COOK COUNTY – Keep it in the present tense.

That’s how Jennifer Doherty wants to talk about her ex-husband, Gene Adam Doherty. Gene, 40, has been missing since July 1, when he was last seen leaving his mother’s house in Silver Bay, Minn., around 9 a.m.

“We’re still very hopeful,” Jennifer said July 18 in an interview with Paddle and Portage media. “That said, all of us are confused and scared. We’re not sure how to even process it.”

This week, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office called off the ground search for Gene, after extensive search and rescue operations failed to yield any tangible results. Gene’s vehicle was found July 11 near the intersection of Brule Lake Road and a Forest Service road known commonly as “The Grade.” Traveled frequently by visitors and locals recreating on Superior National Forest and in the nearby Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, The Grade offers access to Brule Lake, a popular lake in the BWCA, and Eagle Mountain, the highest point of elevation in Minnesota. The road is surrounded by dense forest, swamps, and unforgiving terrain. The search to find Gene has been challenging due to the rugged landscape, as both local authorities and Jennifer pointed out to Paddle and Portage.

Jennifer has spent most of the past week in Cook County looking for Gene. Along with other family and friends, they’ve been staying in a condo at Caribou Highlands Lodge near Superior National Golf Course and the small town of Lutsen. Gene’s been working as a groundskeeper at Superior National Golf Course this summer, Jennifer said. He spent last summer working on a Lake Superior fishing boat near Bayfield, Wisc. An ankle injury sustained while hiking made it too difficult to return to the fishing boat for another summer.

“He loves the outdoors,” she said. “He loves to fish and get outside all those types of things.”

Gene and Jennifer Doherty. Photo from Jennifer Doherty

Gene and Jennifer divorced in September 2020 but remain close. They talk often, including less than a week before Gene left his mother’s house July 1 and never returned. Gene had bouts with depression, but nothing too extreme, Jennifer said. He didn’t handle criticism well, Jennifer acknowledged, noting that Gene would sometimes leave a room or house to go blow off steam. In that regard, when he left his mother’s house around 9 a.m. July 1, it wasn’t completely out of character. The fact he left without his dog, Ben, was puzzling, she added.

“That dog is his best friend,” she said. “It was very unusual that he would leave without his dog.”

Gene and his pup, Ben. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Doherty

Jennifer said Gene and his mother, Barb, were having a conversation the morning he left and never returned. It wasn’t anything too extreme or intense, Jennifer said, adding more confusion to Gene’s sudden disappearance.

“There are just so many things where we’ve been saying ‘we don’t know’” she said.

What is known is that Gene is a tremendous athlete who loves what Minnesota, and the Great Lakes region has to offer in terms of outdoor recreation, namely fishing. The youngest of eight siblings, he was the star running back on a 2002 state championship football team at his high school in Hutchison, Minn. Though he is slim and has an athletic build, Jennifer said Gene has a robust appetite.

“As far as food goes, he is kind of like a human garbage disposal” she said with a laugh.

He is also a generous human being.

“He would literally give anybody the shirt off his back,” Jennifer said.

Gene and Ben. Submitted image

Photo courtesy of Jennifer Doherty

And while the official search ground search has been called off by local law enforcement, the search for Gene Doherty continues. Tom Crossman, who St. Louis County Rescue Squad Captain Rick Slatten calls “the best person at finding people in water on the planet,” is here looking in Cascade Lake, not far from where Gene’s vehicle was found parked July 11. A trained detection dog picked up Gene’s scent at the public boat landing at Cascade Lake not long after the vehicle was discovered, Jennifer said. That being the case, it doesn’t mean Gene is in the lake, she said. He could be in the woods. He could still be alive, she believes.

After talking to this reporter about Gene and her experiences looking through the rugged woods here for the better part of a week, Jennifer texted several sentiments about Gene.

“He is a huge Guns N’ Roses fan,” she texted. “He even has a very large tattoo of Slash on his upper left arm.”

Such a tattoo is easy to imagine. However, what should not be overlooked is Jennifer’s use of the present tense in describing Gene and his love for the music.

Anyone who has seen or had contact with Gene Doherty is asked to contact the Lake County Sheriff’s Office at 218-834-8385 or the Cook County Sheriff’s Office at 218-387-3030.

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