A Wisconsin woman who vanished from a bus stop in 1962 has been found alive and well six decades later.
The Sauk County Sheriff’s Office confirmed on Thursday, May 2, that Audrey Backeberg, now 82, has been located and is “alive and well” after mysteriously disappearing back in July 1962 at the age of 20, per PEOPLE.
Backeberg was last seen leaving her home in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, where she lived with her husband, Ronald, and their two children.
She told her family she was heading to the local woolen mill to collect her paycheck, but never returned. For decades, the case remained unsolved.
Now, thanks to a review of cold cases and a surprising lead from a genealogy website, detectives have finally found her.
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“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,” authorities said in a statement.
A 2020 bulletin from the Wisconsin Missing Persons Advocacy website recapped that shortly after her disappearance, a 14-year-old babysitter revealed she and Audrey had hitchhiked to Madison and taken a bus to Indianapolis.
The teen said Audrey left the bus stop and vanished.
Years later, when interviewed again, the woman claimed that Audrey had taken “a bunch of pills, put them in a Coke can and drank it” before boarding the bus. She believed Audrey may have “hooked up with some construction workers.”
Despite multiple leads, Audrey remained missing until this year, as reported by Newsweek.
Detective Isaac Hanson was assigned the case in early 2024 and began combing through old records. A breakthrough came when Backeberg’s sister’s Ancestry.com account linked to a specific 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, and we talked for 45 minutes,” Hanson told WISN.
He confirmed that Backeberg had left of her own accord, was not a victim of crime, and had no regrets about the life she chose.
“I think she just was removed and, you know, moved on from things and kind of did her own thing and lead her life,” Hanson added. “She sounded happy. Confident in her decision. No regrets.”
At the time of her disappearance, Audrey’s marriage to Ronald was reportedly troubled. Then-Sheriff Randy Stammen noted that allegations of abuse had surfaced in a criminal complaint filed just days before she went missing.
Despite those tensions, Audrey stayed at home with her husband and kids — until the day she walked away.
“Detectives were able to determine Backeberg left her home of her own accord,” the sheriff’s office confirmed. “She decided to leave and had not been a victim of criminal or foul play.”
Still, the reasons why she stayed silent for over 60 years remain mostly private.
“I told Audrey I’d keep it private. She had her reasons for leaving,” Hanson said.
That part remains unclear. Backeberg is reportedly living outside the state of Wisconsin, and officials have not revealed whether she intends to contact her surviving relatives.
Her husband Ronald, who was initially questioned but passed a polygraph test and denied any involvement, has since died.
“Despite the significant challenges that many cold cases present, this resolution underscores both the importance of continued work and the dedication of the Sheriff’s Office to providing answers to families and the community,” said Sauk County Sheriff Chip Meister.
