ADDISON COUNTY — Two stories reported in last week’s Vermont State Police log ended tragically this week.
After looking for 63-year-old Walter Rusch for a week, family of the Bristol man found his remains in a wooded area near his home on Saturday morning, state police reported. His death does not appear to be suspicious, according to Vermont State Police Detective Sgt. Lauren Ronan.
Rusch’s family reported him missing on the evening of Friday, April 16. He was last seen at home overnight Thursday into Friday but was gone by 6 a.m. He was believed to be on foot and had not taken his personal effects with him.
Family and friends put up signs and posted on social media seeking information on their loved one.
Relatives found Rusch around 10 a.m. on April 24, police said. Authorities did not speculate on a cause of death, but said Rusch’s body was taken to the Office of the Medical Examiner in Burlington for an autopsy.
Bristol Fire Department personnel assisted police at the scene where his body was found.
Separately, Vermont State Police on Monday evening informed the public that a 22-year-old Leicester man who crashed his motorcycle near Lake Dunmore on April 19 had died.
Vermont State Police report that Jozef Sloma was driving a 1956 BMW motorcycle southbound on Lake Dunmore Road near Indian Trail in Leicester on April 19 when he lost control of the bike for unknown reasons, and it crashed.
Sloma was unconscious and non-responsive when medical personnel from the Brandon Rescue Squad and Middlebury Regional EMS arrived. He had regained consciousness and was alert by the time a UVM helicopter arrived to take him to UVM Medical Center.
Troopers are still investigating this crash. Anyone with information pertaining to this case is asked to please contact the Vermont State Police New Haven barracks at 802-388-4919.
In other recent activity, troopers:
•  On April 21 at a few minutes before 4 p.m. responded to a one-car crash on Twitchell Hill Road in New Haven. Police report that Andrew Trombley, 22, of Weybridge was driving a 2017 Chevy Cruise on a snowy afternoon when he lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a guardrail. Neither impairment nor distracted driving were contributing factors, state police report, but a trooper said Trombley was traveling too fast for the snowy conditions. Trombley was wearing a seatbelt and was not injured. The car was considered a total loss. Police said he would get a ticket for “Unreasonable and imprudent speed for conditions.”
•  On April 23 at around 5:23 p.m. responded to a report of a one-car crash involving a bicycle at the intersection of Route 116 and River Road in Bristol. Police report that Victor Pomainville, 20, of Middlebury was driving southbound on Route 116 when he attempted to turn onto River Road and his Honda Accord struck a bicyclist who was riding in the northbound travel lane of River Road.
The 19-year-old bicyclist from Burlington was transported to the University of Vermont Medical Center for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. Neither speed nor impaired driving appear to be factors in the crash, police report. They did issue traffic tickets.