Welcome to Donald Ellenburg's missing-person website
You are here: www.MibSAR.com/Cases/Ellenburg/Ellenburg.html
Donald Wayne Ellenburg, age 38 in 1996, Red Oak, Michigan. Click on photo for high-resolution imagery. Photo courtesy of NAMUS. Page Contents
Incident
Click on map to view high-resolution imagery of where the search area is located in the Great Lakes area. Click on map to view high-resolution imagery of where the search area is located in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. (Michigan Road Map courtesy of the Michigan Department of Transportation) Click on map to view high-resolution imagery of where the search area is located in the Au Sable State Forest in Oscoda County's Elmer Township. (County map courtesy of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources' Cartographic Services Unit) Donald Ellenburg went missing in the Au Sable State forest on Valentine's Day evening, February 14, 1996. He was last seen by passsing motorists at about 10:00 pm, standing next to his 1991 red-and-white Geo Tracker, which was stuck in the snow along the side of Kneeland Road — near Youngs Road — in Oscoda County’s Elmer Township, about 6.5 miles northwest of Mio, Michigan.
According to news reports, one or more motorists stopped to offer him assistance, but he indicated he did not need help.
Donald wore glasses and a sterling silver ID with no inscription. He was reportedly wearing blue jeans, a red sweatshirt, and brown Carhartt-brand coveralls.
Donald is described as follows.
- Name: Donald Wayne Ellenburg
- Age: 38 in 1996
- Race: White
- Sex: Male
- Height: 6'0"
- Weight: 160 lbs
- Hair: Brown
- Eyes: Blue
A search by deputies from the Oscoda County Sheriff's Office, a Michigan Department of Natural Resources plane, and K-9 handlers from the Michigan State Police failed to turn up any sign of Donald — a former U.S. Marine — and he has never been seen or heard from since.
If you know anything about Donald Ellenburg's whereabouts, or the circumstances surrounding his disappearance, please report it to the authorities.
News media archive
March 5, 1996 Oscoda County Herald (Mio, Michigan)
March 12, 1996 Oscoda County Herald (Mio, Michigan) April 2, 1996 Oscoda County Herald (Mio, Michigan) May 7, 1996 Oscoda County Herald (Mio, Michigan) May 14, 1996 Oscoda County Herald (Mio, Michigan)
Social-media-friendly ribbon & badge
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National missing-persons database
Learn more about this case on NamUs, The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.
Facebook poster
To download and share a Facebook-friendly missing-person poster for this case, click on banner and either drag the image onto your desktop, or right-click on the image and save it to your desktop. Click on poster for high-resolution imagery.
Print poster
To download and share a printable missing-person poster for this case, click on poster and either drag the image onto your desktop, or right-click on the image and save it to your desktop.
Report a tip
Report a tip to the Oscoda County Sheriff's Office at 1.989.826.3214 Report a tip anonymously via Crime Stoppers USA's Internet-based E-tips program.
Operational cartography
Geo-Magnetic Compass beta — The Quint-North Bush Compass Rose — for field search operations on this case. Click on image for high-resolution imagery.
Click on compass rose graphic for high-resolution imagery. Quadrangles for the search area on this case. Click on maps for high-resolution imagery.
USGS 1:24,000 West Search Sector Quadrangle. Click on map for high-resolution imagery. USGS 1:24,000 East Search Sector Quadrangle. Click on map for high-resolution imagery. 1:24,000 West Search Sector Satellite Quadrangle. Click on map for high-resolution imagery. 1:24,000 East Search Sector Satellite Quadrangle. Click on map for high-resolution imagery.
Team MibSAR
Michigan Backcountry Search and Rescue (MibSAR),
Long Range Special
Operations Group (LRSOG)
www.MibSAR.com
Marquette, Michigan
United StatesThe founder of Michigan Backcountry Search and Rescue (MibSAR), Michael Neiger of Marquette, Michigan is the lead investigator with MibSAR's Long Range Special Operations Group (LRSOG)
E-mail Michael Neiger
A 26-year veteran Detective/Sergeant with the Michigan State Police (MSP), Michael holds a Ph.D. from Wayne State University, and is certified by the National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR) as a SAR Tech I and SAR Tech Field Team Leader (FTL), the top two, field-deployable, search-and-rescue certifications offered by NASAR.
The design and hosting of this missing-person web site, and associated social-media-friendly graphics, are courtesy of Michael Neiger — Lead Investigator with Michigan Backcountry Search and Rescue (MibSAR).
MibSAR is a small, Long Range Special Operations Group (LRSOG) based along the south shore of Lake Superior in Marquette, Michigan. LRSOG search-and-recovery operators are dedicated to investigating select long-term missing-person cases and homicide cold cases in the remote bush between the Great Lakes in northern Michigan, USA, and the Arctic Ocean’s Lower Hudson Bay in Ontario, Canada.
MibSAR is a FEMA NIMS ICS document- compliant SAR Team
An independent, volunteer investigator, Michael Neiger holds, or has held, memberships in the following professional organizations:
National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR) International Society of Professional Trackers (ISPT) International Association of Cold Case Investigators (IACCI) International Crime Scene Investigators Association (ICSIA) International Homicide Investigators Association (IHIA) American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) International Association for Identification (IAI)
are provided free of charge to victims, their families, and law enforcement agencies.
You are here: www.MibSAR.com/Cases/Ellenburg/Ellenburg.html
