UPDATE: Two children, one adult found dead inside a Wisconsin home, police searching for person of interest
NEW LISBON, Wis. (WFRV) – Police in Wisconsin say they are searching for a person of interest after an adult and two missing children were found dead in a home Monday afternoon.
According to a release from the New Lisbon Police Department, the Juneau County Sheriff’s Office was contacted at 10:09 p.m. on Sunday and was asked to help assist with a missing juvenile case from Monroe County.Arrested man becomes unresponsive while in transport to jail, Wisconsin Department of Justice investigating
Authorities say the missing child was last seen with 47-year-old Virgil Thew who was known to be living in New Lisbon.
At 7:40 a.m. on Monday, New Lisbon police officers began investigating the missing child reports when they were made aware of a second missing juvenile, this one from the New Lisbon area.
The investigation into the two missing children continued throughout the day with the cooperation of the juvenile’s parents, Wisconsin Probation and Parol, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the Mauston Police Department, the Necedah Police Department, and the Wisconsin State Patrol.
At 4:29 p.m., the investigation came to a head when the two missing children and an adult were found dead inside a home on the 300 block of West Bridge Street.
Authorities say they are now searching for Thew as a person of interest in this incident and he was last seen wearing a dark down coat, blue jeans, and a hat.
Virgil is said to be considered armed and dangerous. Anyone who spots him is asked to not confront or approach him.
At this time, no other information is available and Local Five will update this story as more details are released.
Three found dead inside a Wisconsin home, police searching for person of interest
TUESDAY, December 31, 2024, 6:40 a.m.
NEW LISBON, Wis. (WFRV) – Authorities in Wisconsin say they are searching for a person of interest after three people were found dead inside a home Monday afternoon.
According to a release from the New Lisbon Police Department, at 4:29 p.m., the Juneau County Communication Center received a call reporting that three people were found dead inside a home in New Lisbon.
Police say they have identified 47-year-old Virgil G. Thew as a person of interest in the matter and are currently searching for him.FBI issues warning to leagues about organized crime groups targeting pro athletes
Officers describe Virgil as a white man who stands 5’10” and weighs 150 pounds. He was last seen wearing a dark down coat and hat.
Virgil is currently wanted through Wisconsin Probation and Parol and should be considered armed and dangerous.
Anyone who sees Virgil is asked not to confront or approach him and they should instead immediately call the New Lisbon Police Department.
No information is available at this time, however, officials say more details are expected to be released on Tuesday.
Police: 3 people, including 2 children, found dead in central Wisconsin home; manhunt continues
Eric Chaloux KSTP
Updated: January 3, 2025 – 6:57 AM
Published: January 2, 2025 – 6:30 AMPlay Video
Police: 3 people, including 2 children, found dead in central Wisconsin home; manhunt continues
Law enforcement in New Lisbon, Wisconsin, report three people — including two juveniles — were found dead inside a home on Monday.
New Lisbon is a community of about 2,500 people in Juneau County, roughly 180 miles southeast of the Twin Cities.
Police identified 47-year-old Virgil Thew as a person of interest in the active homicide investigation. The Juneau County Sheriff’s Office released an updated image of Thew early Thursday morning, saying it was taken at the Dollar General store in New Lisbon on Dec. 29.
The victim was identified on Thursday as 33-year-old Elizabeth Kolba. The juvenile’s names were not released, but law enforcement identified them as a 12- and 13-year-old.
Crime scene tape blanketed the small town of New Lisbon this week.
Back on Sunday night, law enforcement tried to find a missing juvenile out of Monroe County, Wisconsin.
Investigators say the child had been picked up and last seen with Thew.
New Lisbon police said they were alerted about a second missing child in their community around 7:40 a.m. Monday. Hours later, a heartbreaking discovery came on the 300 block of West Bridge Street in New Lisbon. That’s where police found the bodies of two juveniles and an adult inside a home.
Investigators from the Wisconsin State Crime Lab, Juneau County Sheriff’s Office, and Monroe County Sheriff’s Office processed the scene.
During the last few days, Wisconsin authorities warned the community that Thew was to be considered armed and dangerous.
Anyone with information about Thew’s whereabouts is urged to contact the New Lisbon Police Department or 911.
True Crime Blogger Sentenced After ‘Cries for Help’ Lead to Horrifying Discovery
NewsBy TooFab Staff|7/15/2025 7:34 AM PT
Brown County Jail
The woman ran a true crime page on Facebook and reportedly even posted about her own arrest — as police detail a scene so bad they felt like they “may vomit.”
A Wisconsin true crime blogger who reportedly began writing about her own arrest has been sentenced to jail time after authorities made a horrific discovery at her home.
On Monday, 40-year-old Elizabeth Drake reportedly pled no contest to intentionally subjecting an individual at risk to abuse and resisting an officer, and was convicted of a citation for unsanitary conditions for a pet. She declined to address the court and, per Law&Crime, was sentenced to a year in prison, plus nine months in jail, three years extended supervision and banned form contacting the victim — her own mother.
The charges stem from Drake’s December 2023 arrest — which came after a delivery person who came to the home she shared wither her mom, 72, heard someone “yelling for help” and contacted authorities.
Drake, at first, allegedly told police her mother was okay inside, before warning officers that her mom’s bedroom was “messy” when they demanded to see for themselves.
The responding officer, per the criminal complaint, wrote he “he immediately noticed a strong odor of animal, garbage, urine, and feces” upon entering the home, saying there “was hardly a path to walk due to all of the garbage on the floor.”
The officer also “observed bugs all over the home,” with the conditions so poor he wrote he “felt that I may vomit.”
When they entered the woman’s room, officers allegedly couldn’t spot the victim at first, “due to the amount of garbage” — including “used toilet paper” and “soiled diapers” — littering the area. The woman then claimed her daughter had been “holding her [prisoner] and she wanted to get out of the house.”Anderson County Sheriff’s Office/WYFF 4Teen Accusing Teacher of Sexual Conduct, Grooming Speaks Out: ‘Not Going to Back Down’View Story
The criminal complaint describes the woman’s bedsheets as “dark brown,” claiming, “bugs were seen all over her and her bed.”
“The carpet appeared to be caked down possibly with urine and feces. [The victim] was yelling for help and it took a while for her to believe that the officers were really people and real police officers,” reads the docs. “When rescue carried [the victim] out of the house, [the officer] saw that she had bed sores, urine material stuck to her hair, and what looked to be bug droppings on her.”
The victim told authorities she broke her leg about a year ago, which made it difficult to move around without help. Per police, she “indicated that she had not moved from that bed in the at least a year” and got no help from her daughter.Scotland PolicePostman Complained Girlfriend’s Job Left Him ‘Lonely,’ Then He Decapitated HerView Story
Drake, however, offered up a different perspective.
“Elizabeth stated that her mom chose to live in the condition her room was in even though her mom couldn’t take care of herself and the whole home was in the same type of condition,” the complaint reads. “Elizabeth stated that she ignores her mom’s cries for help due to it bugging her and stopping her from being able to do what she wants, which typically meant her being on her computer.”
Her computer, of course, is where she ran her true crime blog, the since-shuttered Green Bay Crime Reports, as well as the Facebook page Green Bay Crime Reports, which currently has around 158,000 followers. The latter hasn’t been updated since August 2024.
“Elizabeth stated that she had been thinking about adding sound proofing material at least to [the victim’s] window to drown out her yelling for help,” the complaint continued. “Elizabeth indicated she was happy this happened so that her mother could be taken out of her life and she could continue doing whatever she wanted to do.”
Per Law&Crime, Drake actually wrote about her own arrest on the website — in a post in which she exclaimed, “For the first time in 38 years, I am now free! Free of my captor.”
