The Dane County Sheriff’s Office has released information on a Dane County Homicide which led up to an officer-involved shooting on  Friday morning in the Town of Peshtigo. Authorities believe 70-year – old Thomas Muckler was killed at his cabin in the Town of Mazomanie after he encountered a 23-year-old man who had broken into the cabin and been staying there for an unknown period of time. When the Muckler did not arrive back in Madison for a family dinner on Thursday evening, his family reported him missing to the Madison Police. At the request of the Madison Police, a sheriff’s deputy went to check the cabin at around 8:00 P.M.; however, no vehicle was on the property, and there was no answer at the door. Later that night, family members went to the cabin, and when they went inside, they found the Muckler deceased. A statewide alert was sent out to seek the help of other law enforcement agencies in finding the victim’s vehicle and its driver.
An officer with the Marinette Police Department found the vehicle at 9:12 a.m. and tried to make a traffic stop. The driver refused to stop, leading to multiple law enforcement officers on a high-speed pursuit along U.S. Highway 41, which resulted in the vehicle crashing and coming to a stop near the intersection of U.S. Highway 41 and Schacht Road where officers encountered the 23-year-old driver who according to the Department of Justice was shot by two Marinette Police officers and died at the hospital. Investigations continue into both deaths. The suspect’s name has not yet been released.