Staples man is still missing
The last time anyone saw Peter Achermann, he was shopping in Staples.
That was last Friday, almost a full week ago. What happened to the 82-year-old rural Leader man after that is anyone's guess.
His vehicle was found Saturday night about 10 miles from his home north of Leader. The vehicle, a 1995 Chevrolet station wagon, was on a minimum maintenance road, hung up in a mud hole. It's from that point that law enforcement, family, friends and volunteers have started their searches.
So far no sign of Achermann has been found.
"We're scared. He's been gone for so long," said family friend Betty Gold.
Peter Achermann
Gold said Achermann should be easy to spot if someone meets him. He is white man, about 5-foot-9, 175 pounds and has a black and gray beard and generally walks with a cane. He is also distinguishable by the crocheted berets he always wears and by his pleasant demeanor, Gold said.
"He is a character and an interesting man, a very, very interesting man," said Gold, who has known Achermann and his family for decades. "If you ever saw him, or talked to him, you would never forget Peter."
Searches have included foot patrols, on horseback and all-terrain vehicle, in the air with helicopters and with scent-finding K9 units. It's all been concentrated in the area where Achermann's vehicle was found, said Cass County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Tom Burch.
The searches will continue, he said.
"We'll do as much as we can until we run out of area to search," Burch said. "What we find dictates how long we continue."
Burch said foul play cannot be ruled out at this point but there's been nothing found that would indicate Achermann's disappearance is criminal. He said according to the family, Achermann was in good health and on no medications. His only infirmity was that he needed a cane to get around.
"It's really a strange thing," Burch said. "If we could answer some of these things we wouldn't be where we are. We don't know where to look except around where his vehicle was found."
A woman who answered the phone at Achermann's home on 60th Street Southwest said all inquiries should be made to the sheriff's department.
Gold said Achermann is a native of Switzerland and was very proud of the farm he set up north of Leader. He loved visiting with people, philosophizing on politics and was proud of the home he built in the United States. He had intended to speak at his granddaughter's wedding last Saturday, the day after he disappeared, Gold said.
"He is a happy, loving man and his wife is the same way. They are a loving family," Gold said. "Family is so important to him, that's why I know something had to happen to him. You can't get the prayers out of your mind because you're so worried."
Anyone with information on Achermann's whereabouts is asked to call the Cass County Sheriff's Department at (800) 450-2677 or at (218) 547-3394.
MATT ERICKSON may be reached at matt.erickson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5857.