Missing Edina man found in Wisconsin

Article by: Jim Adams , Star Tribune
Updated: November 2, 2007 - 11:47 PM

Scott Tridgell, 23, had been missing since Oct. 10. He was spotted at an interstate rest stop by a Twin Cities couple.

Scott M. Tridgell. a 23-year-old Edina man who was found today after being missing for three weeks after failing to show up for work. Police and his sister suspected that he may have amnesia.

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A Twin Cities couple were at an Interstate 94 rest stop while traveling through Wisconsin when they spotted a man sleeping in a hail-damaged black pick-up truck at the end of the parking lot.

Remembering reports about a missing Edina man in a similar truck, Larry DeMarr drove up next to the pickup's door. The sleeping man wore glasses, and DeMarr's girlfriend thought he looked thin.

They called 911. A short time later, Menomonie, Wis., police confirmed that he was Scott Tridgell, 23, who had been missing for three weeks, Edina police Lt. Dave Nelson said.

Tridgell "appears to be fine. It sounds like he was a bit lost and confused as to where he was," Nelson said.

Tridgell's parents, Gary and Amy Tridgell of Duluth, had made a public plea for help in finding their son. They thought he was having an amnesia episode related to a serious head injury he suffered in December.

The couple who spotted Tridgell were elated to hear that he was the missing man. "That's good news. That makes my day," DeMarr said.

There was no immediate word on where Tridgell had spent the past three weeks; the distance between Edina and Menomonie is about 80 miles.

DeMarr said he and his girlfriend were driving from the Twin Cities to his mother's home in Green Bay, Wis., when they stopped at the rest area.

Tridgell, an accountant for Lund's grocery stores, was last seen Oct. 10 withdrawing money from his bank in Edina. Police checked his phone, computer, credit card and bank records and found no activity since he disappeared.

Nelson said Menomonie police called Edina after they checked a national data base and found the man matched Tridgell's description.

"It's a great way to end the week," Nelson said. "It's nice to have a positive closure."

Jim Adams • 612-673-7658

Jim Adams • jadams@startribune.com