Lincoln County Sheriff's Office - WI

During Law Enforcement Appreciation Week, the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office would like to recognize and thank our deputies.

Across Lincoln County’s rural communities, townships, highways, and back roads, our deputies are there at all hours of the day and night answering calls, helping those in need, protecting our communities, and standing beside our citizens during difficult moments.

The badge carries a responsibility that often requires long hours, missed time with family, and responding to situations most people never see. In addition to their daily responsibilities, our deputies dedicate countless hours to training throughout the year to improve their skills, better serve our communities, and prepare for the challenges they may face while protecting Lincoln County.

Despite those challenges, our deputies continue to serve Lincoln County with professionalism, pride, and dedication.

To our deputies, we see you.

Thank you for your sacrifice, dedication, and commitment to serving Lincoln County. Without your professionalism, training, and willingness to answer the call at all hours, our mission would not be possible.

Your service to our communities does not go unnoticed. Thank you for everything you do to keep Lincoln County safe.

On April 1st, 2026, investigators from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, who are trained members of the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, executed a search warrant at a residence in the Township of Merrill.

The search warrant was obtained as the result of a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), advising of concerning internet activity being identified in our county. The tip further stated it appeared that two files of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), commonly referred to as child po*******hy, were uploaded to an online reverse image search engine. A preliminary investigation was done by the Wisconsin Dept. of Justice - Division of Criminal Investigation, who identified the internet subscriber associated with the IP address the content was uploaded from.

Sheriff’s Office Investigators then applied for and were granted a search warrant for the residence. Upon ex*****on of the warrant and subsequent evidentiary analysis, several hundred images and videos of CSAM along with virtual (computer-generated) CSAM were located, depicting children as young as toddler-aged being sexually assaulted. As a result, Patrick N Gryskiewicz, age 58, was taken into custody and booked into the Lincoln County Jail for Possession of Child Po*******hy.

On Monday April 6th, 2026, Gryskiewicz had his initial appearance where the Honorable Jessica Fehrenbach set a $100,000 cash bond. Patrick remains in custody in the Lincoln County Jail.

This case remains under active investigation, and while defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office wants the community to know that this behavior will not be tolerated and we will remain steadfast in our mission to safeguard the innocence of our children.