Juneau County Sheriff Frees Thousands of Family Members Killed in Necedah Fire

Lina Portman3 days ago

1 1 minute read

The Juneau County Sheriff's Office has released the ages of the six family members who died in a house fire early Sunday morning in Necedah.

The victims are Rev. Steven Witte, 66, his daughters Charis Kuehl, 38, and Lydia Witte, 35, and three of his grandchildren, ages 8, 5 and 2. The children have been identified as Stella Kuehl, Lena Henselin and Merci Henselin. In its Facebook update, the sheriff's office did not specify the ages of the children specifically.

The family was vacationing at a rental home in Necedah, hoping to stay there until July 4. The fire was reported around 2:35 a.m. Sunday on Morros Mile Road in Necedah. Firefighters battled the blaze for about three hours and were on scene for more than 12 hours, according to a news release.

The sheriff's office said the fire appears to be accidental. An investigation is ongoing.

In the early 2000s, Witte served as pastor in Green Bay at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, part of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. He later served overseas as a missionary in Southeast Asia.

“The pain of losing six members of one family cannot be described in words,” said WELS President Rev. Mark Schroeder. “The only thing that can comfort us in such a time of such painful loss are the words of God Himself. These words remind us that these members of our extended WELS family are now resting in perfect joy and peace with their Savior.”

Lina Portman

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