Missing Empire man found dead

Elizabeth Brewer, The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich.
·1 min read

May 8—GLEN LAKE — A young man who had been missing for five days was found dead in northern Leelanau Township, according to the Leelanau County Sheriff's Office.

The body of Nicholas Wiesen Bentzien, 25, was found at 11 a.m. Wednesday.

Bentzien was last seen leaving work early on May 3, according to a sheriff's office statement.

The statement said the young man had a short visit at home, left in his 1997 Nissan Pathfinder, and wasn't seen or heard from after that.

He was reported missing May 4 from the 11,000 block of Lake Street in Empire.

Authorities had asked for the public's help in finding Bentzien, and the social media post was shared 508 times, including to the statewide group "Missing in Michigan," according to a sheriff's office statement.

No additional details were released.