Body found in woods is missing doctor

STURGEON BAY – The search for Jeffrey Whiteside, the Grand Chute doctor who went missing on June 29, has ended in a wooded area just east of Ephraim.

At a news conference on Thursday afternoon, the Door County Sheriff’s Department identified a body that was found on Wednesday as Whiteside.

Authorities said a .22-caliber handgun was found at the scene, which had been previously searched by the landowner. The investigation into the death of the 63-year-old Whiteside is continuing, investigators said.

Whiteside’s body was found among trees at an uninhabited property off German Road in the town of Liberty Grove, just east of Ephraim. Whiteside disappeared June 29 after an argument with his wife, Kathi, the sheriff’s department said earlier. He was last seen leaving the Ephraim Yacht Harbor Marina on foot. His family reported him missing two days later.

Confirming the worst

Chief Deputy Pat McCarty said the cause and manner of Whiteside’s death will be determined by the Brown County Medical Examiner.

Whiteside’s autopsy was completed at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, said Door County Medical Examiner Jeff Jansen. Jansen did not determine a preliminary cause of death.

“We don’t have complete results, yet. We are waiting for toxicology,” Jansen said. “We did do dental identification and we have positively identified (him) as Dr. Whiteside.

“We don’t even look at it (cause of death) until we have all the puzzle pieces in place,” he said.

Whiteside’s body was released to Wichmann Funeral Home in Appleton.

Details emerge

McCarty said there was no indication that Whiteside’s body was moved to the area where it was discovered. He said he thinks Whiteside died where he was found.

“We believe the body had been there for some time,” he said.

The sheriff’s department is investigating who owned the gun that was found near the body. McCarty declined comment on how many gunshot wounds Whiteside sustained, or where the gunshots were.

“We had initial reports of a missing handgun and then the family confirmed to us that all firearms known to be owned by Dr. Whiteside were accounted for,” McCarty said.

The body was found by Headwaters Search and Rescue K-9 Group about two miles east of the marina at about 12:20 p.m. Wednesday. It was one of at least three searches the organization had conducted for Whiteside in the past three weeks.

Investigators don’t know whether Whiteside was familiar with the heavily-wooded area where his body was found. Rumors that Whiteside was found in a deer stand are false, McCarty said.

“Without the assistance of Headwaters, you would have had to walk right up on top of it to find it,” McCarty said. “Our officers searched the known deer stands and boxed enclosure stand in the area previously.”

McCarty said it hasn’t been determined whether a crime occurred, but said the public isn’t in any danger.

Community, family mourns

The Whiteside family released a statement through its attorney Thursday thanking law enforcement, search and rescue volunteers, the medical examiner’s office, family and friends for their “tireless efforts.”

“The public attention brought to this matter reminds us how loved and respected Jeff was within the community, and this helps to warm our broken hearts,” the statement said. “We would like to take this time to grieve his passing and ask that everyone please respect our privacy as we do so.”

Whiteside, a doctor at Fox Valley Pulmonary Medicine, served on the ThedaCare board of trustees.

Dr. Dean Gruner, president and CEO of ThedaCare, issued this statement on Thursday afternoon:

“Today, the ThedaCare Board of Trustees and our hospital leadership lost a good friend, colleague and outstanding physician leader, Dr. Jeffrey Whiteside. I have worked with Jeff for 32 years in both patient care and as a leader for our Fox Cities hospitals and for ThedaCare. In that span, I got to know Jeff personally and professionally. I cannot express how much he and his dedication, smile and support will be dearly missed by all of us. We and the entire ThedaCare family extend our sympathies and prayers to the Whiteside family, their friends, patients and all of us who knew him as colleagues.”

The staff at Fox Valley Pulmonary Medicine, where Dr. Whiteside had a medical practice, also issued a statement on Thursday.

“All of us ... are saddened to hear the news of Dr. Jeffrey Whiteside’s death. Our thoughts remain with Dr. Whiteside’s family, friends, colleagues and the many patients (whose) lives he touched over his long career. This has been a difficult ordeal for all involved.”

Sheriff’s department officials expressed condolences to Whiteside’s family through its legal counsel. McCarty had no comment on whether investigators will search the Whiteside home in Grand Chute.

Quiet village stunned

When Matthew Smith heard sirens from his home near German Road on Wednesday, he figured they had something to do with Whiteside’s disappearance.

The Ephraim resident was glad to hear authorities recovered Whiteside’s body, giving his family and friends some answers after three weeks of searching.

Smith was surprised to hear about the disappearance in the first place, considering how quiet and safe the village normally is.

“It’s the kind of community where you can leave your doors unlocked,” he said.

Sheriff’s deputies on Wednesday used police tape to secure the area where the body was found, and the State Crime Lab assisted with the investigation at the scene. Authorities obtained a search warrant for the property.

Investigators spent more than nine hours Wednesday at the property, which is located between State 57 and Townline Road.

Previous air, water and land searches hadn’t discovered any sign of Whiteside. Those searches concentrated on Ephraim and Eagle Harbor before progressing east.

The disappearance has drawn widespread interest and was featured Tuesday on “Good Morning America.”

The sheriff’s department hasn’t disclosed what Whiteside and his wife were arguing about or why she returned to Grand Chute several hours later — leaving him without a car — when he was expected to be at work the next morning. It also hasn’t revealed who saw Whiteside walk away from the marina.