Family of missing Byron man says sheriff denied search crew

The family of a missing Byron man has taken issue with Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle after they say he denied a volunteer group permission to search an area of the Rock River.

Brandon Cuddy, 27, of Byron went missing the night of Dec. 26, 2020. His car was found damaged, covered in snow on Jan. 6 on a steep bank of the river in the 9,000 block of state Route 2 north of Byron. Searches of the area and river over two days immediately afterward by law enforcement and the family came up empty.

Cuddy’s family and friends say they have searched the area every day it’s been possible since he went missing. Volunteer search group Wings of Hope recently reached out to the family with a desire to help.

“Last year they did 56 missions and found 56 people,” Billy Cuddy, Brandon’s brother, said. “We were excited. They have cadaver dogs, divers, boats and more. The determination this guy has made us want to work with them. They said they would start ASAP even with bad weather.”

Cuddy said Wings of Hope needs VanVickle’s permission for licensing purposes.

“The sheriff told us ‘no’ and kind of put a dagger in our hearts,” Cuddy said. “The group didn’t need their help. I got the permission of the property owners. For some reason the sheriff doesn’t want the group to come and he has another group. It’s confusing. I’ve called him every day for two weeks. We’re just extremely frustrated.”

VanVickle said he understands the family’s frustration and that a search group will be brought in when weather conditions are safe.

“We continue to speak with search and rescue groups for land and on water,” VanVickle said. “It has been determined those operations will begin when possible. The property owners have granted permission for searches. Issues are based on weather. Not on our ability to find Brandon. I’ve talked with our teams we’ve used and they agree. When the snow and ice melts, we’ll be back out there.”

VanVickle said other issues include the safety of those involved in searches. One K9 dog was hurt during the initial search, and he’s trying to be respectful of the private property owner of where searches would take place.

Cuddy said Wings of Hope’s services come free of charge. The family made a Facebook post asking people to call the Sheriff’s department and request that they allow the search group to come in.

The family plans to continue searching in the meantime, Cuddy said. Snow and ice melting will be beneficial.

“We’ve been torn 50-50 on if he’s in the water or on land,” Cuddy said. “We’ve been splitting it up. We’ve searched as much as we can on foot. There’s a lot of the river we haven’t looked at. We want to get on the river and search. We hope to do that and hope the sheriff has a change of heart.”