A beloved stagecoach will return to the parade circuit in western Wisconsin this summer, but the goal isn't just to bring back memories. The St Croix County Sheriff hopes it helps catch a killer.
"It's been 25 years so maybe we can generate some more talk," said Sheriff Scott Knudson. "Maybe we can get some leads."
Knudson is talking about the murder of the man who owned that stagecoach. For years, William "Junior" Clapp would take his old stagecoach through local town parades but, in 1993, investigators discovered Clapp, a lifelong bachelor, dead on his farm. He had suffered a single gunshot wound, but no gun could be found.
"We're aware of how it ended, but we need to figure out who did it," Knudson said.
Today, Clapp's farm outside of Roberts is unrecognizable. Most of the 800 acres he owned along I-94 are now developed.
"We believe that that may have been a motive for his killing because people wanted his land," Knudson said. "Somebody knows what happened."
That's why, during a parade in Roberts on Sunday, the Sheriff's office will be pulling Clapp's stagecoach.
"We're going to have this truck pulling that stagecoach and we're going to have it followed by our mounted posse," Knudson said. "It's a tip of the cap to William Clapp and, really, what he stood for."
They hope the stagecoach generates some new leads and, at the very least, leaves a lasting impression.
"We believe the killer is still in the area. To parade it down the road in front of the guy responsible for his death, I think would be a powerful message to him," Knudson said. "We want him to know that we're still coming."
The stagecoach will also be part of upcoming parades in Hudson, Roberts, Baldwin, Hammond and New Richmond.