Identified: 59-year-old man found dead in Wausaukee; shot and killed by bank robbery suspect
MARINETTE COUNTY (WITI) -- Marinette County Sheriff's officials have identified a 59-year-old man shot and killed Tuesday, March 24th when he came into contact with bank robbery suspect Steven Timothy Snyder, the Michigan man who later shot and killed Wisconsin State Patrol Trooper Trevor Casper in Fond du Lac.
Steven Timothy Snyder
The Wisconsin DOJ has now connected the dots -- indicating that Snyder is responsible for the robbery of the State Bank of Florence in Wausaukee in Marinette County, the shooting death of 59-year-old Thomas Christ, and later, an exchange of gunfire with Trooper Casper that resulted in both Casper and Snyder's deaths.
Thomas Christ was found along Jermac Road on Tuesday evening. He was found shot to death.
It all began Tuesday around 2:00 p.m. Marinette County Sheriff's officials were notified that a lone male had entered the State Bank of Florence in the Village of Wausaukee. The DOJ says that male was Steven Timothy Snyder.
Snyder displayed a handgun and fired one round before robbing the bank of cash.
He then fled the bank in a stolen bank employee’s vehicle.
Sheriff’s officials responded to the bank, and were then actively involved in looking for Snyder and the stolen vehicle.
Thomas Christ
Just after 2:30 p.m., another call came in to the Marinette County Sheriff’s Office regarding a male victim found along Jermac Road — just east of Wausaukee near a pickup truck that was still running. That man, now identified as Thomas Christ, was found to be deceased.
Officials searched the area and located the stolen vehicle taken from the bank.
Trevor Casper
Officials on Wednesday identified the trooper killed as Trevor Casper of Kiel. Wisconsin State Patrol officials say Tuesday was Casper's first day solo in the field -- and they say his response Tuesday was "absolutely textbook."
According to the Officers Down Memorial Page, Casper is the 279th law enforcement officer to be killed in the line of duty in Wisconsin history. At 21, he is the youngest law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty.
1972 was the last time a Wisconsin State Patrol trooper was killed by gunfire.
Law enforcement agencies across the state are responding to this tragedy, including the Marinette County Sheriff's Office:
"The Marinette County Sheriff's Office joins law enforcement officers state and nationwide in expressing our sincerest condolences to the Wisconsin State Patrol and the family of fallen Trooper Trevor Casper."