Two Indicted in Mortier Disappearance Case
Category: Life

Two More Indicted in Marijuana Conspiracy Case

ED TRELEVEN
608-252-6134
etreleven@madison.com

Two friends of a missing Fitchburg man were indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiring to distribute large amounts of marijuana, bringing to six the number of people charged in relation to the case.

The indictments for Jacob Stadfeld, 32, and Brent Delzer, 34, were filed Friday in U.S. District Court. The indictments allege that the two conspired between themselves and others to distribute marijuana from about 2000 until Nov. 8, 2004.

That's the date that Amos Mortier was last seen before he vanished from his home in Fitchburg, leaving his dog running outside and a record spinning on his turntable.

It is unclear how the marijuana conspiracy is related to Mortier's disappearance. However, a plea agreement for Reed Rogala, 32, of South Orange, N.J., who pleaded guilty in June to involvement in a marijuana distribution conspiracy, gives Rogala immunity for any further statements he makes, except those pertaining to his "involvement, if any, in the murder of Amos Mortier."

In search warrants filed in 2005, Delzer told Fitchburg police that over the previous two years, he had sold "pounds" of marijuana for Mortier. He also said that Mortier was owed $90,000 by Stadfeld for marijuana that Mortier had given him to sell.

Delzer also told police, according to the warrants, that four or five days before Mortier was last seen, he was at Mortier's home when Mortier received a phone call and began to yell that someone owed him money. That surprised Delzer, the search warrants state, because he had never heard Mortier yell.

Phone records showed that the call may have been from Stadfeld, warrants state.

Police also interviewed Stadfeld about cell phone calls he made to Mortier on the day he vanished and the days prior.

Other friends of Mortier have also been charged with involvement in a marijuana distribution conspiracy. Destin Layne, 30, who described herself as a mentor to Mortier, was charged on Aug. 12 and is set for a plea hearing on Sept. 17.

Rogala, a former UW-Madison student, will be sentenced on Nov. 6. Rogala's former roommate, Brian Hutchinson, also a former UW-Madison student, entered a guilty plea on Aug. 11 and will be sentenced on Oct. 29.

Federal prosecutors on Aug. 14 also charged Hal Taback with involvement in the conspiracy.

According to information presented by prosecutors in court during Hutchinson's plea hearing, Taback was among Rogala's sources for marijuana in New York, which Rogala had brought to Madison in hundred-pound loads by hired couriers.

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MATC student’s murder noted in plea deal
Category: Life

THU., JUN 12, 2008 - 9:58 PM
Ed Treleven
608-252-6134
etreleven@madison.com

In a case related to the disappearance of Amos Mortier 3 years ago, a former UW-Madison student pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiring to bring large amounts of marijuana from the East Coast to Madison.

Reed J. Rogala, 32, of South Orange, N.J., admitted that he oversaw the transportation of hundred-pound packages of marijuana twice a month from the East Coast to a former roommate 's home on Wingra Drive in Madison.

But tucked into a four-page plea agreement is a pointed reference to "the murder of Amos Mortier." The agreement was sent to Rogala 's attorney on Dec. 5 and signed on Dec. 11 by Rogala, his attorney and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Graber but not made public until Thursday.

"The United States further agrees that the defendant 's statements made pursuant to this plea agreement will not be directly used against the defendant, except for those statements regarding your client 's involvement, if any, in the murder of Amos Mortier, " the sixth paragraph of the plea agreement reads.

It is the first time in a public document that authorities pointedly say that Mortier was murdered. The 27-year-old Madison Area Technical College student vanished from his Fitchburg home on Nov. 8, 2004. There is no further explanation in public court documents about ties between Rogala and Mortier.

Under the plea agreement, Rogala agreed to make "a full, complete and truthful statement regarding his criminal conduct, as well as the involvement of all other individuals known to the defendant. " He also agreed to testify truthfully at any trials or hearings.

News of the plea agreement came as a surprise to Mortier 's mother, Margie Milutinovich, who has been searching for her son since he vanished and has never lost hope that he is alive. She said that despite what the court document says, she will continue to believe her son is alive until someone shows her proof that he is not.

"I 'm suspect of the statement only because I 've heard it so many times from so many people without any facts, " she said. "I will believe it if it 's true, by them showing me the facts. "

The Mortier case has been through John Doe hearings in Dane County Circuit Court and before a federal grand jury last year. Search warrants unsealed last summer indicated that when Mortier vanished his home was left unlocked, a record was spinning on a turntable and his wallet and a $1,000 check were on a table. Spots of what were suspected to be blood were found in a bathroom and a cadaver dog indicated the presence of potential biological evidence on grass outside.

Much of the material in the warrants concerned large-scale marijuana dealing, much like the charge against Rogala.

In court, Graber told U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb that Rogala, who graduated from UW-Madison in 2001 with a bachelor 's degree in botany, paid couriers to bring marijuana from New York to Madison, where it was dropped off at his former roommate 's home.

Rogala was not a grower but a "wholesaler, " Graber said. He flew to Madison when the shipments were made and never traveled with the couriers, Graber told Crabb. Once here, he would distribute the marijuana to others.

The formal charge against Rogala states that the conspiracy lasted "from in or about 2000, the exact date being unknown, to on or about Nov. 8, 2004, " the date that Mortier disappeared.

Rogala, who is in the Dane County Jail, faces a minimum of 10 years in prison when he is sentenced on Sept. 4. The conviction carries a possible life sentence, but Rogala 's guilty plea makes a sentence that long unlikely. Rogala and prosecutors will jointly recommend a $100,000 fine.


Copyright © 2008 Wisconsin State Journal

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Radio Show About The Disappearance of Amos Mortier
Category: Life

Madison's Progressive Talk-The Mic 92.1
Freelance local journalist Nathan Comp talks about the disappearance of Amos Mortier & the resultant investigation for a full-hour with Lee.

url below:

http://a1135.g.akamai.net/f/1135/18227/1h/cchannel.download.akamai.com/18227/podcast/MADISON-WI/WXXM-FM/Lee080306PM.mp3?CPROG=PCAST&MARKET=MADISON-WI&NG_FORMAT=talk&SITE_ID=2104&STATION_ID=WXXM-FM&PCAST_AUTHOR=Madison's_Progressive_Talk_The_Mic_92.1&PCAST_CAT=News_%26_Politics&PCAST_TITLE=Lee_Rayburn,_M-F_@_6a_%26_M-Th_@_7p

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Mystery continues in disappearance of Fitchburg man
Category: Life

By Nathan J. Comp
Correspondent for The Capital Times — 2/12/2008 12:09 pm

Mystery continues to swirl around the disappearance of a 27-year-old Fitchburg man who went missing more than three years ago. A federal grand jury investigating the case wrapped up in December, but investigators wouldn't say whether any indictments are expected. Investigators haven't publicly named any suspects in the presumed homicide of Amos Mortier, who was last seen on Nov. 8, 2004.

Sources close to the case say dozens of people were called to testify, answering questions that often centered on the drug activities of two of Mortier's close friends. Investigators believe Mortier was murdered in a drug deal gone awry. Some speculate authorities are attempting to build drug cases against those they believe have information about Mortier's whereabouts.

Fitchburg Detective Shannon Sheil-Morgan wouldn't say whether this is the strategy, but expressed frustration over "people lying and holding back information that can assist" the investigation. Sheil-Morgan estimates the case, which has passed through city, county, state and now federal jurisdictions, has cost "hundreds of thousands of dollars."

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Madison would neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation.

Authorities have questioned hundreds of people over the past three years, with many accusing the case's three lead investigators -- Sheil-Morgan, retired Dane County Detective David Bongiovani (who is no longer involved with the case) and federal Drug Enforcement Administration agent Jerry Becka -- of casting an overly wide net for potential suspects.

During a rare state John Doe probe into Mortier's disappearance in 2005, investigators eyed Madison resident Jacob Stadfeld as a potential suspect. Authorities have alleged that Stadfeld owed $90,000 to Mortier.

Stadfeld's attorney, Ernesto Chavez, says his client is innocent.

"From the beginning, at least two parties have fingered him as being guilty. For some reason the police believed those parties," says Chavez. "These parties are known to have told false information to police. These individuals have told a long string of lies and we're interested to know what those lies were."

Chavez, who says Stadfeld never received a grand jury subpoena, could only speculate on the grand jury's focus. "It's very strange for the federal government to investigate a local murder case," he says. "My guess would be to flush out suspects. We have always expected some kind of charge would come, but that hasn't happened yet."

But Stadfeld is just one of several people accused over the last three years by investigators of playing a role in Mortier's disappearance. According to sources close to the case, grand jury questioning has centered on two of Mortier's friends, including original suspect Jacob Falkner, who says he had no hand in the disappearance. Falkner, authorities alleged, killed Mortier following a lovers' spat.

"They said we had a homosexual relationship," says Falkner, who, according to four witnesses, was part of the grand jury's focus, but wasn't himself called to testify. "Where do they get this crap? They couldn't believe that two heterosexual males would go camping or cook meals together."

In the fallout from Mortier's disappearance, Falkner, 27, was convicted in early 2005 of growing marijuana and given probation. Twenty months later, he was charged for the same crime in federal court under an anti-terrorism law that allows the government to sidestep double jeopardy protections. He was convicted again and sentenced to one year in federal prison.

Shortly after his release last summer, Falkner says DEA agent Becka came to his house to again question him about the disappearance. "I've given them same information like five different times," says Falkner, who was twice called to testify in the state's earlier John Doe probe. "My story has never changed. I want to know what happened to Amos more than they do."

Another Madison man, who asked not to be identified, says he was accused by Sheil-Morgan of stabbing Mortier on a hog farm in Poynette. The man, who was on the periphery of Mortier's broad network of friends, has been questioned four times by investigators.

"I don't think they have any clue what happened to him," he says. "I do think they're trying real hard at this point to justify all the money they've spent investigating people. That's why they're so bent on the drug stuff. It's all they've got."

Sheil-Morgan wouldn't comment on whether they believe Mortier was stabbed in Poynette or if the investigation's focus has shifted toward building drug cases. "We're doing everything we can to find Amos," she says.

Mortier was a popular Madison resident with a broad network of friends. Well-liked, but intensely private, Mortier was taking steps to put drugs behind him, according to family and friends. Though it's widely known he trafficked in marijuana, many dispute that he was the high-level dealer authorities claim he was.

He had begun taking classes at Madison Area Technical College and was preparing to move to North Carolina, where friends say he intended to pursue a career in organic farming. He had previously volunteered in Milwaukee, helping school children build rooftop gardens, in addition to growing vegetables organically on land he owned near Reedsburg.

Mortier's mother, Margie Milutinovich, also laments the course she's seen the investigation take.

"They're so caught up in finding out who was selling what drugs to whom that they aren't even looking for my son anymore," says Milutinovich. "They've said so many things that I don't even know what to believe. They don't return my calls."

Confusing matters further is that there have been as many theories about Mortier's fate as there have been suspects. Though some believe Mortier was murdered in a drug deal gone badly, some believe he may have been struck by a car after chasing his dog near his Lacy Road home. Perhaps, says one, the driver, fearing the consequences, disposed of Mortier's body.

Mortier's dog was found by a neighbor several days after he disappeared.

Falkner, on the other hand, believes Mortier learned that his drug activities were under investigation and went underground to duck prosecution. "It wouldn't be the first time he lived under the radar for a long time," he says. "He's a very resourceful guy. It wouldn't surprise me one bit."

Sheil-Morgan wouldn't comment on what investigators believe happened, but says, "I would love for Amos to walk through the door. I've lived and breathed this case for three years."

Milutinovich, until recently, believed her son was suffering from a rare form of amnesia. Now, she doesn't know what to believe, though she is hopeful that he's still alive.

"I go back and forth several times a day," she says, adding that she doesn't believe authorities have any solid suspects. "If they did, they'd have arrested somebody by now. They say the investigation is open, but I don't think they're even looking for Amos anymore."

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Getting away with murder?
Category: Life

Police identified suspect, but no charges were ever filed in Amos Mortier case
Jason Shepard on Wednesday 09/26/2007

In the front room of her small east side home, Margie Milutinovich skims computer records she's compiled over the nearly three years of searching for her son, Amos Mortier. "Missing" posters hang on the walls. Notes, timelines and piles of court records are scattered on a desk.

"Should I put on the coffee?" Milutinovich asks a reporter. "Once you get started, it's hard to keep anything straight."

Indeed, trying to figure out what happened to her son in November 2004 has eluded both Milutinovich and the authorities. But this summer, dozens of new clues emerged after a judge unsealed 18 search warrants executed more than two years ago.

"Reading the search warrants has diminished a lot of the hope I had that Amos is still alive," says Mortier's friend Martin Frank. "They suggest something bad happened to Amos. I have a million more questions than I did before."

The documents (see in the related downloads at right) identify a central suspect, Jacob Stadfeld, a 31-year-old Madison resident who works for a pub on Park Street. Stadfeld purportedly owed Mortier $90,000 for marijuana Mortier fronted him to sell. The search warrants show police sought evidence of "kidnapping, false imprisonment [and] homicide" in searches of Stadfeld's home, office, truck and property rented by his mother.

Among the evidence cited to justify these warrants: a verbal argument between Stadfeld and Mortier days before Mortier vanished; Stadfeld's presence near Mortier's home hours after Mortier was last seen; and two phone calls placed by Stadfeld to a gun shop days earlier. Stadfeld has previous convictions for possessing and selling marijuana. Earlier this month, he lost his Madison home after defaulting on his mortgage.

Mortier, 27 at the time of his disappearance on Nov. 8, 2004, was a quiet but friendly man who worked at State Street shops, hung out at the Inferno, shopped at the Willy Street Co-op, and had an interest in organic farming. He took classes at MATC and supplemented his income, it's now clear, by selling large quantities of marijuana.

The Fitchburg police, Dane County Sheriff's and District Attorney's Offices, FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office have all been involved in investigating Mortier's disappearance. Sources also say the case has come before a federal grand jury and been the subject of a rare state "John Doe" probe. No arrests have been made nor charges filed in what authorities have long considered a homicide investigation.

Mortier's mother has all but given up on the authorities, whom she says won't tell her if they're still actively working the case. (Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard says detectives continue to "collect evidence" and seek "information or leads." A Fitchburg police official did not return a phone call.)

Milutinovich's skepticism and criticism of authorities has been exacerbated by the released search warrants, which contain scores of errors, including misspelled names, misidentified witnesses, erroneous dates and misstatements of key points.

The warrants also show police have had significant evidence, for more than two years, implicating Stadfeld. Milutinovich is outraged that more has not been done with this. She says Dane County prosecutors had far less evidence against Eugene Zapata for the murder of his wife 30 years ago, and still filed charges against him. (Zapata's trial ended in a mistrial last week due to a hung jury.)

As Milutinovich talks, her son's dog Gnosis, a giant husky, sprawls out in the middle of the room. Mortier doted on the dog, and Milutinovich says Gnosis isn't the same without her son's affection. "I can see the sadness in his eyes," she says. Still, caring for Gnosis keeps a bond with her son.

"It's that damn dog," Dirk Estorf, one of Mortier's friends, tells Isthmus when asked if Mortier could have faked his own disappearance, perhaps after discovering that someone wanted him dead. "I just can't get past him leaving the dog."

It's one of many facts that make it increasingly clear that someone killed Amos Mortier, and has, for nearly three years, gotten away with murder.

As Isthmus reported in July 2005, suspicion focused on a chief suspect — Stadfeld, whom the article did not name — after he allegedly gave police "inconsistent statements," hired a lawyer and stated: "I have a good idea what happened to [Mortier], but I couldn't tell you where a body is." In a document reviewed by Isthmus, a prosecutor overseeing the investigation deemed Stadfeld a "prime suspect" in Mortier's presumed homicide.

The search warrants provide fresh evidence to support that characterization.

They document, for instance, that Stadfeld admitted to police he sold large quantities of marijuana for Mortier that came from Canada via New York.

Brent Delzer, who also admitted selling marijuana for Mortier, told police Stadfeld owed Mortier $90,000 and recalled overhearing a phone argument between Mortier and Stadfeld that phone records indicate occurred on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2004 — four days before Mortier went missing. Delzer said this was significant because he had never before heard Mortier, a good friend, raise his voice.

Over lunch the previous weekend, Mortier appeared to be in a "desperate state of mind" because Stadfeld owed him a lot of money, according to Destin Lane, who described herself as a "mentor" to Mortier. Lane said Mortier was afraid of Stadfeld because of Stadfeld's physical size. Later in the week, Lane said Mortier told her he might threaten Stadfeld by saying he would go to the police about the missing money. Lane said she warned Mortier not to confront Stadfeld alone.

(Delzer didn't return a phone message seeking comment. Lane, reached on her cell phone, agreed to an interview but subsequently did not answer her phone or return a message.)

On Thursday, Nov. 4, the day after Stadfeld and Mortier argued on the phone, and again on Saturday, Nov. 6, Stadfeld called the Rusk Gun Shop, the court records say. Mortier's cell phone log, reviewed by Isthmus, shows that Stadfeld and Mortier talked on Nov. 6; it was the only cell-phone call Mortier made that day.

On Nov. 8, the day Mortier disappeared, he attended class at MATC in the morning and afterward gave a friend a ride home. At 1:02 p.m., Mortier placed a seven-minute call to his propane company, apparently about a billing issue. After that, his cell phone was never used again.

Inside Mortier's home, friends later found two turntables running, as if Mortier was unexpectedly interrupted while mixing some music; a half-rolled joint sat nearby.

At 3:31 p.m., Stadfeld's cell phone pinged off the cellular tower closest to Mortier's home, about four-tenths of a mile due south, court records say. The next day, Tuesday, Nov. 9, Stadfeld's cell phone again pinged from the tower closest to Mortier's home.

In an interview with police, Stadfeld explained his presence in the area by stating he may have been returning videos to a Blockbuster or "going there just for a drive." Blockbuster told police that Stadfeld neither rented nor returned videos around those dates.

The court records also say Stadfeld made an eerie comment when he "volunteered information [on] what might have happened to Mortier." Stadfeld told police they would find several "dig holes" in fields near Stadfeld's mother's home in Mauston, where he drove Nov. 9, according to phone records. A subsequent search of the land evidently found nothing of note.

On the day after Mortier disappeared, Stadfeld also called a Canadian phone number that police later traced to a DEA drug conspiracy investigation involving the Iron Horsemen Motorcycle Club and the Hell's Angels, who police say grow a strain of marijuana known as "BC Bud." This is the same marijuana Stadfeld and Delzer purportedly admitted selling in Wisconsin.

Stadfeld, through his attorney, says he's innocent. The attorney, Ernesto Chavez, admits the facts as presented by police don't bode well for his client, but suggests the police got it wrong.

"Jacob Stadfeld and Amos Mortier were some of the closest friends," says Chavez. He describes the police investigation as "bungled from day one" and says Stadfeld "was helpful in many respects" to police, but they chose to ignore crucial leads he provided.

The search warrants are now more than two years old, and it's unclear whether the avenues police were then exploring — namely, the theory of Stadfeld as the killer — remain potent lines of current investigation. Chavez says his client last spoke with police in April 2006.

Besides casting suspicion on Stadfeld, the documents suggest another theory: Mortier's supplier had him killed after he couldn't come up with the money he expected to get from the marijuana he fronted Stadfeld.

Supporting this theory is a document sent to the FBI two years ago, along with Mortier's DNA for a missing-persons database, that referenced three unnamed "suspects" with ties outside Wisconsin. Detectives have made several trips out of state to track down leads, and several sources said Mortier got his marijuana from an unknown East Coast drug supplier.

Chavez says Stadfeld volunteered the supplier-as-killer theory in his first interviews with police. "The cops in this case never asked the question. They never pursued this lead," he says incredulously. "Murder is typically based on vengeance. If they had been asking that question — Who stood to reap vengeance on Amos Mortier? — it's not Jacob Stadfeld. If Amos was owed money, who did he owe it to on the other side of the transaction?"

But Milutinovich wants to know why, if Stadfeld is innocent, he never helped in any search for Mortier and has rebuffed her attempts to talk. One such attempt drew a terse letter from Chavez, instructing her to "cease and desist" from contacting his client. "It's completely logical to avoid a family member of someone you did something horrible to," says Milutinovich, who has identified Stadfeld as the likely culprit on her website, www.findamos.com.

While professing his client's innocence, Chavez declines to answer key questions, citing the ongoing criminal investigation: What did Stadfeld and Mortier argue about? Why did Stadfeld twice call a gun shop? Why did he go to Mortier's home after Mortier was last seen but before he was reported missing? What was the Canadian phone call about?

Jacob Stadfeld won't yet provide those answers, and a mother continues to wait for the truth about what happened to her son.

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Charges In Mortier Case Not Imminent

Police Say They Do Not Have Sufficient Evidence In The Disappearance Of The Fitchburg Man In 2004.

Despite what Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard describes as a thorough investigation into the 2004 disappearance of 27-year-old Amos Mortier, no charges in the case are imminent, he said Friday.

"We do not have evidence justifying bringing criminal charges against anyone in connection with his disappearance," Blanchard said the day after warrants detailing 18 searches conducted as part of the investigation were unsealed by a Dane County Circuit Court judge.

Mortier's disappearance, which has been treated as a potential criminal case, has been "very thoroughly investigated" by Fitchburg police and Dane County sheriff's detectives, Blanchard said.

"There's been great strides toward resolving the case," said Fitchburg Lt. Todd Stetzer. "It would be guessing to say when everything will come together."

Mortier Continued from Page B1 Stetzer said he not could discuss whether there are suspects in the case because of the ongoing investigation. Blanchard also declined to comment on any suspects.

According to search warrants: Mortier, who was attending Madison Area Technical College, was last seen Nov. 8, 2004. His Fitchburg home was found unlocked with records still spinning on a turntable and his wallet and a check for $1,000 on a table. His two vehicles were at the residence, and his dog was found wandering nearby a couple days later.

Investigators also found spots of what they suspected to be blood in a bathroom, and a cadaver dog indicated the presence of potential biological evidence on grass outside.

Mortier had told a friend that another man owed him $90,000 for marijuana that Mortier had given him to sell. The friend said he was at Mortier's home on Nov. 3 or 4 when Mortier received a phone call and "began to yell that someone owed him money."

Another friend said that Mortier was in a "desperate state of mind" when she had lunch with him on Halloween weekend. She said Mortier told her that he wanted to confront someone who owed him a lot of money and that he was afraid of the person because of his size.

The friend said she was so concerned about Mortier that she called him the following Wednesday or Thursday to check on his well-being. She said Mortier told her that he was going to confront the man and possibly threaten to go to the police if things were not resolved and that she cautioned Mortier not to do it alone.

Phone records show that on Nov. 4 and 6, phone calls to a gun shop were made from the home of the man whom Mortier had said owed him money. On Nov. 8 at 3:31 p.m., a call was made on the man's cell phone via a cell phone tower located about four-tenths of a mile south of Mortier's residence. Mortier's last known phone call was made via the same tower at 1:02 p.m. that day. Records show that Mortier's phone was likely turned off between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. the same day. Another call on the man's cell phone was made was via the same tower the next morning.

During a police interview on April 19, 2005, the man admitted selling large quantities of marijuana for Mortier, saying the marijuana was coming from Canada through New York. The day after Mortier disappeared, the man called a phone number in Ottawa, which an agent for the Drug Enforcement Agency agent identified as being involved in an ongoing drug investigation. The agent linked the number to a member of the Iron Horsemen Motorcycle Club, whose members are known to grow marijuana in Canada known as "BC Bud," the type of marijuana that Mortier's associates said they were selling.

In a May 10, 2005, interview, the man denied having been near Mortier's residence on Nov. 9. He previously told police that he had gone to his mother's home in Mauston that day. He also said police would find "dig holes" in the fields surrounding his mother's property, where a farmer buries oil and other items.

Later that month, investigators recovered three spent shotgun shells, a black bungi cord and a plastic bag during a search of property in Mauston rented by man's mother. The warrant states that the property includes "open fields and wooded areas, which would provide great concealment to hide a body."

Despite what appears to be promising evidence, Blanchard said that criminal charges should only be brought when there is sufficient evidence to prove in court that someone is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Mortier's mother, Margie Milutinovich, who has criticized authorities for focusing on a drug investigation and for not releasing information on their findings sooner, said Friday that she had not yet read the search warrants.

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Mortier Planned Confrontation Over Money Before Disappearance
Category: Life

Previously sealed court documents released to 27 News show missing MATC student Amos Mortier intended to confront an acquaintance over a $90,000 apparent drug debt, just before Mortier disappeared in November, 2004.

Records unsealed by Dane County Judge Daniel Moeser at the request of 27 News includes law enforcement's justification for eighteen different searches between November, 2004 and the spring of 2005, involving Mortier's home, cars, storage locker, Grant County property, and the homes of two friends. Searches also involved property in Mauston, and telephone records from Canada. Some records of secret, John Doe hearing testimony which were part of the information used to obtain search warrants were redacted from the material released to 27 News.

Mortier was last heard from November 8, 2004. His disappearance sparked search efforts at and near his Fitchburg home, and the distribution of flyers and information nationwide. Mortier, 27 at the time of his disappearance, is also a jewlery maker and helped stage music shows.

Search warrant records indicate friction had developed between Mortier and at least one person involved with Mortier in an apparent marijuana drug ring. A search warrant complaint states Mortier friend Brent Delzer told authorities Mortier was owed $90,000 by Jacob Stadfeld for marijuana Mortier had "fronted" Stadfeld to sell. Documents state Destin Lane, described as a "mentor" to Mortier, told authorities that during a weekend lunch with Mortier shortly before his disappearance, Mortier said he wanted to confront Stadfeld over the debt, despite being afraid of Stadfeld.

Search warrant records show Stadfeld's Madison home and van were searched, as well as property near his mother's home in Mauston. The seized items included three, spent shotgun shells from the rural property.

Records show the Oregon home of Mortier friend Jacob Falkner was also searched. Authorities said a marijuana growing operation with more than 400 plants was discovered in the basement of Falkner's home and Falkner was arrested.

Search warrant documents show both Falkner and Stadler were interrogated by detectives.

Stadler's wife, Nicole, told 27 News she was unaware of any debt her husband owed Mortier and said Stadler did not deal marijuana. "They are trying to frame somebody," Nicole Stadler told 27 News. "They have no significant leads or evidence."

The Mortier case prosecutor, Assistant Dane County District Attorney Cory Stephan, has yet to return a call for comment from 27 News. Sources have told 27 News the blood, shotgun shells and other evidence collected during the eighteen searches have not provided enough supporting evidence at this point to warrant any criminal charges in connection with Mortier's disappearance. But in court documents, Fitchburg Police Detective Shannon Morgan states "this investigation is very much still active." Records of seventeen of the eighteen search warrants show law enforcement officials believed items being sought may constitute the crimes of kidnapping, false imprisonment and homicide.

In an April 19, 2005 interview with detectives, records state Stadfeld "admitted to selling large quantities of marijuana for Amos Mortier. The marijuana was coming from Canada via New York." Records show authorities received a search warrant to examine phone records traced to Ottawa, Ontario. Records also state a phone number called by Stadfeld on the day after Mortier's disappearance was also involved in a Drug Enforcement Agency federal investigation. Search warrant documents state the number connected to a member of a motorcyle club affiliated with the Hell's Angels.

Records show investigators used cell phone tower technology to establish Stadfeld may have been near Mortier's home on the day of his disappearance.

Nicole Stadfeld told 27 News Jacob Stadfeld operates a music recording business. Stadfeld has a 1996 felony drug conviction in Walworth County. Falkner served a prison term in connection to the investigators' discovery of his marijuana growing operation.

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Please Help Find Missing Person Amos Mortier
Category: Life

Circumstances of a Mysterious Disappearance: Amos was last seen November 8, 2004 at his school, Madison Area Technical College. His last cell phone record was at 1:20 p.m. His dog Gnosis was located three doors down where a woman took Gnosis in after he showed up on her steps. Amos' turntable was spinning at the end of the album with loud scratching coming through his speakers, his car and truck were both parked in the driveway. His backpack was still in his car with his wallet, Driver's License, money, and his last lab notes from class that day...all still in his car. Inside, Gnosis' dog food bowl was full so we believe Amos disappeared shortly after he returned home because Gnosis' bowl was full and if Gnosis had been in the house for some time, he would have chowed down his food, but his bowl of food was full. A tuition check was on Amos' computer desk. It looked like Amos got home from school, left his books in the car thinking he'd go out and get them later, fed Gnosis, put an album on and began hanging pictures (he had only been living in this house for only 2.5 months) - not sure of the order obviously.The stepstool was left right in the middle of the hall area with level and hammer there. Not a place you would leave it all day. It is exactly as if he was in the middle of doing ordinary things, then something interrupted him...and then he was gone. It looked like all of Amos' personal belongings and clothing were left behind. That being said, I do know of 2 specific items that are for sure missing. Please help us find Amos.

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"What Happened To Amos Mortier" Magazine article
Category: Life

"What Happened To Amos Mortier" Magazine article

website: http://www.findamos.com

When the hip-hop group Jurassic 5 played a concert in San Bernardino, Calif., in late June, friends of Amos Mortier hoped he'd be spotted in the crowd: disoriented, homeless, stricken with amnesia, perhaps even hiding from people wanting to do him harm. The band was among Mortier's favorites. Eerily, his mother says it was a Jurassic 5 album that friends found spinning endlessly on his turntable when they entered his Fitchburg home last Nov. 13, days after he seems to have vanished. If Mortier was stricken with memory problems or on the run traveling the country hanging out at music festivals, this might be a good spot to find him. But missing-persons fliers posted at the event and shown to local sheriff's deputies failed to turn up any new leads. Mortier, who was 27 when he disappeared, attended classes at Madison Area Technical College, shopped at the Willy Street Co-op, frequented the Inferno, and had worked at the Den and Shakti, two shops on State Street in downtown Madison. He was last seen eight months ago. As time has gone on, friends have prepared themselves for the worst, especially after Fitchburg police announced this April that they were considering the case a homicide. Then, last month, three nurses reported seeing a man who matched Mortier's general description at a Tennessee music festival that included bands he liked. He appeared disoriented and complained about memory problems. The tip was phoned to Mortier's mother, Margie Milutinovich, whose cell phone number is plastered on hundreds of posters across the country and on the Web site findamos.com. Milutinovich called the Fitchburg Police Department, which in turn contacted local Tennessee police. They canvassed area campgrounds and distributed more posters, but were unable to locate the man. Police have been careful not to discredit the tip, in part in deference to Milutinovich, who's left her job as an information technology contractor to devote herself to finding her son. She's created posters, hired a private investigator, contacted psychics and forged alliances with missing-persons groups around the country. Milutinovich believes her son may be out there, surviving somehow with no memory of his family or life in Dane County. But the police, while continuing to pursue every lead, are clearly investigating this as a likely homicide. It remains a high-priority case. "We have dedicated personnel to this case 24 hours a day, seven days a week since its inception and have no plans to turn back,"says Fitchburg Police Lt.Todd Stetzer,who is supervising case detectives. "There continues to be additional information that's gained on a daily basis. This is a very fluid, real active investigation." The case is the subject of a John Doe inquiry, an unusual court proceeding that takes place in closed court, and witnesses have been instructed not to reveal anything about the inquiry. But several agreed to talk to Isthmus on condition that their names not be published. Other new information on the case was obtained from interviews with family, friends, attorneys, police and others, as well as a review of court documents. A police official with direct knowledge of the case confirmed the accuracy of this new information. Isthmus has learned that the John Doe probe has focused on evidence of a drug conspiracy involving several of Mortier's friends and acquaintances. Some attested in court that Mortier was selling large quantities of marijuana while struggling with debts related to this activity. Two of these friends and acquaintances were granted immunity for their testimony. Many others testified without such guarantees of freedom from prosecution. Among them is an individual one law enforcement official has called a "prime suspect" in Mortier's presumed murder. The suspect, an owner of a Madison music-related business, allegedly sold large quantities of marijuana with Mortier and owed Mortier money. Like several other friends and associates, he has retained an attorney. A search of court records reveals that many of Mortier's friends and acquaintances have been convicted of drug crimes, ranging from simple marijuana possession to heroin distribution. At least three have convictions for possessing marijuana with intent to deliver. One, who was in jail with work-release privileges at the time Mortier disappeared, has a conviction for attempted murder. Did these drug connections get Mortier killed? Or did he realize his life was in danger and decide to disappear? Did he suffer some mental catastrophe that caused him to forget his own identity? What is known for sure is that on Nov. 8, 2004, Amos Mortier left his apartment in a hurry. His friends and family have not seen him since. 'A very kind soul' Before his disappearance, Mortier was attending classes in ecology and botany at MATC, where he hoped to earn good grades and transfer to a university. His mother says he previously took classes at MATC in electrical circuitry, and had expressed regret about not setting on an education path earlier. "I told him not to worry," Milutinovich says. "Some of us wander for many years, and some of us die wandering, never knowing what we really want to do in life." Mortier was an outdoors enthusiast who loved camping, hiking and taking long walks with his beloved Husky-mix dog, Gnosis. While outdoors, he liked to identify trees and birds. He enjoyed fishing and liked to garden. "He grew up pretty much in the woods," his mother says. Mortier was also a music buff. He played the harmonica and loved the blues, as well as electronic music and hip hop. "His music collection is as vast physically as it is musically," says Milutinovich. "Some call tapping a stick on a table annoying. Amos would probably call that music." One friend, who met him through a sustainable-energy conference several years ago, remembers Amos' quiet compassion. "He was just a very kind soul," she says. The two kept in touch in part because of their environmental interests, and she helped him land an internship at Growing Power, an urban organic farm in Milwaukee. "He was really excited about going to school and getting an education," she says. "I felt at the time I met him he was changing his life." Another friend felt a "magnetic connection" with Mortier from their first meeting: "He's just got a really wonderful personality. He's very kind, passionate and generous. I mean, he's the kind of guy that anyone would want as a friend." Besides paying rent on his house, Mortier owned several vehicles and was making payments on land in Stitzer, about 75 miles west of Madison, where 12 ISTHMUS | JULY 22, 2005 | THEDAILYPAGE.COM What happened to Amos? Secret John Doe inquiry centers on marijuana dealing and the 'high probability' that Mortier was murdered By Jason Shepard COVER STORY Page 2 he had a mobile home. But at the time of his disappearance last fall, as far as police have been able to determine, his only legal income apparently came from doing odd electrical contracting jobs and selling homemade jewelry. Vanished without a trace On Nov. 6, 2004, a Saturday, Mortier went hiking with two friends and his dog. Afterwards, they returned to Mortier's ranchstyle townhouse at 5078 Lacy Rd., in a rural part of Fitchburg, for dinner. One of those friends, a 36-year-old Madison restaurant worker, noticed nothing unusual. Mortier had complained about a broken coffee maker. The following Monday, the friend found a French press unit at Goodwill for a dollar, and called Mortier with this news. Mortier didn't call back. "I was kind of perturbed when I didn't hear from him," the friend says. Mortier also missed a dinner date on Tuesday, Nov. 9, and failed to show up for a class exam on Wednesday. On Nov. 13, after several days without word from Mortier, the friend and another concerned about Mortier stopped by Mortier's house. The front door was locked, but a side door through the garage was open. They entered the dark house using a flashlight. "We were prepared for the worst, but he wasn't there," says the friend. "Although his turntables — and this was what was really freaky — were spinning around and around with abrasive noise coming through the speakers, like an end-of-therecord kind of a noise." Mortier's friends found a check in his apartment that listed his grandparents' address. They eventually tracked down Mortier's mother, on Sunday, Nov. 14. Police were called in the morning. At first, the police launched a searchand-rescue mission. They noted that Mortier's two cars — as well as his coat, wallet and backpack — were left behind. But Gnosis was missing, and Mortier's friends said the dog had a habit of bolting if he wasn't on a leash. That Mortier chased after Gnosis was not improbable. But the case, says Lt. Stetzer, "started to take on a different context" when police realized that Mortier hadn't been seen for almost a week, during which his cell phone was not used. Gnosis was found at a neighbor's house. Friends don't believe Mortier would have willingly left his dog. In the days after Mortier's disappearance was reported, search crews scoured swampland near his home, hoping he might still be found, injured or disoriented. His mother wondered if he could have been hit by a speeding car. "It's a horrible thought, but people have been known to try to hide the person they hit," she says. "I am trying to think of theories. People driving incredibly fast — Amos chasing after Gnosis — definitely a hit-and-run theory is an option." Mortier's disappearance generated some media coverage, but it was nothing compared to that of Audrey Seiler, a UW-Madison student who went missing in early 2004. That case prompted a massive search that was covered for days by national cable news networks. Seiler was found unharmed and later admitted faking her abduction. About 30 tips a day regarding Mortier poured into the police hotline. A billboard went up on the Beltline with two photos of Mortier and the phone number for police, generating more tips. But as time went on, it became harder for friends to remain optimistic. "The first thing you think of is that he's hurt," says one friend. "He's outside. He's injured. And then, after that, it's just shock. To have a friend just disappear and to not know what happened to him, it's just the most awful feeling." Was it over drugs? Within days, investigators started to look at more sinister possibilities. Says Stetzer, "There were certain things that were not consistent with just wandering away with a medical condition." By the time police arrived at Mortier's house, friends later admitted, they had removed some incriminating items, including jars of marijuana. Police won't publicly confirm such details. But, Stetzer admits, "Friends had access to the house during the time Amos went missing. I would not classify it as a pristine crime scene." On Nov. 20, the case's two lead detectives showed up at the town of Dunn house that belonged to Jacob Falkner, one of Mortier's closest friends. Falkner reportedly had not helped out in search efforts, which another friend had described to police as "strange." Detectives Dave Bongiovani of the Dane County Sheriff's Office and Shannan Sheil-Morgan of the Fitchburg Police Department immediately noticed a "strong smell" of marijuana emanating from the house. After being denied permission to search, they filed for a search warrant. It was one of almost a dozen sealed search warrants issued in November related to the case signed by Dane County Circuit Judge Shelley Gaylord, who recently extended the seal for another 180 days, a court official confirms. The search turned up evidence of a sophisticated growing operation in the basement, including 373 marijuana plants. Detectives also found an underground room that had previously been the lower structure of a farm silo that contained grow lights, reflective foil, an intake fan equipped with an odor eliminator, and a security camera, according to a criminal complaint. Falkner was arrested and, on Dec. 21, pleaded no contest to one count of manufacturing and delivery of marijuana. Several other charges, including maintaining a drug dwelling, were dismissed. Dane County Circuit Court Judge Stuart Schwartz withheld sentence and ordered Falkner to serve three years' probation. Eight days later, Falkner was back in the Dane County courthouse to testify in the secret John Doe hearing. He was one of two men granted immunity for their testimony, according to minutes of the hearing released by Dane County Circuit Court Judge Robert DeChambeau. The hearing itself was kept secret until Dec. 30, when veteran Capital Times courts reporter Mike Miller broke the story of a John Doe inquiry into Mortier's disappearance. That inquiry, Isthmus has learned, has had at least two sessions: one in December and one in April, just days after police held a press conference intended in part to shake upcoming testimony in the secret inquiry. Both sessions were led by Corey Stephan, an assistant district attorney specializing in drug crimes. The investigation into Mortier's disappearance has at times involved other law enforcement agencies, including the state Division of Criminal Investigation and the federal Drug Enforcement Agency. Sheriff's departments in Columbia and Juneau counties have also been contacted. By spring, police had interviewed several people who admitted buying marijuana from Mortier. One said Mortier was "a pretty heavy user of marijuana," while another told police his suppliers were part of "a very professional organization." Some said Mortier was in need of money before he disappeared and that some friends were scrambling to come up with it. One suggested Mortier owed as much as $20,000 to a New York City drug supplier. Police also established that Mortier sold marijuana to at least one man in Milwaukee and may have had further drug connections there. It's possible none of these details — many of which were revealed during the John Doe proceedings — had anything to do with Mortier's disappearance. But police have focused on them in their inquiry. On April 13, Fitchburg police held a press conference to announce the probability that Mortier was murdered due to unspecified drug activity. His mother says she learned of these developments just minutes before. While the press conference was held in part to keep the public informed, it was also meant to shake out new information. "We know there are people out there with information who haven't come forward, whatever their motives may be," says Stetzer, adding that every little bit helps. "There was additional information that was gained after the press conference that benefited the investigation." Police submitted Mortier's DNA to a national FBI missing-persons database used by law enforcement agencies across the country when an unidentified body is found. Reports to the FBI, reviewed by Isthmus, indicate that police believe Mortier is "presumed dead" based on the "potential of his involvement in a drug conspiracy." Just days after the press conference, police executed another round of searches. On April 19, they searched the home, office and vehicle of the Madison music-business owner whom police have internally identified as a "prime suspect" in the case. One official said the man gave "inconsistent statements" about Mortier to the police. At least one friend told police the man owed Mortier money because he either stole money or skimmed proceeds from drug sales. And it's possible, another told police, that Mortier had threatened to go to the police about the debt. On May 24, investigators used a cadaversniffing dog to search land in Juneau County owned by the suspect's parents. Some evidence was collected in the search of the man's vehicle, but apparently nothing strong enough to prompt police to make an arrest. The man has four criminal convictions, two felony and two misdemeanor, all related to marijuana, court records show. "I have a good idea of what happened to him," the man purportedly told police, "but I couldn't tell you where a body is." Police acknowledge this man remains on their list, along with others. "There's still a pool of people who are persons of interest," Stetzer says. "There are some persons of interest who stand out above others." The search goes on Margie Milutinovich says she sometimes regrets ever calling the police to investigate her missing son. They've pried into his private life and have focused for months on a drug connection that Milutinovich says "seems the least likely" to explain her son's disappearance. "Anything that doesn't go along with their drug theory gets very low priority, if any priority at all," she says. "Police, in general, tend to go down paths where there is a prosecution involved." One friend is especially harsh about the police's investigation: "I really think they've given up on looking for Amos. They're more interested in getting another celebrity drug bust." Stetzer is acutely aware of this criticism and says it's not fair: "You can't get tunnel vision. In essence, the drugs, when they became apparent, were one line of investigation. A medical condition was and continues to be another direction. Taking off on his own because of stress continues to be another possibility. We're looking at all those things." He adds, "It appears this is a homicide investigation, but again, we're not putting on blinders by saying that's what it is. That's a high probability at this point, but we're still looking at other options." Two of Mortier's friends say the purported Tennessee sighting has given them, and the family, renewed hope that Mortier may still be alive. "This [has] made such a difference to everyone who knows Amos," says one friend, adding that it was the posters put out by Mortier's mother, and not any action by police, that led to this sighting. The friend wonders if other sightings may have been reported to police but ignored. Milutinovich, who lives on Madison's southwest side, has relied on a network of Amos' friends to help her create a Web site, pay for posters to be distributed, and search for signs of her son across the country. She walks a fine line between criticizing police and asserting her belief — her hope — that Amos is still alive. "I know they're working very hard," she says. "[But I also] know that whenever I make a complaint to them, they don't listen o what I'm saying. They think I'm saying, 'You're not working hard enough.' No. I'm just saying they're going down a path that I don't think is the right path." The drug allegations are difficult for Milutinovich to acknowledge, in part because she says she isn't privy to the details of the investigation. "To date, I've seen no evidence [of drug connections]," she says. "I've asked for hard evidence, and they just say, 'Well, people said this, and that's strange.' Well, you know what, I have three nurses that say they IDed Amos. That's tangible stuff. Yeah, I get upset when they start pooh-poohing stuff like that when they're not giving me anything else." Milutinovich resents that details of her son's life have become public. "It's not like Amos is running for a Senate seat," she says. "Everyone needs privacy, and everyone deserves the dignity of privacy." Lt. Stetzer empathizes with these frustrations: "I can't imagine as a parent going through something like this, not trying to look at every single alternative, every single option." He supports Milutinovich "doing anything and everything she can possibly do" to find Amos. The cops, he says, are doing the same. Two full-time detectives are assigned exclusively to the case, along with support personnel. "Until all efforts are exhausted, we won't stop looking," Stetzer says. "We have some very positive leads." Those leads, admittedly, aren't pointing in the direction of a happy ending. But even Stetzer has not abandoned hope: "There's nothing we'd love more than to find Amos sitting in a café this afternoon."

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Please Help Find Missing Person Amos Mortier-Newspaper Articles
Category: Art and Photography

Family Reported Man Missing

The Last Time Anyone Spoke With The 27-year-old Fitchburg Man Was Nov. 8.
Wisconsin State Journal :: LOCAL/WISCONSIN :: B1
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Lisa Schuetz Wisconsin State Journal
Family and friends gathered Tuesday at Amos K. Mortier's home -- some to help police and fire officials with a second day of combing nearby cornfields and marsh for the man.

The official search began Monday after his family filed a report with police saying they hadn't been able to contact Mortier, 27, in a week, Fitchburg Police Lt. Jay Wilson said.

His family had been checking his ranch-style home at 5078 Lacy Road late last week and over the weekend, Wilson said. The last time anyone spoke to Mortier was Nov. 8, Wilson said.

Calls to his cell phone go unanswered.

The Madison Area Technical College student's two vehicles are at the house, Wilson said.

The property, between Highway 14 and Syene Road, is owned by Greentech Land Co. of Madison. Mortier rented the house and its 2.3 acres Aug. 1, Russ Tieman at Greentech said. Mortier listed his occupations as student/self-employed.

Wilson said Mortier lives alone at the house. His nearest neighbor to the west said he's never seen Mortier.

He has also lived in Black Earth, Eau Claire and Madison, according to court and drivers' records available on the Internet.

The search stopped Monday at nightfall, resuming 9 a.m. Tuesday, Wilson said.

Mortier's family declined comment. A photograph of the man was not made available to the press.

Tuesday afternoon, a dozen orange-vested searchers -- friends were among them -- walked abreast down still unharvested fields of corn across Lacy Road from the house. At least one officer with a search dog worked the area. Firefighters also walked the fields.

More than 20 people were searching the area, Wilson said.

Thick growths of tangled brush surround the rural property and marsh extends behind scattered homes there. McGaw Park is less than a mile to the west.

The Badger Chapter of the American Red Cross parked a truck in Mortier's driveway, dispensing hot chocolate, coffee and cider as well as sandwiches and snacks.

Wilson would not say if there was any evidence suggesting why Mortier was missing -- whether it was at the hands of others or by his own choice.

"At this point, all we know is that it's unusual for his family not to hear from him for this long," he said.




Search For Student Curtailed

Police Say They Have Suspicions
Wisconsin State Journal :: LOCAL/WISCONSIN :: B3
Saturday, November 20, 2004
Lisa Schuetz Wisconsin State Journal
Police are calling off the ground search for Amos K. Mortier, 27, but are continuing the investigation into his disappearance, which an official said appears suspicious.

The search, fortified by friends, began Monday after his mother reported him missing to Fitchburg police. His family had been checking his home at 5078 Lacy Road on and off late the week before and over the weekend without finding him home.

A neighbor found Mortier's dog running loose some time after Nov. 8, the last time he was in contact with anyone, Deputy Chief Don Bates said Friday.

There are other "unusual" elements to Mortier's disappearance, Bates said, but would not elaborate except to say those elements indicate his prolonged absence appears suspicious.

However, he wouldn't rule out other voluntary reasons for Mortier leaving.

"It's frustrating," he said of the inability to find him. "We are concerned."

Fitchburg police officers and firefighters, aided by several law enforcement agencies, searched fields, marshes and other properties within a one-mile radius of the rural ranch-style home Mortier had rented since Aug. 1, Bates said. That includes nearby McGaw Park.

"He's had friends show up every day to search," said Lt. Jay Wilson who headed the search.

Police also searched land Mortier owns outside Dane County, Bates said. He would not say where it was.

Dane County sheriff's deputies will search a few nearby water areas today, he said.

The search was called off in part because of the extensive area already searched and, with the start of deer hunting season, it could be dangerous for searchers, Bates said. Mortier's mother understood, he said, and expressed her gratitude for the agencies' work.

She asked not to be contacted for interviews, he said.

Mortier is white, 5-foot 4-inches tall, about 130 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes. He has also lived in Madison, near Black Earth and Eau Claire.

Anyone with information about his disappearance can call Fitchburg police at 608-270-4300.

.. Contact Lisa Schuetz at lschuetz@madison.com or 252-6143.

Police Expand Call For Help

Wisconsin State Journal :: LOCAL/WISCONSIN :: B3
Thursday, November 25, 2004

Fitchburg police continued Wednesday to ask for information that might help them find a man missing since Nov. 8.

Deputy Chief Don Bates said police have no logical explanation for the disappearance of Amos Mortier, 27, who was reported missing by his mother after he failed to turn up at his Lacy Road home.

Bates said police have searched extensively around the home and also land Mortier owns in Grant County.

In addition, Bates said, police are also asking for help from people in the Milwaukee area. Mortier was a volunteer for an organization called Growing Power, an urban agriculture advocacy group, and has friends in the Milwaukee area.

Anyone with information about Mortier is asked to call Fitchburg police at 270-4300 or 270-4321, Madison Area Crime Stoppers at 266-6014 or Southern Milwaukee County Crime Stoppers at 866-373-6227.



Three Theories On Missing Man

The Mother Of Amos Mortier Of Fitchburg Is Enduring Constant Anguish, But She's Convinced He's Alive.
Wisconsin State Journal :: FRONT :: A1
Friday, December 17, 2004
Lisa Schuetz Wisconsin State Journal
Margie Milutinovich's tearful face twists into a smile as she sifts through her son's belongings, many strewn about his Lacy Road home.

Beautifully crafted pottery, a large and eclectic record collection and a half-finished task of hanging pictures are all familiar reminders of her eldest child, Amos Mortier.

"If I start thinking about Amos, I can work myself into (terror) and just sit and wail and cry. ... But that doesn't do Amos any good," said Milutinovich, 52.

Despite weeks of searching, Mortier, 27, hasn't been seen or heard from since Nov. 8.

Fitchburg police have no new information, Deputy Chief Don Bates said.

Mortier is one of 140 Wisconsin adults considered missing and endangered and listed on the National Crime Information Center's database, said Tanya Dolske, president of Wisconsin Advocates for Families of Missing People.

Fitchburg police, Dane County sheriff's deputies and Mortier's friends have hunted for him around his home, in area landfills and parks and on land he owns in Green County.

A missing flier is tacked all over Dane County and on two Beltline billboards. A Web site -- www.findamos.com -- asks for tips and help in posting fliers.

.. Funny, intelligent

To his mother and many friends, Mortier is more than the sweet-faced small man pictured on his "missing" posters.

He's a funny, private, intelligent, ecology buff who worries about his too-trusting mother. He likes high-end restaurants such as Magnus. And he didn't care much about high school but was enjoying a successful stint at Madison Area Technical College.

"He's able to jump into any conversation and make witty remarks about anything," said his friend, Miranda Maysack. "I remember being at breakfast with him and just laughing and laughing."

Jesse Settle knew Mortier from the Williamson Street Grocery Co-op and MATC. He's seen Mortier at the Further Festival, a Grateful Dead event, and knows he attended Burning Man, an artistic, "temporary community" in the desert north of Reno, Nev.

Settle was also the friend who last saw Mortier, at 11:30 a.m. Nov. 8.

"I thought he was going to play some pinball between classes in the lounge," he said.

Settle noticed Mortier wasn't in school after that, but didn't worry until contacted by another friend.

Mortier's friends first missed him when he didn't show for a dinner appointment Nov. 9 but weren't upset until that weekend when he still hadn't returned messages on his cell phone.

Later that week, friends went to his house at 5078 Lacy Road, Milutinovich said. Turntables were still running and his wallet was there, but he and his dog were missing.

His friends called Milutinovich at 9:30 p.m. Sunday. She called police at 6:30 a.m. Monday, Nov. 13.

.. "Warmest homes"

She's critical of the police process.

"This place was crawling with friends and police," she said of his home those first few days. She wishes they had preserved the potential crime scene.

Police eventually dusted for fingerprints and took his computer, digital camera and other objects, she said, messing up the place in the process.

"He's always had the warmest homes," Milutinovich said looking about his tumbled belongings. "Definitely cozy and welcoming. This is not Amos."

His malamute-mix Gnosis was found later Nov. 13 at a neighbor's house.

An early theory was that Mortier had some mishap outdoors. "I thought about him injured in the bottom of a well," his mother said. "You don't want to sleep, you don't want to eat, you don't want to be comfortable if your son could be hurt and cold."

Now the wait has made her angry -- angry that someone may have seen her son and isn't reporting it, angry that her questions aren't always answered by police.

She's sad that she doesn't have a recording of her son's voice -- she misses it so much.

.. Three theories

Milutinovich said there are now three theories: He was abducted, dropped out of society, or he developed amnesia and wandered off.

He wouldn't have let her worry, she said, or left Gnosis, so she doesn't believe he dropped out. The third idea is the one she latches onto.

Recent stories of a Wisconsin man found in Iowa after several months has given her hope.

"He's had headaches in the past, and he had headaches at that time," she said of her son.

She said she doesn't believe her son was involved in drugs anymore. In 1997, he was convicted of possession of amphetamines, LSD or Psilocin.

She said there was a point several years ago when "he didn't look healthy. He quit everything and he really cleaned himself up. He was at a peak when he became missing.."

She's paying his mortgage on his Green County land. And she will pack up and store his belongings. "I assume he's alive," Milutinovich said. "I feel that and I feel that more now than I did before."

She's not doing anything festive for Christmas. "I'll be in front of my computer researching," Milutinovich said, "and trying to find any clues that I can."

.. Musical benefit for

Amos Mortier search fund

* Where: The Inferno, 1718 Commercial Ave., Madison

* When: 9 tonight

* Cost: $5 cover charge, with all but $1 going to Amos Mortier's mother to use to aid the search or other needs.

* For more information:

www.findamos.com





2 Men Testify Under Immunity In Missing Fitchburg Man Case
Wisconsin State Journal :: LOCAL/WISCONSIN :: B3
Tuesday, January 4, 2005
Lisa Schuetz Wisconsin State Journal
CORRECTION: A story on Page 3 of the Local section Tuesday incorrectly identified the drug Amos Mortier was convicted of possessing. Court records indicate it was amphetamines, LSD or psilocin. In addition, Detective Shannan Sheil-Morgan's last name was misspelled.

(correction published 1-5-04)
Two Madison-area men will get immunity for testifying in a secret court investigation into the disappearance of Amos K. Mortier, 27, of Fitchburg.

According to court documents, the detectives assigned to Mortier's case -- Fitchburg Detective Shannan Shell-Morgan and Dane County Sheriff's Detective David Bongiovani -- were present at the immunity hearings Wednesday in connection with a John Doe investigation.

Although neither would confirm nor deny the existence of a John Doe investigation, both detectives said Monday they have worked on nothing but Mortier's disappearance since mid-November.

Dane County Circuit Court Judge Robert DeChambeau, provided the immunity hearing documents but could give no other details. A John Doe investigation, often initiated by a district attorney but conducted by a judge, is used to determine if a crime was committed and who committed it. The investigation and its findings are often confidential.

The court hearings granting immunity and the names of those who testify are public record. The State Journal is not publishing the witnesses' names because it could hinder the investigation.

John Doe witnesses are subpoenaed to appear. Their immunity relates to any potentially self-incriminating testimony they may provide.

Assistant District Attorney Corey Stephan conducted the immunity hearings. Stephan specializes in drug law violations.

One of the John Doe witnesses was convicted Dec. 21 of felony manufacture and delivery of marijuana.

Mortier had a 2001 conviction for misdemeanor possession of methamphetamine in a 1996 incident.

The detectives said they are not limiting their investigation to a possible drug connection.

Mortier was last seen by a friend on the Madison Area Technical College campus on Nov. 8. Friends and family reported him missing on Nov. 13.

The detectives said they have interviewed between 80 and 100 people in connection to the case and continue to follow up on clues and tips.

"We can't get enough people to talk," Bongiovani said.

Both detectives refused to discuss any DNA evidence related to the case.

The investigators ask that anyone with information, including people wishing to remain anonymous, contact the Fitchburg police at 608-270-4300.



Police: Missing Fitchburg Man Was Likely Murdered
Wisconsin State Journal :: FRONT :: A1
Thursday, April 14, 2005
Lisa Schuetz Wisconsin State Journal
Amos Mortier, missing since early November from his rural Fitchburg home, was likely murdered, police said at a news conference Wednesday.

As Mortier's distraught mother looked on, Police Chief Thomas Blatter said the young man's disappearance appears to be a homicide related to his involvement in illegal drug activities.

Police wouldn't identify the drug or drugs or describe Mortier's activities.

Margie Milutinovich, who has described her son as a funny, intelligent, ecology buff, did not speak during Wednesday's news conference.

But Mortier's uncle, Jim Mortier, said the family is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads police to the 27-year-old or to people connected with his disappearance.

Investigating agencies, including the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the state Department of Criminal Investigation, have identified several "persons of interest," Blatter said.

Mortier was last seen by a friend Nov. 8 on the Madison Area Technical College campus. Friends and family reported him missing Nov. 13. Since discovering his disappearance in early November, Milutinovich cherished hope her son would be found alive.

Family and friends initially thought he had fallen while walking his dog, Gnosis, and been knocked out in the cold. Dozens combed fields and marshland near his rented Lacy Road home but found nothing.

Fitchburg Detective Shannan Sheil-Morgan and Dane County Sheriff's Detective David Bongiovani have worked the case since November.

In early January, two Madison-area men testified in exchange for immunity in a secret "John Doe" court investigation into Mortier's disappearance.

John Doe witnesses are subpoenaed to appear. Their immunity relates to any potentially self-incriminating testimony they may provide. Assistant District Attorney Corey Stephan, who specializes in drug law violations, conducted the hearings.

One of the John Doe witnesses was convicted Dec. 21 of felony manufacture and delivery of marijuana.

Mortier was convicted of misdemeanor possession of amphetamines, LSD or psilocin stemming from a 1996 incident.

Sheil-Morgan and Bongiovani said in January that they had interviewed from 80 to 100 people and continue to follow up on clues and tips.

To date, the evidence or information investigators have garnered has ruled out a voluntary disappearance, Deputy Chief Don Bates said. "There is no other scenario that fits (other than a homicide)."




Missing Fitchburg Man Sought In Tennessee

A Music Festival Nurse Reported Seeing A Man Matching The Description Of Amos Mortier.
Wisconsin State Journal :: LOCAL/WISCONSIN :: B3
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Tim Cigelske Wisconsin State Journal
Authorities in Tennessee are searching for Amos Mortier -- a Fitchburg man police said was likely the victim of a homicide -- after a person matching his description was seen at a music festival there.

A medical tent nurse contacted the mother of Amos Mortier, 27, after the June 10-12 Bonnaroo Festival saying she treated a man she believed to be Mortier, who disappeared in November. The man, who didn't identity himself, was intoxicated and complained of memory problems, according to the Fitchburg Police Department.

"I wouldn't classify this lead as any more credible than other tips we've received," said Fitchburg Police Lt. Todd Stetzer. "At this point the only thing we have that indicates it could be Amos is similar physical description, and some of the bands playing there were bands he liked. But if there's any chance it was him we want to chase it out and see."

Mortier was last seen by a friend Nov. 8, 2004, on the Madison Area Technical College campus. Friends and family reported him missing Nov. 13 and authorities announced in January that they were treating Mortier's case as a homicide investigation.

Mortier's family, who has held out hope that he is alive, is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to his whereabouts on the Web site www.findamos.com.

The nurse at the Manchester, Tenn., festival said that after she treated and released a patient she recognized him from one of the fliers provided by Mortier's mother, Margie Milutinovich. The man in question matched Mortier's height, weight and hair color description. Milutinovich has sent missing person fliers to events around the country that she believes her son might attend.

Stetzer said police have distributed photos of Mortier to every Tennessee sheriff's department, who are combing campgrounds in the festival area for people who meet Mortier's description. Meanwhile in Fitchburg, police are scouring photographs of the festival crowds to try to identify someone who looks like Mortier.

In April, police said Mortier was likely murdered in an event related to his illegal drug activities. Mortier was convicted of misdemeanor possession of amphetamines, LSD or psilocin stemming from a 1996 incident.

Milutinovich, however, believes her son is lost and suffering from an amnesia-type condition. Milutinovich said the festival man's complaint of memory problems is further evidence that it was Mortier. Police said those symptoms could have been caused by the influence of alcohol or drugs.

"If Amos knew who he was, he would have called," Milutinovich said. "He's lost now, I'm sure of it."

Milutinovich said the nurse told her phrases that the man said that matched things her son usually said. She declined to identify those phrases citing the ongoing investigation.

"Basically I have to do the waiting game," she said. "I need to find out if that was Amos or not Amos."

Anyone with information on the case, including people wishing to remain anonymous, can contact the Fitchburg police at 608-270-4300.

.. Contact Tim Cigelske at tcigelske@madison.com or 252-6120.






Mother Maintains Hope Missing Son Will Be Found Alive
Wisconsin State Journal :: LOCAL/WISCONSIN :: B1
Tuesday, November 8, 2005
LISA SCHUETZ lschuetz@madison.com 608-252-6143
Nobody has heard from Amos Mortier in a year, at least no one who's told police.

Two groups searching for him disagree as to what happened.

In April, Fitchburg police said they believe they are investigating a homicide linked to illegal drugs. Police have not said what that drug involvement is, but court records indicate Mortier was convicted in 2001 for possessing illegal mushrooms.

On the other hand, his mother, Margie Milutinovich, believes he is alive and may be wandering with an impaired memory, hiding or kidnapped, she said Monday.

"I still feel very hopeful that Amos is alive and out there and that we will all laugh with him again," she writes on the Web site dedicated to finding him, www.findamos.com.

She said drugs figure too prominently in the police search for him. Fitchburg police have said they are not limiting their investigation to the drug angle. Police officials didn't return phone calls Monday.

On Nov. 13, 2004, Mortier, then 27, was reported missing from his rented Lacy Road house. His dog, Gnosis, was found outdoors later that day by a neighbor.

Milutinovich hadn't heard from him in days. It was determined that he last had contact with a friend at Madison Area Technical College on Nov. 8.

A search party combed the rural area surrounding his house.

In early January, two Madison-area men testified in exchange for immunity in a secret "John Doe" court investigation into Mortier's disappearance. One of them was convicted in January of felony manufacturing marijuana.

Since April, Milutinovich has distanced herself from investigators working on the case and has hired her own investigator.

She said she's angry that police have not told her more.

To remind people that her son is still missing, Milutinovich is holding a vigil near his former home, 5078 Lacy Road at 3 p.m. today. Later, friends and supporters are invited to a free event at the Inferno, 1718 Commercial Ave., at 9 p.m.

"The Fitchburg Police Department (is) not associated with this event," Milutinovich said in her announcement. "None of the information the police have released has been substantiated; therefore, the family and friends of Amos have no choice but to disbelieve any information the (police department) has regarding this case. It is asked that the (Fitchburg Police Department) and any other law enforcement officials do not join in the events of Nov. 8."

htttp://www.findamos.com

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