By 1833 Tanner was unemployed and essentially lived as an outcast on the edge of town for the rest of his life. In 1846 his cabin was burned to the ground and days later he disappeared at the same time Schoolcraft's younger brother, James Schoolcraft, was found murdered. Townspeople quickly suspected that Tanner had killed Schoolcraft but Tanner was never apprehended and his guilt was never proven conclusively. Years later, Tanner's body was uncovered in a bog not far from town.