Isabella County undersheriff Laude Hartrum leaving after 11 months

Undersheriff Laude Hartrum has made the decision to move on to a position closer to his family after 11 months of working in Isabella County.

Hartrum will leave the department in January and take over the police chief position in Pentwater, a small village on the west side of the state, just south of his Ludington home.

“It was a quality of life issue,” Hartrum said. “We’ve got some great people here, but it’s a long commute.”

Hartrum was appointed to his position last January after the departure of former undersheriff John Vinson, after he left to become police chief at the University of Washington.

The department has started advertising an opening for the position, which it hopes to fill a week or two before Hartrum leaves, said Sheriff Leo Mioduszewski.

“We want to hire someone then so they won’t be coming in blind,” Mioduszewski said.