Mary Jane Barker

On August 16, 1957, four-year-old Mary Jane Barker was playing outside her family's home on Elm Street in Spooner, Wisconsin, a small city in the northwestern part of the state. Her mother last saw her at approximately 1:30 p.m. When she checked on Mary Jane a short time later, the child was gone.

The disappearance triggered one of the largest searches in Wisconsin history at that time. Hundreds of volunteers joined police and National Guard members in searching the woods, fields, and waterways surrounding Spooner. The nearby Yellow River and Spooner Lake were dragged, and divers searched the waters. Dogs tracked Mary Jane's scent to a road near the house, suggesting she may have been picked up by a vehicle.

Despite the extensive search and a reward offered by the community, no trace of Mary Jane was ever found. Investigators pursued numerous leads over the years, including tips about suspicious vehicles and persons seen in the area that day, but none led to her recovery.

The case remains Wisconsin's oldest active missing child case. Periodic reviews by the Spooner Police Department and the Wisconsin Department of Justice have not produced new leads. Mary Jane Barker would be in her seventies if still alive.