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Investigators in Wisconsin are revisiting the murder of a 24-year-old Devil’s Lake hiker, following the arrest of a man accused of killing a couple at Devil’s Den State Park in Arkansas.
According to KARK, Sauk County Sheriff’s Office investigators in Wisconsin are looking into a possible connection between the 2020 murder of John Schmutzer, and the July murders of Clinton Brink, 43, and Cristen Brink, 41.
Police found Schmutzer stabbed to death on the Grottos Trail at Devil’s Lake State Park, a little after 11:30 a.m., on October 14, 2020.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, police in Arkansas arrested Andrew James McGann, 28, several days after the July 26 murders of the Brinks couple. They were found stabbed to death on a walking trail at the park in West Fork.
A week after McGann’s arrest, the Sauk County Sheriff’s Office began receiving tips on the Arkansas case, with requests to analyze DNA, which could rule McGann out or determine that he’s a suspect in Schmutzer’s death.
Spectrum News reports that Sauk County Sheriff’s Office detective sergeant Drew Bulin stated that the tips came in from people in both states. He said the sheriff’s office has requested information from Arkansas and will compare information.
Tipsters in Schmutzer’s death described the suspect as a white male around 5 feet, 10 inches to 6 feet tall, dressed in dark-colored clothing, with a dark-colored mask and backpack.
The man, who, according to witnesses, had been acting erratic, fled the scene, according to TMJ4. No arrests have been made.
In the Arkansas case, the accused killer was also dressed in dark-colored clothing while wearing sunglasses, a baseball cap, and fingerless gloves. He also had a black backpack.
Schmutzer had been hiking alone, while in the Brink case, the couple had been hiking together with their two young daughters.
Both children escaped unharmed and are now with family members.
Anyone with information about the Devil’s Lake case is urged to contact Detective Drew Bulin at drew.bulin@saukcountygov.gov.
Check back for updates.
[Feature Photos: John Schmutzer/Sauk County SO; James Andrew McGann/Washington County Detention Center]
