Missionary, 5 family members perish in fire at Wisconsin vacation rental

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Tuesday, July 02, 2024

Pastor Steve Witte, a missionary affiliated with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, commonly referred to as WELS, perished in a fire along with five members of his family while at a vacation rental in the state, the Synod has announced.

“Yesterday, we received the news of a terrible tragedy. Six members of an extended family lost their lives in a house fire at a vacation rental near Wisconsin Dells, Wis.,” WELS President Mark Schroeder said in a statement Monday.

“The pain of losing six members of one family cannot be described with words. The only thing that can begin to bring comfort in such a time of grievous loss are the words that God himself speaks to us. Those words remind us that these members of our extended WELS family are now resting in perfect joy and peace at the side of their Savior,” Schroeder added.

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Along with Witte, who served as a missionary in Thailand, his two daughters, Lydia Witte and Charis Kuehl, and three granddaughters, Stella Kuehl, Lena Henselin and Merci Henselin, also died. 

The Juneau County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release that at about 2:35 a.m. Sunday, they received a 911 call about a house fire at W 5040 Morros Mile Road in Necedah. The caller said they believed about two or three people were still inside the home.

While escorting people away from the home, deputies asked if everyone had been accounted for and they were told that five people were missing. They were later advised that six people, three adults and three children, were still inside the burning residence.

Firefighters reportedly battled the fire for about three hours and were on the scene for more than 12 hours. While an investigation into the fire is ongoing, officials say the fire appears to have been accidental.

Nadine Zielinski, a neighbor, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that she was watching television hours before dawn Sunday when she heard what sounded like "the mortar of fireworks" going off at the home. She said when she called the police, they told her the house was on fire and they were already responding.

She speculated that the family had intended to stay at the rental for the week and had planned a Fourth of July celebration.

"I heard fireworks," she insisted. "I know the sound of fireworks intimately."

Pastor Witte, who served as a minister in the early 2000s at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Green Bay, had escaped the fire, but when he realized his grandchildren were trapped inside the burning home, he went back inside in a bid to save them, according to Pastor Larry Schlomer, WELS World Missions Administrator.

“It was such a tremendous loss that many deaths within the same family,” Schlomer told WMTV.

“He actually made it out of the house and found out that two of his granddaughters were still inside,” Schlomer revealed. “He went back in seeing if he could save them and unfortunately, did not make it.”

Schlomer said Pastor Witte was the lead of the WELS Asia Missions Team. His family had gathered to spend time with him because he had been overseas for several months.

“His wife, Mary, his children, those were so important. That’s why they were gathered so they could enjoy some time while he was back from his mission field,” Schlomer said. “His passion for the Gospel, for the Good News about hope for eternity, is something that drove him to do everything that he did.”