Melissa Beson photo courtesy LDF Police Department

On Tuesday, April 1, the Lac du Flambeau (LDF) Tribal Police Department said in a press release that it is continuing a search for Melissa Beson, 37, who has been missing since March 17 from the Lac du Flambeau Reservation in Vilas County.

Chief of Police T.J. Bill said there had been ground, air and water searches using drones and dogs, and images from over 300 reservation surveillance cameras have been reviewed for clues.

Beson, a member of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, was last seen in the vicinity of Indian Village Road and Chequamegon Forest Trail in Lac du Flambeau.

She was last seen wearing red sweatpants, a black sleeveless shirt, and a gray sweatshirt.

Beson is a Native American female, 5’7”, with a medium build, brown hair and brown eyes. She has numerous tattoos, including on her neck, arms and leg.

Beson’s family reported her missing on March 23, six days after she was last seen.

“Finding her has been the number one priority of the LDF Police Department,” Bill in a statement. “We have conducted extensive ground searches on foot, even in severe weather conditions. Our officers have even come in on their days off to search for her. The dedicated members of Newbold Search and Rescue have once again come to our aid and have assisted us by searching with their specially trained canines.The dogs have shown interest and appeared to pick up Melissa’s scent in the area of her last known sighting.”

The LDF Police Department has used two high-quality drones to search a portion of the Bear River’s open water and plans to use an underwater drone to dive under ice.

“Although we are expending monumental efforts in searching the area in which Mellisa was last seen, we are in no way ignoring the possibility that she may be elsewhere,” said Bill. “Our officers are working non-stop, during every shift, to follow up on every lead and tip that we receive. We have combed through countless hours of surveillance footage, have interviewed dozens of people, and have reached out to law enforcement agencies in various areas of the State of Wisconsin, who have assisted us by contacting persons with possible information and even conducting searches of residences in their jurisdictions.”

Bill told the Examiner that the LDF Police Department has reviewed surveillance footage from over 300 cameras monitored around the reservation.

“So nothing’s been revealed on them, on the surveillance of the cameras, where she was last seen,” he said. Where Beson was last seen is “in more of a desolate area,” he added, “so we don’t have cameras that go out that far.”

He also noted that the ground searches using dogs had been hampered by recent weather, including snow.

“We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to LDF Emergency Management, LDF Tribal Roads Department, LDF Economic Support Department, Newbold Search and Rescue, the Vilas County Sheriff’s Department, and Vilas County Dispatch for their vital assistance to our investigative and search efforts,” he said.

He added, “We would also like to thank everyone in the community who has provided assistance to our Department and been supportive to Melisa’s family during this difficult time.”

Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Lac du Flambeau Tribal Police Department. at (715) 588-7717 or the Vilas County Sheriff’s Office at (715) 479-4441.