Hunters speak about finding body

COOPERSTOWN - The body of an unidentified woman in some Manitowoc County woods was the last thing two hunters thought they would come across.

It was dark Saturday morning when brothers Jeff and Dan Schreiner headed into the woods on their family property for deer hunting. Before they could even prepare to sight a buck, they made a shocking discovery neither could believe.

“My brother and I were walking out to our tree stands and came across what we thought was a mannequin and some garbage. And it wasn't a mannequin,” said Jeff Schreiner.

It was a body. Lying in what the brothers described as a fetal position was a 50-year-old female. They feared the worst.

“We put the flashlights on her face to look for steam or any signs of life and we didn't see life,” said Dan Schreiner.

The hunters said when they found the body it wasn't just frightening and disturbing but strange.

“There was some boxes and an umbrella and some candy wrappers around the body so it was kind of weird,” said Jeff Schreiner.

“Initially I thought it was someone with an umbrella camping out that we had some vagrant that was camping until we saw the way she was dressed and then we knew it wasn't gonna be good,” said Dan Schreiner.

The brothers say the body was basically nude. Also, it seemed as if she had been placed on a sleeping bag. They quickly called 911, hoping the unidentified woman might still be alive. They said police and EMT's arrived and confirmed she was dead. The Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department announced the death is being treated as a homicide.

“It's kind of scary to think that somebody could do something like this and then just dump the body on your property,” said Dan Schreiner.

The men say the image of their find that morning is burned into their memory. They said now they just hope whoever committed this crime will be found and brought to justice.