DELTA COUNTY — The Michigan State Police has announced that a Wisconsin man has been identified and criminally charged following an investigation into a kidnapping and sexual assault that occurred 39 years ago in Delta County.

The MSP Manistique Post originally began an investigation in August 1986 after a female reported she was assaulted while taking a bike trip from her home in Lac du Flambeau, Wis. to Sault Ste. Marie. She had stopped to use a public bathroom at the Big Fishdam River access off US-2 in Garden Township and when she exited the bathroom, she was forced at gunpoint into the suspect’s car. The suspect drove her around and repeatedly sexually assaulted her, eventually releasing her.

Initial investigative efforts were unsuccessful in identifying the suspect. Over time, when all investigative leads were exhausted, the case became designated as a cold case. Periodically over the years, troopers and detectives reviewed the case and made attempts to follow up on any new credible evidence. There were no breakthroughs in the investigation until, when in fall 2023, MSP detectives utilized an ongoing partnership with Northern Michigan University’s Cold Case Program to review the case.