Wife of missing Wisconsin doctor retains lawyer

EPHRAIM, Wis. - A Wisconsin doctor has been missing for three weeks and in an effort to crack the case, authorities requested to search the family home - only to be denied by an attorney the man's wife has hired.

Door County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Pat McCarty told Post-Crescent Media Tuesday that consent to search the home was denied and that without evidence of a crime, investigators cannot obtain a search warrant.

Dr. Jeffrey Whiteside, of Grand Chute, was last seen leaving the Ephraim Yacht Harbor Marina on June 29 after authorities say he had a disagreement with his wife, according to the paper. The 63-year-old physician was vacationing with his family in the Door County community at the time of his disappearance.

The paper reports Whiteside's phone was turned off shortly after he was last seen. He was reported missing on July 1.

Authorities say foul play has not been ruled out in the case. McCarty says Kathi Whiteside's decision to hire an attorney doesn't automatically make her a person of interest. Her lawyer, Bradley Priebe, did not immediately return a call for comment.

Searches by air, water, and land have turned up no sign of the 63-year-old doctor, who worked at Fox Valley Pulmonary Medicine.

One of his patients, Vicki Hermans, told CBS affiliate WFRV said she cried when she heard the news of his disappearance.

"...That's not him to just disappear like that," she said. "It's not his nature to walk away from his responsibility. I mean, his patients are his life."

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact the Door County Sheriff's Department at 920-746-2416.