Man's disappearance takes toll on family during holidays
It's been four months since Peter Achermann disappeared.
The season has changed from summer to fall, the leaves have fallen off the trees and deer hunters trodding through the woods around Leader have failed to turn up any clue as to the whereabouts or fate of the 82-year-old rural Leader man.
The absence of Peter Achermann, who disappeared four months ago, will make the holiday season a difficult one for his family.
For Achermann's family, the absence of the family patriarch will make the holiday season a difficult one.
"It's unreal. This whole upcoming season is going to be pretty hard on everybody," said Achermann's daughter, Desiree Greenwaldt. "I really believe if we knew that he was dead, if he would have had a heart attack or never woke up from a nap, it would be so much different than him just walking off and disappearing like that.
"But life goes on, we still celebrate the holidays, still celebrate new babies. You can't get caught up in the misery but it's very trying."
Achermann was last seen on July 24, the day before his granddaughter's wedding. He had stopped by Greenwaldt's home to see how the wedding preparations were coming along before driving
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into Motley and Staples to run errands. It would be the last time anyone had seen Achermann.
"We were planning for a wedding and he was so excited," Greenwaldt said, her voice cracking with emotion. "When he left that day he gave me a hug and said, 'I'll see you later' and I never saw him later."
The only clue to his disappearance left behind was Achermann's 1995 Chevrolet station wagon, found stuck in a mud hole on a minimum maintenance road about 10 miles from his home the day after he was reported missing.
Months of searching by family, friends, law enforcement, volunteers, the National Guard, search and rescue dogs - hundreds of people in all - have failed to turn up any clue as to the whereabouts of Achermann.
Greenwaldt said family effort, which at first included daily treks into the field and woods surrounding the area where Achermann's vehicle was found, have since slowed but are not stopping.
Though the rifle deer hunt didn't result in finding Achermann, Greenwaldt remains hopeful that the continuing bow and muzzleloader deer hunts will and asks that hunters keep an eye out for anything suspicious and call law enforcement if they find something.
The Minnesota Search and Rescue Dog Association has picked up the search left off by Denny Adams, who spent several months searching for Achermann before returning home to South Dakota. And Greenwaldt said Minnesota Army National Guard Lt. Col. Eric Waage will be assisting the Cass County Sheriff's Department with investigating the terrain and possible evidence.
"It's another set of eyes," Greenwaldt said.
For the Cass County Sheriff's Department, foul play can't be ruled out.
"From a sheriff's perspective, every day he continues to be missing it becomes less likely it's a voluntary disappearance," Fisher said.
The case will remain active until Achermann is found, Fisher said, and the sheriff's department continues to meet with family. He said the case has been challenging for the sheriff's department.
"But any frustration we may have certainly can not compare to what the family is feeling for their husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather," Fisher said.
Like Greenwaldt, Fisher hoped hunters and property owners would keep an eye out for anything suspicious and report it to their local law enforcement agency or the Cass County Sheriff's Department at (800) 450-2677 or (218) 547-1424.
MATT ERICKSON may be reached at matt.erickson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5857.