My Northern Wisconsin

Covering Ashland, Iron, Lincoln, Oneida, Price, Rusk, Sawyer, Taylor, and Vilas Counties


MAN IN CUSTODY IN RELATION TO HIT & RUN


On Sunday, October 31,2021, Halloween, at 6:08 a.m. the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office first received the report of a person laying in a pool of blood near the intersection of Elm Ave and Hamm Dr in the township of Holway, Taylor County. The victim was an unidentified white male and was dead at the scene with multiple injuries.

As the investigation continued Taylor County Sheriff’s Office Detectives were able to identify the victim as 27-year-old Titus Kottke of Athens Wi. An autopsy was performed on Kottke, and his injuries were found to be consistent with being struck by a motor vehicle. 

As the investigation continued, detectives were able to accurately account for Kottke’s whereabouts throughout the evening leading up to his death. He had visited a number of bars and was last seen alive at 3:30 a.m. walking on the road about a mile from where he was found deceased.  As part of an exhaustive investigation, a suspect was developed, and several search warrants were executed. 

Today the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office took 28-year-old Paul J. Schmeiser of Curtiss, WI into custody for the death of Titus Kottke. Schmeiser is charged with hit and run, duty upon striking a person. Schmeiser is being cooperative with law enforcement and will be in court today for a bond hearing.
(This post was last modified: 12-22-2021, 02:11 PM by My Northern Wisconsin.)