Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Deputies Talk Man Out Of Suicide Attempt

Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s deputies closed County Highway N, west of I-41 Tuesday, January 10, 2023 while working on an incident in the area.

At 2:19 PM, the Fond du Lac County Communications Center received a call from a man that said he was feeling suicidal.

The man stated he was from Appleton but was now homeless and was currently on Highway N in Fond du Lac County. He also told the 911 operator that he was in possession of a gun.

Officers from the sheriff’s department along with Wisconsin State Patrol Deputies responded to the area and found the mans truck parked in a DNR parking lot on N.

Officers closed off the road and area residents were told to shelter in place while the dispatcher continued talking to the man.

As more resources started arriving in the area, the man’s phone call was transferred to Fond du Lac’s in-house crisis social worker who was able to convince the man to exit the truck and get away from the guns he had with him.

After approximately one hour, the individual exited his vehicle unarmed and surrendered to law enforcement without incident.

He was able to meet with the crisis social worker on the scene for further conversation and is receiving the medical and other assistance he needs.

The sheriff’s department says the man will not face any criminal charges and no one was injured during the incident.

Fond du Lac County Sheriff Ryan Waldschmidt commended the work of all involved in the incident and reminds anyone that may feel suicidal, that they can call the county’s 24/7 crisis line at 920-929-3535 or as was in this case, 911.