MARINETTE – The death of 32-year-old Billy Salnik has been ruled an accidental drowning, according to Marinette County Sheriff Randy Miller.
Previously, Salnik's body was found near Green Island around noon on August 24 after he disappeared on July 13.
Miller confirmed that the autopsy results were available on Wednesday. There does not appear to have been any crime.
The bodies of Salnik's two children, Joshua Salnik, 3, and Charlotte Salnik, 5, were found on July 16.
Earlier this month, friends of Billy Salnik conducted an independent search for his body in Menekaunee Harbor in Marinette.
Salnik's mother set up a GoFundMe campaign for the funeral of the three boaters on July 15. As of 8:20 a.m. on August 29, $27,925 of the $30,000 goal had been raised.
Timeline of events
According to reports from the Door County and Oconto County Sheriff's Departments and the U.S. Coast Guard, this is the timeline of events that led to the discovery of the children's bodies.
- Salnik and his two children left Green Island in the bay around 4 p.m. on July 13 in an 18-foot sailboat.
- The three were reported missing at 12:42 p.m. on July 14 when they failed to reach their planned destination in Oconto. The Coast Guard was notified at 4:27 p.m. the same day.
- The father's truck and trailer were found at the boat ramp on the afternoon of July 15. Calls to the Salniks' phone went straight to voicemail.
- A capsized vessel was recovered south of Chambers Island at 6:22 a.m. on July 16 and towed to Fish Creek.
- On July 16 at 11:21 a.m., the bodies of two young children were found in the water about one mile south of where the boat was found.
- On August 24 at 12:06 p.m., a boater reported a body near Green Island, which was later identified as that of Salnik.
- On August 28, Billy Salnik's death was ruled an accidental drowning, according to Marinette County Sheriff Randy Miller.
Rashad Alexander can be reached at [email protected].
