Cold Cases in Wisconsin
ColdCaseIndex documents 13 cold cases in Wisconsin, spanning 1953–2023. 7 of these cases remain fully unsolved. Each case page includes documented details, status, and information on how to submit a tip.
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All Wisconsin Cases
Elijah Vue
Three-year-old Elijah Vue was reported missing from Two Rivers, Wisconsin. His mother's boyfriend Jesse Vang was the last to see him. Vang was charged with abuse but Elijah has never been found.
Jayme Closs
Thirteen-year-old Jayme Closs was kidnapped after her parents were murdered in Barron, Wisconsin. She escaped 88 days later. Jake Patterson was sentenced to life in prison.
Kayla Berg
Kayla Berg, a 15-year-old from Antigo, Wisconsin, vanished on August 11, 2009, after an acquaintance said he dropped her off at a boyfriend's house in Wausau. The boyfriend denied she ever arrived, and despite extensive
Teresa Halbach
Freelance photographer Teresa Halbach disappeared after photographing a vehicle at the Avery Salvage Yard. Her remains were found on the property. Steven Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey were both convicted of murder.
Teresa Halbach (Making a Murderer)
Photographer Teresa Halbach was murdered in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. Steven Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey were convicted. The case was featured in Netflix's 'Making a Murderer.'
Alexis Patterson
Seven-year-old Alexis Patterson disappeared near her Milwaukee school on the same day Elizabeth Smart was abducted in Utah. Alexis's disappearance received far less media coverage, sparking national conversation about ra
Peggy Lynn Johnson (Racine County Jane Doe)
The battered body of a young woman was found in a cornfield in Raymond, Racine County, Wisconsin, in July 1999, and she was known only as "Racine County Jane Doe" for two decades. She was identified in 2019 as Peggy Lynn
Racine County Jane Doe
The skeletal remains of a young woman were found in a cornfield near Racine, Wisconsin in 1999. She remained unidentified for over two decades until genetic genealogy identified her in 2022 as Peggy Lynn Johnson, a victi
Vernon County Jane Doe
On May 4, 1984, three teenagers found the body of an unidentified middle-aged woman beside a rural road near Westby, Wisconsin. She had been beaten to death and both of her hands had been removed, apparently to prevent f
Jeffrey Dahmer Victims
Jeffrey Dahmer murdered 17 young men and boys in Wisconsin and Ohio, engaging in necrophilia and cannibalism. He was convicted of 15 murders in Wisconsin and sentenced to 15 life terms. Fellow inmate Christopher Scarver
Lisa Christine Staes
On January 24, 1976, a fisherman found the nude, frozen body of a young woman under the Mirror Lake Road bridge near Lake Delton in Sauk County, Wisconsin. The unidentified victim was buried as a Jane Doe until May 1977,
Mary Jane Barker
Four-year-old Mary Jane Barker vanished from outside her family's home in Spooner, Wisconsin. Despite massive searches including draining a nearby lake, she was never found. The case remains Wisconsin's oldest active mis
Evelyn Hartley
Fifteen-year-old babysitter Evelyn Hartley was abducted from a La Crosse, Wisconsin home while watching a professor's daughter. Blood, a shoe, and her broken glasses were found at the scene. Ed Gein was investigated as a