Search intensifies for missing man

SANDPOINT — A search intensified Wednesday for a Bonner County man who was last seen walking alone on Wrenco Loop on Saturday night.

Bon-ner County Sheriff’s officials said Jeffrey Paul Schutz, 55, appeared to be wandering and confused when he was last seen in the 1300 block of Wrenco Loop.

“We’ve covered a lot of ground and we’re continuing to cover a lot of ground,” sheriff’s Capt. Ror Lakewold said.

Lakewold said ground teams were searching for Schutz in the area where he was last seen while a helicopter from Two Bear Air Rescue conducted an aerial grid search. One K-9 team was involved in the ground search on Wednesday as up to three additional teams made their way to the search area.

Schutz was last seen wearing hiking boots, a black hoodie and brown zippered jacket. Schutz stands 6-foot-1, weighs 180 pounds and wears braces on his teeth, according to sheriff’s officials. Schutz resides on East Wrenco Road.

Lakewold said Schutz initially had a walking companion, but Schutz reportedly said that he wished to be alone.

“He hasn’t been seen since,” said Lakewold.

There were reports that Schutz may have been depressed or despondent, although Lakewold called those reports “speculative.”?Lakewold said as many as 50 personnel have been involved in the search, which includes sheriff’s deputies and volunteers from Priest Lake Search & Rescue.

Ground teams are anticipated to continue searching today, although Lakewold said it was unclear if the search would receive continued air support.

Schutz is a real estate agent at Keller Williams Realty, according to his publicly accessible account on the social networking site Facebook. He is originally from Berkeley, Calif.

Schutz’s last post to the site was in June 2015 and it regarded an open house in Coeur d’Alene.

Schutz was reported missing on Tuesday morning, according to a Bonner Dispatch call log.

• Those with information about Schutz’s whereabouts are asked to call Bonner Dispatch 265-5525.