MARINETTE (NBC 26) — Marinette County Sheriff Randy Miller tells NBC 26 that Billy Salnik's autopsy results indicate he died from freshwater drowning.
- Salnik's autopsy happened Wednesday. His remains were discovered on the north shore of Green Island on Saturday.
- A family out boating around Green Island saw Salnik's remains on the shore and called 9-1-1
- The Door County Sheriff's Office has not yet released any autopsy results for Salnik's children, whose bodies were discovered days after they first went missing during a sail boating trip with their father
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story.)
Preliminary autopsy results indicate how boater Billy Salnik, who was missing for six weeks, died. The Marinette County Sheriff's Office tells me it was a drowning.
The remains of Billy Salnik were autopsied Wednesday, and the medical examiner's results indicate he drowned.
Salnik disappeared on a sailboat trip with his two children in mid-July. His capsized boat and the kids' bodies were found just a few days later off Chambers Island.
"Tragic case with him and his kids," Marinette County Sheriff Randy Miller said. "Sad when you think about what happened."
Marinette County Sheriff Randy Miller says a family was boating around Green Island last weekend when they saw a body. The remains were quickly identified as Billy.
"[I] talked with [the family who discovered the remains] and just to be alert like that and to be aware that somebody is out there, still missing and to finally do that, close this case out, was a huge help to us," Miller said.
Sheriff Miller said the investigation has not led him to suspect any foul play. He said Billy's body looked like it had been in the water for an extended period of time. He tells me Billy could have succumbed to different conditions than his children did and likely sank in the bay before his body washed ashore.
"Green bay is a huge area and contrary to what people may think, there's a lot of current out there," Miller said. "He did not have a personal flotation device on, which I think led to the length of time before we were able to locate him."
The Door County Sheriff's Office has not yet released any autopsy results for five-year-old Charolette and three-year-old Joshua Salnik.
"Very thankful that we were able to give closure to the family," Miller said. "Knowing that and having them have peace that they're able to close this out is very important."
Sheriff Miller says Salnik's death will be ruled an accidental drowning.
