It's been two months since 47-year-old Marc Welzant of Brainerd walked away from a group home he lives at on Beech Street in Brainerd and his family continues to ask the public to keep their eyes out for their loved one.
Staff at the group home Welzant lives at on the 1100 block of Beech Street in Brainerd say he was last seen about 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 26. Brainerd police received reports that Welzant was seen in downtown Brainerd, then on the 900 block of Oak Street and at the Holiday Stationstore on the 400 block of South Sixth Street before possibly traveling to Kiwanis Park.
Brainerd Police Chief Corky McQuiston said police have confirmed with store security video that Welzant was at the Holiday Stationstore in Brainerd about 2:50 p.m. on the day he went missing.
Several K9 searches, an aerial search and other ground searches have been conducted along portions of the Mississippi River since Welzant went missing, but there have been no signs of the Brainerd man.
More than 100 people and law enforcement participated in an organized search for Welzant Oct. 30 in the areas of Kiwanis Park to the Buster Dog Park, back by the Buffalo Hills Trail, behind the Brainerd water plant, as well as the woods between the Mississippi River and Central Lakes College. Searches were conducted along both sides of the river in the wooded and brushy terrain. Nothing was found.
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Police had two reports in mid-November of people who thought they may have seen Welzant, one near Lowell Elementary School and another at Holiday Stationstore. However, the reports were unfounded.
Mary Peterson, Welzant's sister, said the family has put up flyers at every rest area in Minnesota and contacted the Jacob Wetterling Foundation for help in the search for Welzant.
Welzant is described as a white male, about 5 feet, 2 inches tall with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing dark sweat pants, a dark green jacket and tennis shoes. Welzant weighs anywhere from 160 to 200 pounds and has a pear-shaped body appearance.
Welzant's family describes him as walking with a slight limp. They also report that it's not unusual for Welzant to approach people to ask for a cigarettes or money.
Anyone who may have any information about his disappearance is asked to call the Brainerd Police Department at 829-2805.
JENNIFER STOCKINGER may be reached at jennifer.stockinger@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5851. Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jennewsgirl .
