Posted on 05/04/2025 2:56:03 AM PDT by lowbridge
A Wisconsin woman who disappeared more than 60 years ago has been found alive by authorities.
Audrey Backeberg left her Reedsburg home in July 1962 when she was 20 years old, a press release from the Sauk County Sheriff's Office said.
During a review of cold cases earlier this year, a detective reassessed the initial evidence and re-interviewed several witnesses, Sheriff Chip Meister said in the release.
Law enforcement departments across the country have been reviewing cold cases with the aid of new DNA technology, including the self-submit websites such as Ancestry.com.
As such sites have expanded, so have the number of solved cold cases, although not many cases result in a positive ending, especially over half a century later.
A babysitter for the Backeberg family originally told investigators that she and Audrey had hitchhiked to Madison, Wisconsin, where they caught a bus to Indianapolis, according to a missing poster that was on the Wisconsin Department of Justice's (DOJ) website.
The babysitter said she last saw Backeberg walking away from the bus stop around a corner on July 7, 1962.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.com ...
Back then a guy could hitchhike into a town, get a job and rent an apartment under a fake name and live that way for a long time, even formal living like a driver’s license could be pulled off by taking identities from a grave yard.
While one occurred in California in 1957, at the trial of Leonard Ewing Scott, who was convicted of killing his wife, Evelyn Throsby Scott. Evelyn's body was never found, but her dentures, glasses, and other personal items were discovered near an incinerator in their backyard.
According to AI, for what it is worth:
More than 500 no-body murder trials have been held in the United States, and a significant number of these cases have resulted in convictions.
Without a body, proving that someone has committed murder is difficult but not impossible. The conviction rate for no-body murder cases that go to trial is higher than that of all murder cases, with about 86 percent of no-body murder cases resulting in convictions compared to a 70 percent conviction rate for all murder cases.
I would never had guessed the success rate of no body found murder cases. 😋
In this case the babysitter had stated that she & her had left on their own accord and hitch-hiked to Madison Wisconsin where they caught a bus to Indianapolis, and ended the story saying that the last time she saw her was walking away from a bus stop around a corner in 1962. This testimony is what appeared on a missing person's flyer apparently from back in the day.
Obtaining fake IDs are far easier now. Just claim to be an illegal alien invader from whatever country you choose and the Feds will give you money from taxpayers. Repeat as necessary.
The story is EXTREMELY poorly written in that it omits so many facts that could be told and still keep the woman’s reasons confidential.
One of my favorite binge-watching series every couple of years.
Yep
One could always start over.
Pity there is no more frontier.
“The juvenile was interviewed again as an adult, maybe 15 years ago,” Detective Lt. Chris Zunker of the Sauk County Sheriff’s Office said in the bulletin. “She stated Audrey had taken a bunch of pills, put them in a Coke can and drank it before taking the bus down to Indianapolis. She reported Audrey potentially hooked up with some construction workers that may have been in the area.”
(also alleged spouse abuse involved)
Mom Was Last Seen Walking from Bus Stop. Over 60 Years Later, Police Say She’s ‘Alive and Well’
Audrey Backeberg was 20 years old and married with children when she disappeared in 1962
By David Chiu Published on May 2, 2025 03:35PM EDT
https://people.com/woman-last-seen-in-1962-found-alive-and-well-police-say-11727305
Sauk Co. detective explains how he solved a missing person cold case from the 1960s
By Katie Castellano
Published: May. 2, 2025
https://www.wmtv15news.com/2025/05/03/sauk-co-detective-explains-how-he-solved-missing-person-cold-case-1960s/
I think I am the last of a rare breed, a drifter who lived a wild and varied life without structure or confines.
A few years ago the new owner of an older home was having some work done and human remains were found in a disused septic tank, something like that. The remains turned out to be the long-missing wife of the former owner, who had died without ever having been a suspect per se.
Her brother. Naturally, they’re both in geriatric condition.
Apparently it occurred to no one that she was hiding. Since she is now 60 can we assume that the folks she was hiding from are dead?
How would she know the lost sister’s address though if she was really missing?
Still wondering the story why the babysitter would just leave along with Audrey, hitchhiking to a bus taking them out of the state. Also did families hire babysitters back in the early 60s, when the wife was still at home before women started having full time jobs?
It sounds like she was on a mission and wasn't going to get caught in a preparation stage.
"Without a body, proving that someone has committed murder is difficult but not impossible. The conviction rate for no-body murder cases that go to trial is higher than that of all murder cases, with about 86 percent of no-body murder cases resulting in convictions compared to a 70 percent conviction rate for all murder cases.
Apparently if these numbers are true, it seems without a body, proving someone has committed murder is NOT that difficult, since that conviction rate is higher than when a murder was committed and a body was found.
Sounds like it may have been a genealogy search account
Weird the article never mentions the bother meeting her after 60 years, yet the video shows it. Terribly written article.
Left her husband and kids
More here
She’s much older than 60 as she went missing for over 60 and I assume she was at least a teenager when she left since she already had 2 kids with no mention of how old they were when she left them and her husband.
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