WI WI - Tara Sullivan, 47, Suspicious Circ, phone found in Ringle, veh found Hwy 29 Shawno Cty, resides in Weston, Apr 2023

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There was significant damage to her garage door as these news photos show. Surely the neighbors must know when that happened and if it happened when she disappeared. It must have made quite a loud noise.

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What's under the plastic to the right of the garage door? It doesn't seem like that area could have been damaged by the car without damaging the door frame or disturbing the things on the garage floor.
 
What's under the plastic to the right of the garage door? It doesn't seem like that area could have been damaged by the car without damaging the door frame or disturbing the things on the garage floor.
The brickwork you see on the left of the door is what is, or was, under the plastic. You can see this on Google 3D after you CCAP the address. The frame and brickwork were knocked out of place. You can see how the plastic siding, just above where the brickwork used to be, is bent outwards quite a bit. Those door panels have steel rib reinforcement and the tracks are also steel bar so hitting a door is going to take out the frames if they don't give way. Hard to tell if the door frames are metal.
 
Steffonek adds that they are hoping to unlock Sullivan's phone to see if it could contain some clues.

That’s a dead end for now because technology hasn't caught up to the latest operating system update for the phone.

Steffonek described some of the suspicious circumstances they found at Sullivan’s home when they tried to return her cell phone after it was found a few weeks ago.

“They found her garage door was severely smashed. They could see that a car had exited the garage without opening the garage door. That was matched up to damage on Tara’s vehicle, so we believe it was her car that backed out of the garage”.

Steffonek says at this time they don't even have enough evidence to justify a ground search with volunteers, so none are planned.

Steffonek says they have made contact with many of her friends and co-workers including some in the Fox Valley.

None of them have been able to provide any details of what may have happened the night Sullivan went missing.

Many of them add that she had been distant in the days leading up to her disappearance. Anyone with information on Sullivan’s whereabouts is asked to call the Marathon County Sheriff's Office.

 
Made contact with "friends and co-workers", still no mention of Tara's family?

We found a comment on a news story, it's posted upthread - the person said she lived in the duplex next to Tara and spoke about the damage to her garage door. So did the garage door damage happen the night she went missing?
 
Made contact with "friends and co-workers", still no mention of Tara's family?

We found a comment on a news story, it's posted upthread - the person said she lived in the duplex next to Tara and spoke about the damage to her garage door. So did the garage door damage happen the night she went missing?
Maybe her family doesn't live in the area? Maybe she is estranged from them?
Unfortunately not everyone is on good/close terms with their family, for whatever reason(s)
Imo it seems like they are really dropping the ball by releasing too little info too late
I understand if they can't access her phone, although it's a big red flag in general that this is an issue with missing persons
I'd imagine that lots of people would be willing to volunteer to look for her so idk why they wouldn't at least allow or facilitate that in the mean time while they wait for phone access and more potential leads. Looking around where her car was found would at least be a reasonable place to start rather than not looking at all for weeks :(
 
It appears to be an abduction to me. Were her keys left in her vehicle? Was the gas tank empty? Did the phone last ping where it was found in Ringle (Marathon County) or did it last ping where the vehicle was found in the Town of Seneca (Shawano County)? When did it last ping? Where is the public input from friends, family or coworkers? Odd that there hasn't been any.
I can't wrap my head around why they aren't being more specific about the circumstances at her home and in her vehicle when time has been ticking and ticking
 
I agree, not much of an update. It appears Marathon and Shawano County are good areas to disappear or be disappeared. Leaving multiple options open of "mental health crisis, was abducted, or left under her own will" doesn't cut it.
How terrifying to not separate these possibilities after weeks have went by!!! There's a BIG distance between a mental health crisis and an abduction. Imo there's a lot of tight lipped business going on here. I'd be stomping and yelling about this all over Marathon County if I didn't live 2000+ miles away now
 
Maybe her family doesn't live in the area? Maybe she is estranged from them?
Unfortunately not everyone is on good/close terms with their family, for whatever reason(s)
Imo it seems like they are really dropping the ball by releasing too little info too late
I understand if they can't access her phone, although it's a big red flag in general that this is an issue with missing persons
I'd imagine that lots of people would be willing to volunteer to look for her so idk why they wouldn't at least allow or facilitate that in the mean time while they wait for phone access and more potential leads. Looking around where her car was found would at least be a reasonable place to start rather than not looking at all for weeks :(
I mention family because I'm wondering what kind of support system Tara had, obviously the things you state can be true.
LE did search the area her car and phone were found -Since April 19, law enforcement has conducted numerous ground, drone and K9 searches in hopes to find Tara J. Sullivan, 47, of Weston.

I'm beginning to wonder if self-harm may be a possibility, MOO.
 
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Before LE puts this 16 day old case on the cold cases shelf with all the other unsolved disappearances in Marathon and Shawano Counties, maybe they might release a description of her vehicle so people can try to remember if they saw anything suspicious involving this vehicle. Before they forget. Maybe even disclose where exactly her cellphone was found. What day was the garage door damaged in relation to her disappearance? Did her vehicle run out of gas? Was there any indication of car trouble? Were the keys left in the ignition? Was the driver's seat adjusted for a larger person? Was the vehicle left unlocked? Was there a scent trail leading away from where the vehicle was found? When and where was she last seen and by whom, if anybody? When and where was her credit/debit card last used? I think all of the above unexplained circumstances can be considered 'significant developments'. None of the above requires any 'further electronic or forensic processing', nor would any of that information compromise the investigation, IMO.

Whether Tara hatched an elaborate scheme to disappear by scattering her possessions all over her apartment, crashing through the garage door, throwing her phone out in Ringle and then ditching her vehicle 35 miles away in another county and then disappearing without a trace and without anyone seeing her throughout is unbelieveable in itself, or, whether she surprised burglars in her home who targeted a single woman living alone, who threw her possessions around looking for valuables as burglars are known to do, kidnapped her, crashed her vehicle through the garage door, dumped her phone in Ringle, then ditched her vehicle in the Town of Seneca in another county and took her with them using her vehicle or picking her up in a second vehicle (US statistics show 65% of burglars are known to their victims) remains to be seen, but I'd like to know either way, especially in light of the disappearances and unsolved murders in those two counties.

"While the investigation into Sullivan’s disappearance will continue, this will be the last update in the case until there are significant developments to report... Any future developments in this case will be posted to the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page."

I mention family because I'm wondering what kind of support system Tara had, obviously the things you state can be true.
LE did search the area her car and phone were found -Since April 19, law enforcement has conducted numerous ground, drone and K9 searches in hopes to find Tara J. Sullivan, 47, of Weston.

I'm beginning to wonder if self-harm may be a possibility, MOO.
A recent mising person case down in Platteville comes to mind. Ronald Henry was the name. He, too, disappeared in the middle of winter after a night out partying. They had all kinds of searches; drones, dogs, airplanes, FLEUR, volunteers and professional search teams searched within a mile of the farm from which he disappeared. Everyone (including me) was convinced his friends were involved. LE even rounded up all the people whose names were being bandied about as possible suspects. At least 5 were arrested on outstanding warrants. It turns out his body was found months later in a ravine by an Amish boy looking for deer antlers just outside the search area with no sign of foul play. Currently they're waiting on toxicology results, which, IMO, was the real culprit in that case.

https://www.nbc15.com/2023/03/06/body-found-grant-co-man-missing-since-december/

 
I mention family because I'm wondering what kind of support system Tara had, obviously the things you state can be true.
LE did search the area her car and phone were found -Since April 19, law enforcement has conducted numerous ground, drone and K9 searches in hopes to find Tara J. Sullivan, 47, of Weston.

I'm beginning to wonder if self-harm may be a possibility, MOO.
Unfortunately I don't think her family is looking that hard for her. Has anyone heard of any family involvement at all?
 
Before LE puts this 16 day old case on the cold cases shelf with all the other unsolved disappearances in Marathon and Shawano Counties, maybe they might release a description of her vehicle so people can try to remember if they saw anything suspicious involving this vehicle. Before they forget. Maybe even disclose where exactly her cellphone was found. What day was the garage door damaged in relation to her disappearance? Did her vehicle run out of gas? Was there any indication of car trouble? Were the keys left in the ignition? Was the driver's seat adjusted for a larger person? Was the vehicle left unlocked? Was there a scent trail leading away from where the vehicle was found? When and where was she last seen and by whom, if anybody? When and where was her credit/debit card last used? I think all of the above unexplained circumstances can be considered 'significant developments'. None of the above requires any 'further electronic or forensic processing', nor would any of that information compromise the investigation, IMO.

Whether Tara hatched an elaborate scheme to disappear by scattering her possessions all over her apartment, crashing through the garage door, throwing her phone out in Ringle and then ditching her vehicle 35 miles away in another county and then disappearing without a trace and without anyone seeing her throughout is unbelieveable in itself, or, whether she surprised burglars in her home who targeted a single woman living alone, who threw her possessions around looking for valuables as burglars are known to do, kidnapped her, crashed her vehicle through the garage door, dumped her phone in Ringle, then ditched her vehicle in the Town of Seneca in another county and took her with them using her vehicle or picking her up in a second vehicle (US statistics show 65% of burglars are known to their victims) remains to be seen, but I'd like to know either way, especially in light of the disappearances and unsolved murders in those two counties.




A recent mising person case down in Platteville comes to mind. Ronald Henry was the name. He, too, disappeared in the middle of winter after a night out partying. They had all kinds of searches; drones, dogs, airplanes, FLEUR, volunteers and professional search teams searched within a mile of the farm from which he disappeared. Everyone (including me) was convinced his friends were involved. LE even rounded up all the people whose names were being bandied about as possible suspects. At least 5 were arrested on outstanding warrants. It turns out his body was found months later in a ravine by an Amish boy looking for deer antlers just outside the search area with no sign of foul play. Currently they're waiting on toxicology results, which, IMO, was the real culprit in that case.

https://www.nbc15.com/2023/03/06/body-found-grant-co-man-missing-since-december/

I agree that there are so many unanswered questions and this shouldn't be the case, especially in regards to the condition that her vehicle was found in

Imo this information gets released when someone or more than one person is strongly advocating for the missing person, and sadly I'm not seeing anyone doing that for Tara

It would be helpful to get an idea of her circumstances at the time she disappeared. Was she having a mental health crisis? Relationship problems?
Again, usually this information is released by a support network
 
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Her vehicle was a 2017 Buick Enclave, pearl white in color. (similar to the vehicle below) Same vehicle that backed through the garage door and that was found parked on Old 29 Road (just off Highway 29), Town of Seneca, Shawano County. If anyone saw a vehicle simlilar to the one below or if they saw Tara around April 19th in Wausau, Ringle (Marathon County), Wittenburg (Shawano County) or in the area of the Town of Seneca (Shawano County), let Marathon County Sheriff's Department know (715-261-1200, option 5, to speak to an investigator). I would assume there would be some type of damage, paint scrapes, etc. to the rear of the vehicle. Hair color may be red instead of blonde. Personally, I'd also post it to social media so that the public has this information. The more information that people in the Marathon/Shawano County area have, the better chance of solving Tara's disappearance.
 
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