Houghton man found frozen to death

NIAGARA, Wisconsin — A Houghton man who went missing in Marinette County was found dead on Sunday in the woods near Niagara, Wisconsin.

The Marinette County Sheriff’s Department received a report at 1:45 p.m. that a vehicle with Michigan license plates was abandoned off of Barlow Lake and Brown Spur on a snowmobile trail. Deputies responded to the call and began to investigate.

It was determined that a 19 year-old male who owned the vehicle was apparently traveling back home to Houghton, but had not been heard from for at least 24 hours. Authorities began searching and Niagara firemen eventually discovered the frozen and deceased remains of Jacob William Gleason around 8:30 p.m. The firemen had dwindling cell phone power and did not know their exact location, so they stayed with the recovered body deep in the woods and made a fire to stay warm.

Law enforcement officers eventually made their way to the location, taking turns carrying Gleason out of the woods. The body was then turned over to the Marinette County Coroner. The investigation is ongoing and an autopsy is scheduled for January 10th.

The Niagara Fire Department Search and Rescue Team, the Niagara Rescue Squad, Wisconsin DNR Wardens, Wisconsin State Patrol, Marinette County Coroner and Marinette County Dispatch assisted on the scene.