JANESVILLE — Nearly nine months after going missing, a Madison man was located in a home in Rock County — deceased.
Christopher Miller went missing during the middle of the night on Nov. 19, 2022, and his body was found in an abandoned rural Beloit home on Aug. 13, 2023.
Since then, the Rock County Sheriff’s Office has received questions related to Miller’s disappearance and efforts to locate Miller. In an effort to answer those questions transparently, the department openly provided documentation to the public.
According to the timeline, on Nov. 19, 2022, at 2:16 a.m., Rock County deputies were requested to assist Wisconsin State Patrol troopers with a vehicle stop on I-90 in which the male driver fled on foot from the troopers. The male driver was not apprehended, but later identified by troopers as Christopher Miller.
Several searched ensued over the following days and months.
On August 13, 2023, at 12:09 p.m., deputies were dispatched to a residence in the 8300 block of S. Creek Road for a deceased person.
Rock County 911 received the call from an anonymous online reporting system saying there was a deceased body in a vacant house located at 8356 S. Creek Road. Officers responded to this residence and, after making contact with the property owner, entered the residence.
Once inside, officers located a body that appeared to have been there for an extended period of time. The deputies contacted the detective bureau, and the investigation was turned over to them. During the investigation, it was noted the clothing description and approximate size of the subject were similar to Christopher Miller. Other evidence was also located at the scene that increased the likelihood of the subject being Miller.
The body was turned over to the Rock County Medical Examiners Office and security was posted at the residence.
RCSO Admin were briefed on the case and made the decision to contact Miller’s family prior to positive identification being made by the Medical Examiner’s office. Members of RCSO Admin and Madison PD made contact with Miller’s mother, Tammy James, at her residence and explained the deceased subject located was likely Christopher. Several questions were asked by the family that were unable to be answered due to the ongoing death investigation. The process of the autopsy being conducted, and further notifications was explained prior to leaving the residence.
Later that day, RCSO Admin received notification from the Medical Examiner that positive identification of Christopher Miller had been made. RCSO Admin joined a conference call with the Medical Examiner’s office and the Miller family to inform them of positive identification of Christopher.
The next day, the Rock County Medical Examiner’s Office publicly identified the deceased person as Christopher Miller.
Due to the matter being an ongoing investigation, questions pertaining to Miller’s discovery cannot be addressed at this time.
Missing for more than a year longer than Miller is Melissa Trumpy, a mother from Monticello. She disappeared in late Oct. 2021, with her vehicle abandoned in Carroll County, Illinois.
Trumpy, age 37 at the time of her disappearance, is a white female, about 5-foot-10 and weighing about 160 pounds.
Those with tips or relevant information are urged to contact the Carroll County (Ill.) Sheriff’s office at 815-244-7867. Green County authorities can be reached at 608-328-9401.