Wright County offers $5,000 for information on missing Annandale man

Volunteers canvassed roadsides and parks in the Howard Lake area Saturday, hoping to find Christopher Rossing — or clues to his disappearance.

Rossing, 25, of Annandale, Minn., was last seen on Aug. 22 in Howard Lake, the Sheriff's Office said.

He was at Troubles Bar and Restaurant and American Legion Howard Lake that night, but his cellphone "has been disconnected" since about 8 p.m. that evening, sources said.

His car was located later in the city of Howard Lake four days after Rossing vanished. The keys were in the ignition, the windows down, and it was parked in a lot between a gas station and a flower shop.

His family has heard nothing from him and fears foul play.

"Unfortunately, at this point, we don't have any more to release on it," Sgt. Dave Nystuen of the Wright County Sheriff's Office said Saturday after the latest search.

Saturday's effort was not an official search but rather conducted by family and Minnesota United, a nonprofit organization that helps to bring the missing back to their families.

Anyone with information on Rossing is urged to call the sheriff's office at 763-682-7637. A $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the missing man.

"It's kind of a mystery," Nystuen said. "Somebody out there knows what happened to him."

His relatives said it's out of character for Rossing to not call or keep in contact, and they knew something was wrong when he failed to show up for work without calling in. He had left his job in Maple Plain about 5 p.m. on Aug. 22 and had plans to go to Norwood Young America that night but never arrived.

His family has set up a fundraising webpage, www.gofundme.com/christopher-rossing. A sister wrote on that page of how the family has few resources to help, including paying for a billboard ad, radio spots, private investigator, family travel and supplies for the searchers.

As of Saturday evening, more than $500 had been raised.