Breaking News: Body Identified as Dr. Whiteside

Dr. Jeffrey Whiteside

Door County Chief Deputy Patrick McCarty confirmed at a July 23 press conference that the body found the previous day was that of 63-year-old Dr. Jeffrey Whiteside, who had been missing since June 29.

McCarty said a .22-caliber handgun was also recovered at the scene. He said it has not yet been determined who owns the handgun. Whiteside’s family had previously said all guns were accounted for.

McCarty also dismissed the rumor that Whiteside was found in a tree stand.

McCarty said the body was found in a wooded area just off German Road in the Town of Liberty Grove about 12:20 pm on July 22 by a dog and two members of the volunteer organization Headwaters Search and Rescue K-9 group. McCarty guessed that the distance where the body was found from where Whiteside was last seen after an argument with his wife at Ephraim marina was about a two-mile walk.

While the search component has now come to a close, McCarty said the investigative aspect of the case continues and information will be released as available.

Whiteside’s body was sent to the Brown County Medical Examiner, where a cause of death will be determined. McCarty could not say when that report will be available, but said it will include a toxicology report, which typically takes a couple of weeks.

Asked if it appeared Whiteside had died at the spot he was found or moved there, McCarty said, “We have no indication that he was moved to that area.”

He asked that the news media remember there is a person, husband, father, doctor and co-worker behind the story.