Koochiching officials continue search for man missing in Margie area

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 28, 1999

By Devlyn Brooks

Koochiching County Sheriff Duane Nelson said his department is no closer to finding a missing St. Paul man then when he disappeared two weeks ago.

John Patrick Morrissey, who has turned 63 since he disappeared, was last seen about 1 a.m. on July 14 by two Big Falls residents on U.S. Highway 71 two miles south of Margie -- about 40 miles northeast of Blackduck.

Nelson said investigators have followed some suspected sightings, but none have been Morrissey.

"We've had several people call and say they think they've seen him," he said. "But the clothing descriptions haven't matched."

Although several ground and air searches were conducted within the first week of Morrissey's disappearance, Nelson said there have been no searches in the past week other than having deputies check desolate cabins in the area where he disappeared.

"That swamp is so thick. And there has been so much rain, it's hard to maneuver in," Nelson said. "If he has fallen into the water, we might never even see him."

Nelson said now he can only offer information about Morrissey to the media in the hope that someone knows something.

"I'm afraid he must have walked into that swamp," he said.

When the area dries out in the fall, Nelson said he will conduct another ground search in the area where it is believed Morrissey disappeared.

"The family has been really good with us," he said. "They've understood there is nothing more we can do."

Pioneer telephone calls to Morrissey's daughter were not immediately returned Thursday.

Morrissey, who has a history of mental illness and had not been taking his medication prior to his disappearance, was seen in Koochiching County on July 13 by a sheriff's deputy.

The deputy stopped at Morrissey's broken down Chevrolet Suburban on the side of the road south of Margie and offered to call for a tow truck. But Morrissey allegedly refused any help.

"The deputy says he sounded good," Nelson said, "but just stubborn."

About 1 a.m. the next morning on July 14, two Big Falls residents spotted Morrissey walking shirtless down the middle of the highway in the same vicinity as his vehicle.

The men reported Morrissey to the Koochiching County Sheriff's Department, and a deputy was dispatched to check on the St. Paul man. But when the deputy arrived, Morrissey had already disappeared.

Morrissey had left personal belongings, including a wallet and two dogs in his vehicle.

Anyone with information regarding Morrissey's whereabouts may call the Koochiching County Sheriff's Office at (888) 340-4416 or (218) 283-4416.