Silver Lake man found dead after multi-agency search

A Silver Lake man reported missing was later found dead Sunday afternoon.

According to the McLeod County Sheriff’s Office, 20-year-old rural Silver Lake resident Joseph Matthew Chmielewski, was reported missing at 11:32 a.m., Nov. 8.

A search ensued, including McLeod County Sheriff’s deputies, the state Department of Natural Resources, Hutchinson Police, the Sibley County Sheriff’s Office, Silver Lake Fire Department, Silver Lake Ambulance and Hutchinson Ambulance Service.

McLeod County deputies found Chmielewski’s body not far north of his residence at about 1:50 p.m. Authorities say he died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The Sheriff’s Office is awaiting autopsy results to confirm the cause of death, but it is not suspected to be either foul play or a hunting accident.

(Jorge Sosa is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sosa@hutchinsonleader.com)