Payton Vertz

Payton Vertz was a 16-year-old from Two Rivers, Wisconsin, who became the center of national attention in October 2026 after his body was discovered in the harbor near Seagull Marina on Lake Michigan. He was not a public figure before his death; he was a teenager attending school in the Two Rivers Public School District, known to family, friends and his local community. His death, and the criminal case that followed, turned him into the subject of sustained news coverage across Wisconsin and beyond.

Payton's body was found on the evening of October 16, 2026, when a passerby reported seeing a body in the water on the south side of the Two Rivers harbor. Police recovered the body that night, but it took several days of investigation before his identity was confirmed and released to the public on October 20, 2026, with the consent of his family. The delay reflected both the condition in which the body was found and the sensitivity with which investigators handled the case while notifying relatives.

Within days, the case moved from a mystery to a homicide investigation with named suspects. On October 23 and 24, 2026, the Manitowoc County District Attorney's Office filed first degree intentional homicide charges against two people: Dominic Pilgreen, a 26 year old man from Oconomowoc, and Nathan Reichard, a 15 year old from Two Rivers who is being charged as an adult. Both men also face additional charges that include hiding a corpse, theft from a person or corpse and false imprisonment, and Pilgreen faces an added charge of physical abuse of a child. The precise cause of Payton's death has not been made public, and the full details of what happened to him remain under investigation.

The news devastated the small lakeside city of Two Rivers. Police said they worked closely with the Two Rivers Public School District as the investigation unfolded, recognizing the impact on Payton's classmates and the wider student body. Community members organized fundraising efforts to help his family cover funeral and other costs, and local residents gathered to support one another in the days after his death was confirmed. Police also urged the public to treat unverified claims circulating on social media with caution and asked that the family's privacy be respected as they grieved.

As of this writing, the criminal case against Pilgreen and Reichard is in its early stages, and many questions about the circumstances of Payton's death remain unanswered. People Forever will update this page as court proceedings continue and as more information becomes publicly available.