Family of Ricky Hutton asks for return of memorial north of Chatfield

(ABC 6 News) – A family is seeking answers an asking for help after their memorial honoring their loved one disappeared off Highway 52.

The family of Ricky Hutton is left confused after a highway memorial honoring him went missing. They reached out to MN DOT, the city of Chatfield, and Olmsted County, all of which said they did not remove the memorial and would have notified the family if they were going to for any reason.

On September 10, 2022, 36-year-old Hutton was killed in an alleged drunk driving accident just north of Chatfield.

The man accused of killing Hutton, Nicholas Sprau of Chatfield, had a blood alcohol concentration of .173 that night according to law enforcement.

Ricky Hutton was on track to make amends with people he had done wrong to in his life. He had a checkered past of his own, but in Sept. of 2022, everything was improving for the better.

“Just to kind of see the small changes he was making was really good to see and knowing that he was going to go somewhere,” said Brittany Kisro, Hutton’s sister-in-law.

Everything changed on Sept. 10 of 2022, when Hutton’s life was cut short by a man police say, was driving drunk.

In the year following his death, his family members kept his memory alive with a sentimental memorial at the exact spot where he was killed on Highway 52. Now that memorial has vanished.

“There were a few things placed throughout the year and then it was only actually officially grew when we went down on the on year anniversary,” said Kisro. “They were only up 12 days and then it was just gone. Everything was gone. We’re just waiting to see if they’d be returned at this point.”

Nicholas Sprau, the man accused of killing Hutton while intoxicated, has been let out of prison with no supervisions to allow him to go on vacation. Sprau’s release before the trial has finished has left Hutton’s family disappointed and frustrated.

“But we understand there is a justice system and things have to go a certain way. It’s just very time consuming and making the grief harder,” said Kisro.

Even in the longstanding grief, this family can still remembers Hutton as a jokester and a family man. Someone who cared deeply for them and Hutton’s brother, Kenny.

“I just remember that he’d always call him, every single day,” said Zoey Gergen, Hutton’s niece. “Multiple times a day like just asking him and just telling him like the most random things, and it was like, Ricky do you even need to call and tell us this? But he loved him/”

“And you knew as soon as you heard Kenny’s phone rang, you already knew who it was. It was Ricky,” added Kisro.

Sprau’s next day in court is on November 9 and the family asks that if you have any information in where the memorial disappeared to, that you contact them and return it.