, but she has dyed her hair blond in the past.
Meanwhile, Shawano County authorities have similarly exhausted their leads so far in Hudson’s disappearance.
“We have done a number of searches through whatever semi-wooded areas in the town of Wescott that he frequented or may have walked through,” Detective Sgt. Gordon Kowaleski said. “No indicators of Mr. Hudson were found in those areas.”
The Sheriff’s Department said it has checked extensively with friends and relatives and investigated any first-hand reports of contact.
“At this time, we still have no idea where Mr. Hudson is,” Kowaleski said. “At this point, we’re asking anyone with any property in the area to please be on the lookout if you see anything that seems out of the ordinary to you. Please call us and we’d be happy to come out and take a look.”
Kowaleski said there are also health concerns involved.
“There are some concerns for his medical well-being, so we would certainly like to find him,” he said.
Hudson is described as a white male, 5 feet, 10 inches, 180 pounds, with blond, shoulder-length hair and blue eyes.
Anyone with information regarding Szekeres should contact Kitzman at 715-526-6117.
Anyone with information regarding Hudson is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Department at 715-526-3111 or their local law enforcement agency.