Koochiching County authorities continue to search for missing man

I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.

July 18, 1999

By Devlyn Brooks

Koochiching County sheriff's deputies continued searching by air and on the ground Saturday for a St. Paul man who has been missing since early Wednesday morning.

A Koochiching County dispatcher said a helicopter was scheduled to search the area surrounding the small town of Margie -- about 40 miles northeast of Blackduck -- where 63-year-old John Patrick Morrissey was last seen by a sheriff's deputy.

In addition, another ground search of the area was also to be conducted Saturday evening, the dispatcher said. Attempts to find evidence of Morrissey's whereabouts from the air and on the ground Thursday and Friday were unsuccessful.

Morrissey was last spotted early Wednesday morning about two miles south of Margie on U.S. Highway 71.

A Koochiching County sheriff's deputy had been dispatched to check on Morrissey when residents in the area reported that the man was sitting suspiciously in his car on the side of the road.

When the deputy arrived, Morrissey reportedly refused any assistance. The officer returned a couple hours later, and the St. Paul man was gone.

According to Koochiching County sheriff's officials, it is unknown whether Morrissey was visiting in the area, but residents of that area who were interviewed said they don't know him.

Anyone with information regarding Morrissy's whereabouts may call the Koochiching County Sheriff's Office toll free at (888) 340-4416.