[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
A 62-year-old cold case has finally been solved — and it features a twist NOBODY expected.
The case starts back in Wisconsin in 1962, when a then 19-year-old Audrey Blackeberg filed a criminal complaint against her husband Ronald Backeberg. Per legal docs, the young woman told police on July 4 that her husband had beaten her, causing her head injuries. She also detailed how he’d allegedly threatened to kill her, loaded two guns, and placed them in the trunk of his car, according to Wisconsin Missing Persons Advocacy. They had two children at the time (after getting married when she was just 15).
Related: Missing Child Featured On Netflix Show Found After 7 Years!
Her birthday was two days later on July 6, but it was on July 7 she would vanish seemingly into thin air — and no one would hear from her again. She told her family she was leaving to go pick up her paycheck from where she worked at the time, but she never returned home. Despite her husband’s best efforts, she never contacted him or any of her loved ones again. She really just went off the grid!
Over the years, this case has gripped law enforcement and true crime aficionados alike, with many theories and supposed leads coming up over the last several decades. The missing woman’s husband was interviewed and given a polygraph back in the day, but was never named a suspect. He passed in 2006. There was also a then-14-year-old babysitter involved — who was allegedly the last person to see Audrey — but even her story of the mom hitchhiking and leaving on a bus for Indianapolis never fleshed out.
It was until Thursday did the Sauk County Sheriff’s Office in Wisconsin finally bring answers to the family. Sheriff Chip Meister announced on the office’s website:
“The Sheriff’s Office is pleased to announce the resolution of a decades-old missing person case involving Audrey Backeberg, who disappeared in July 1962. At the time of her disappearance, Audrey was 20 years old and residing in the City of Reedsburg.”
Whoa!
The SCSO revealed there was no evidence of “foul play” and that it was Audrey’s “own choice” to leave her family way back then:
“Through diligent investigative work, which included a thorough re-evaluation of all case files and evidence, combined with re-interviewing witnesses and uncovering new insights. The Sheriff’s Office is now able to report that Audrey Backeberg is alive and well and currently resides out of State. Further investigation has revealed that Ms. Backeberg’s disappearance was by her own choice and not the result of any criminal activity or foul play.”
Wild… More information came from Detective Isaac Hanson who led the case. He spoke to WISN on Friday and shared his story:
“The sister actually had an Ancestry.com account, and I was able to use that. That was pretty key in locating death records, census reports, all kinds of data. Ultimately, we came up with an address … So I called the local sheriff’s department, said ‘Hey, there’s this lady living at this address. Do you guys have somebody, you can just go pop in?’… Ten minutes later, she called me.”
A total shock to everyone! After all these years and all it took was 10 minutes to receive a call!
Ultimately, Detective Hudson chose to keep Audrey’s whereabouts and reasons for leaving private, telling the outlet:
“We talked for 45 minutes … I told Audrey that I would keep it private. She had her reasons for leaving and we discussed a lot of things.”
He added the now 82-year-old lives out-of-state and has “no regrets” about leaving her kids behind:
“I think she just was removed and, you know, moved on from things and kind of did her own thing and led her life. She sounded happy. Confident in her decision. No regrets.”
See the interview (below):
So much to take in… And even though Audrey was (thankfully) found alive and safe after all these years, there are still SO MANY unanswered questions.
Thoughts, Perezcious readers?
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. Consider calling the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233, or text START to 88788, or go to https://www.thehotline.org/.
[Image via Rapid Search and Rescue Corp./Facebook]
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