Search underway to find missing man on Fond du Lac Reservation

Macklin Caruso, The Pine Journal, Cloquet, Minn.
·2 min read

Mar. 13—BROOKSTON — Search efforts are underway for Peter Michael Martin, 31, a Fond du Lac Band member who has not been seen since March 8.

Friends, family and community members gathered at the Brookston Community Center on Wednesday morning, March 13 to aid law enforcement in a search-and-rescue mission to find Martin.

"We'd like to know what's going on. This ain't like Peter, so hopefully something comes up," said Jonathan Maio, an uncle of Martin's children.

The Fond du Lac Police Department responded Monday, March 11, to a missing person report.

Martin is of Native American descent, 5 feet, 10 inches tall, weighs 185 pounds and has dark-brown eyes. He has a small scar on his forehead and several tattoos across both arms, shoulders and chest.

He was last seen at his home in the Mahnomen neighborhood of the Fond du Lac Reservation, near the Brookston Community Center.

Law enforcement and volunteers were led by Fond du Lac Police Department Lt. Mike Diver. Volunteers were given high-visibility vests and led through the woods of Brookston in search of Martin.

"It's just a small community, you know we got to help out your community," said volunteer Jesse Samson.

Local law enforcement were met with the aid of the Minnesota Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Office, which operates under the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. It was established in 2021 to, in part, aid law enforcement when Indigenous people go missing.

When Martin went missing, his family contacted Jessica Smith, a Bois Forte Band member who lives in Cloquet and is a legal advocate for missing, murdered and Indigenous people.

"I immediately just started getting things in order, getting posters made and reaching out to people. And then I put a call out for the community on social media," Smith said.

Smith went to school with Martin and he is the cousin of one of Smith's cousins.

In addition to law enforcement, Smith is also leading other local community members in their pursuit to find Martin.

"We are on foot tracking through pretty much every spot of the woods that we can access," Smith said.

Anyone who has seen Martin or knows of his whereabouts is encouraged to call the Fond du Lac Police Department at 218-878-8040 or the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office at 218-726-2340.