Jeremiah Button even had a bike-powered generator for those overcast days when his solar panels weren’t doing the trick.
Marathon County Sheriff ’s OfficeJeremiah Button successfully hid himself away for more than three class in his dugout — until curious hunter Thomas Nelson notice an odd shanty veil in the leaf .
About a class and a one-half after Jeremiah Button was released on a $ 25,000 Johnny Cash bond , he fly into slender air . It was early 2016 and he was two weeks off from a jury test in Portage County , Wisconsin to face burster of first - point child intimate assault and monomania of child pornography . Then suddenly , he was give-up the ghost .
agree toWSAW , bureau finally just now compute out where he was hiding all these years when they distinguish his makeshift bunker on Aug. 9 , 2019 . He has since tell the Marathon County Sheriff ’s Office ( MCSO ) that he started building this shack , in the wood near the Ice Age Trail in the township of Ringle , upon his discharge .
Marathon County Sheriff’s OfficeJeremiah Button successfully hid himself away for more than three years in his bunker — until curious hunter Thomas Nelson noticed an odd shack hidden in the foliage.
For nearly three and a one-half years , Button ’s isolate hideaway keep him stealthily camouflaged from detective work . finally , however , a hunter noticed this unknown hutch and shout out the police — putting an end to Button ’s flight from justice .
Portage County Sheriff ’s DepartmentJeremiah Button
“ I followed the brush marks , I saw the door , ” said Thomas Nelson , who ’s lived in the region all his spirit and frequently hunts on the state land . “ I could n’t get out of there tight enough . ”
Portage County Sheriff’s DepartmentJeremiah Button
Button apparently forgot to factor in the curiosity of somebody like Nelson , or that they ’d be brave and brazen enough to in reality enter a mysteriously conceal shack in the heart of the woods . It was the last mistake he made before being get the picture after more than three years in the idle words .
It take on the huntsman a few month to muster the courageousness to return to the bunker after first finding it . He had a gut feeling that someone was actually living in there , and had to figure out who — and why .
“ There was no way you could have see this if you did n’t eff there was something there , ” he order . “ I push the room access undefendable , and I search within and I can see canned foods , there ’s slight storage loge , and I ’m like … I got ta go in . ”
Marathon County Sheriff’s OfficeThe bunker was littered with canned goods, storage bins, a radio, television, mini fans, and more. This was a serious effort that resulted in a fairly livable space.
“ I come around the corner a minute and there he is , laying in his bed . I mean , I was shaking when I go away in , I was shaking when I went out . ”
At this point , the hunter had no idea who Button was — or that he had been avoidingchargesranging from first - degree shaver sexual violation and willpower of child pornography to incest with a child .
Nelson then called the police and lead them to the location in question . That led to a 20 - minute standoff between Button and local deputy , some of whom pose themselves on the bunker ’s roof . Despite the tense standoff , Button seemed fairly jovial after finally coming alfresco .
Marathon County Sheriff’s OfficeDeputy Matt Kecker said Button was effusively friendly and welcoming after the 20-minute standoff. Button likely missed regular, human interaction.
“ He told us that he was want through Portage County for numerous warrants , ” said Deputy Matt Kecker , who described Button ’s position as welcoming and appreciative .
Button seemed starve for human interaction , with deputy state it was almost effortless to get him to explain his survival of the fittest methods across three raging summers and three freeze out winters . Of of course , the bunker itself — litter with a miscellanea of home items and unexpected electronics — spoke for itself .
Marathon County Sheriff ’s OfficeThe sand trap was littered with canned goods , storage bins , a radio , television , miniskirt fans , and more . This was a serious effort that resulted in a fairly liveable space .
WSAWButton even had a bike-powered generator in his bunker, for those overcast days when solar panels don’t yield enough electricity.
The dugout was n’t all that wide , though the wall were lined with toilet of food for thought , storage bins — even a television that he found in a nearby landfill . Mini fans hang from the ceiling , while an sometime radio played commercials as Kecker and Detective Lieutenant Jeff Stefonek escorted newsperson inside . These agreeableness no doubt helped allow Button to survive there for so long .
“ He has solar panels up on the roof that power three car batteries inside the structure , ” said Stefonek . “ And from those three car battery he has melt to LED lights and radio receiver and chill lover , all variety of electronic equipment , some of it impart intact for its intended purpose , and other thing he took apart to fit the needs he had . ”
Button seemed to have been so determined to live there for the long term that he even had a wheel - power author in his self-possession . This allowed him to keep power on those clouded Clarence Shepard Day Jr. when solar panel were n’t providing the necessary powerfulness to his shelling .
Marathon County Sheriff ’s OfficeDeputy Matt Kecker said Button was effusively favorable and welcome after the 20 - moment standoff . Button in all probability lose regular , human interaction .
“ He read the initial build took him from the prison term he got out to the time he disappear , ” said Kecker . “ It was approximately about half this sizing , but as he begin bringing stuff back from the landfill that he necessitate to make his life more comfy , he had to expand . So he dug out even further into the wall . ”
Button even build a weewee purifying machine that pump the liquidity through charcoal and filter before boiling it .
From electricity to computers , radio , and TV , Button had n’t just built himself a new irregular family , but a novel life that he on the face of it specify on maintaining for the foreseeable futurity .
“ He was not only surviving , but flourish in this bodily structure through all of the different supplies he was able-bodied to retrieve , ” said Stefonek .
“ Not a slew of atmosphere come in from the outside , and it was a small enough place that he was able to survive the wintertime obviously , and keep himself warm , and it ’s nerveless down there this prison term of yr , and it is stock full of all of the items that he was able to purloin from the Marathon County landfill by sorting through food waste . ”
WSAWButton even had a bicycle - powered generator in his bunker , for those clouded days when solar panels do n’t cede enough electricity .
consort toCNN , Sheriff Mike Lucas of Portage County say that in his nearly 30 age with the section , he could n’t commend anything quite this “ gonzo . ”
Button tell Marathon County Deputy Sheriff Troy Deiler that he chose this special localization for both prosperous admittance to the Ringle landfill and for the advantageous , thick forestry .
“ Button had explained he could find just about anything in the landfill , ” Deiler wrote in his report .
Button explained that once he dug the area out he began enthral canned goods , electronics , and other supplies over using one backpack at a time — presumptively to avoid mistrust from passersby .
Nonetheless , when he saw tramper or hunters , Button enounce he ’d normally make “ humble talk with them about a prissy day to be on a raise and continue on his way . ” Meanwhile , he leave his car , notecase , and ID at his mother ’s house .
In the final stage , Button is being held on a $ 100,000 Johnny Cash bond and wait for a pretrial group discussion in mid - September . Whether or not any additional charges will be impart will bet on what authorities find at the site — specially on Button ’s laborious drives .
As for the bunker , Department of Natural Resources Communications Director Sarah Hoye said they ’re currently assessing the internet site and will plant a plan to clean it up in the near future .
Next , read aboutthe Florida military man who was hold back for hear to “ barbecue ” child molesters . Then , take aboutthe raper who was award joint detention of the shaver conceived during the assault .
