Found Safe WI - Audrey Good Backeberg, 20, Reedsburg, 7 July 1962

[Redux]

Does anyone think she might be a match to this jane doe?

https://identifyus.org/cases/7097

Looks like Audrey was subsequently ruled out on this one.

 

[Gardener1850]

Bumping with the updated Charley Project link:

Audrey Jean Good Backeberg

• 
• 

Audrey, circa 1962; Ronald Backeberg, circa 1962

• Missing Since 07/07/1962
• Missing From Reedsburg, Wisconsin
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Date of Birth 07/06/1942 (75)
• Age 20 years old
• Height and Weight 5'5, 125 pounds
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, hazel eyes. Audrey has a crippled left index finger. Some agencies refer to her by her maiden name, Good.

Details of Disappearance

Audrey married Ronald Backeberg in 1957, when she was about fifteen years old. The couple had two children together and resided on Vine Street in Reedsburg, Wisconsin. Audrey was employed at the nearby woolen mill in the early 1960s. A photo of Ronald is posted with this case summary.

Authorities said that Audrey and Ronald's marriage was troubled and there were allegations of abuse. Audrey filed a criminal complaint against her husband on July 4, 1962. She said that Ronald beat her shortly beforehand, resulting in head injuries. Audrey also stated that Ronald threatened to murder her. She claimed that he had two loaded firearms inside the trunk of his vehicle.

Audrey departed from her family's residence during the day on July 7, 1962, three days after she contacted authorities regarding Ronald's alleged behavior. She planned to retrieve her paycheck from the mill at the time. Audrey never returned home and has not been heard from again. Ronald phoned many of her loved ones after her disappearance and inquired as to her whereabouts. He maintained his innocence in his wife's case from the onset.

The couple's fourteen-year-old babysitter returned to Wisconsin shortly after Audrey disappeared. She claimed that she and Audrey hitchhiked to Madison, Wisconsin and then took a Greyhound bus to Indianapolis, Indiana shortly after Audrey vanished.

After they left the bus, the girl decided to turn herself in as a runaway. She said she last saw Audrey walking around the corner away from the bus stop. The babysitter stated Audrey chose to leave of her own accord and said she would not return, but Audrey's family members insisted she would never have abandoned her children.

Ronald passed a polygraph exam conducted after Audrey's disappearance. There have not been any arrests in her case. Audrey's case remains unsolved.

http://charleyproject.org/case/audrey-jean-good-backeberg

 

[Gardener1850]

What an odd case. Is the 14 year old babysitter still alive today? Did she stick to the same story all these years? If Audrey was leaving her husband and family why would she take a 14 year old with her?

BTW, I came across this case because they recently found some unidentified skeletal remains in Reedsburg. However the articles have since been updated to say they think the remains are from an unmarked part of the cemetery and possibly 80-100 years old: http://www.wxow.com/story/38026812/...decades-old-bone-fragments-in-reedsburg-woods

 

[Bit of hope]

Bumping with the updated Charley Project link:

Audrey Jean Good Backeberg

• 
• 

Audrey, circa 1962; Ronald Backeberg, circa 1962

• Missing Since 07/07/1962
• Missing From Reedsburg, Wisconsin
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Date of Birth 07/06/1942 (75)
• Age 20 years old
• Height and Weight 5'5, 125 pounds
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, hazel eyes. Audrey has a crippled left index finger. Some agencies refer to her by her maiden name, Good.

Details of Disappearance

Audrey married Ronald Backeberg in 1957, when she was about fifteen years old. The couple had two children together and resided on Vine Street in Reedsburg, Wisconsin. Audrey was employed at the nearby woolen mill in the early 1960s. A photo of Ronald is posted with this case summary.

Authorities said that Audrey and Ronald's marriage was troubled and there were allegations of abuse. Audrey filed a criminal complaint against her husband on July 4, 1962. She said that Ronald beat her shortly beforehand, resulting in head injuries. Audrey also stated that Ronald threatened to murder her. She claimed that he had two loaded firearms inside the trunk of his vehicle.

Audrey departed from her family's residence during the day on July 7, 1962, three days after she contacted authorities regarding Ronald's alleged behavior. She planned to retrieve her paycheck from the mill at the time. Audrey never returned home and has not been heard from again. Ronald phoned many of her loved ones after her disappearance and inquired as to her whereabouts. He maintained his innocence in his wife's case from the onset.

The couple's fourteen-year-old babysitter returned to Wisconsin shortly after Audrey disappeared. She claimed that she and Audrey hitchhiked to Madison, Wisconsin and then took a Greyhound bus to Indianapolis, Indiana shortly after Audrey vanished.

After they left the bus, the girl decided to turn herself in as a runaway. She said she last saw Audrey walking around the corner away from the bus stop. The babysitter stated Audrey chose to leave of her own accord and said she would not return, but Audrey's family members insisted she would never have abandoned her children.

Ronald passed a polygraph exam conducted after Audrey's disappearance. There have not been any arrests in her case. Audrey's case remains unsolved.

http://charleyproject.org/case/audrey-jean-good-backeberg

I wish there were more pictures of Audrey. It looks like she has one or more discolored front teeth. If she was planning taking of it could be that she "used" the "going with the babysitter" as a decoy. I find it strange that the babysitter reported herself as a runaway, she was traveling with (for that time considered) an adult, married with children. Did they make plans to leave together, starting a new life. Actually the babysitters story races my eyebrows....

I think it's more plausible that the babysitter knows a lot more, maybe even witnessed a crime and ran away from this. Making up a story about Audrey. Maybe she was afraid for the husband or in love with him (having a secret relation with him).....It would be very interesting to know who the babysitter is, what happened after she reported herself to the police (is there actually a report on file?) and her connection to the husband, before and after Audrey went missing.

 

[Bit of hope]

Namus elaborates a bit about the info given by the babysitter:

20 yr old mother of two and wife of five years leaves residential home in Reedsburg, WI. She travels with a 14 yr old girl who is an acquaintance and hitch hikes to Madison, WI were the two board a Greyhound Bus and travel to Indianapolis, IN. They both get off the bus, and the 14 yr old turns herself into police as a runaway and our missing person is seen walking around the corner away from the bus stop and this is the last known location of her. She reportedly stated that she did not want to return. Last seen in Indianapolis, IN getting off bus

https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/show/9699

So was it ever verified that the babysitter was in Indianapolis and turned herself in as a runaway, or were they just taking her word for it?

Namus states that Audrey was last seen getting off the bus - would that mean that the sitter turned herself in immediately when they got to Indianapolis and spent no time together after getting off the bus?

After searching some property records, it appears that there are about 11 acres of property that she still legally owns, and the property taxes are current. Unless this is the other Audrey, (wife of Ronalds brother) Does anyone know if her middle name was Jean also?

Sharp..her name was indeed Jean also.

 

[Richard]

Bumping this case up. It has been over 56 years...

 

[Bit of hope]

I found this news item from 2017. Due to privacy laws I can't read it myself. Area cold case mysteries keep investigators searching

 

[Gardener1850]

I found this news item from 2017. Due to privacy laws I can't read it myself. Area cold case mysteries keep investigators searching

It's a long article on several different cold cases. Here are the quotes from the article about Audrey's case:

What would prompt a young mother to leave her world behind and disappear in a city hundreds of miles away?
It’s the burning question baffling Sauk County detectives for 55 years. Audrey Jean Backeberg left her home in Reedsburg the day after her 20th birthday, traveled to Indianapolis, Indiana and hasn’t been seen since July 7, 1962. Little is known as to why Backeberg would leave her husband and two children behind, but a troubled marriage might have been the cause. Backeberg filed a domestic abuse claim against her husband a couple days prior to her disappearance. She told police he beat her, causing head injuries.

According to Detective Lt. Chris Zunker of the Sauk County Sheriff’s Office, Backeberg left with a 14-year-old girl, hitch-hiked to Madison and boarded a Greyhound bus to Indianapolis. The juvenile runaway became nervous and turned herself into police, but Backeberg apparently had no desire to return to Reedsburg. She reportedly stated she didn’t want to return, walked away from the bus stop and hasn’t been since.

“The juvenile was interviewed again as an adult, maybe 15 years ago,” Zunker said. “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.”
Zunker believes three generations of Sauk County detectives have investigated the Backeberg case. The department has fielded tips from callers throughout the years, but hasn’t had solid evidence to pursue. Zunker said the case file continues to grow, but the mystery remains unsolved.

Assuming Backeberg is still alive, she would have turned 75 July 6.

“There’s a possibility she’s still alive and chooses to remain anonymous and has taken up a different identity, but we can’t prove that,” Zunker said. “But we certainly can’t prove the opposite either.”

After she went missing, investigators questioned her husband, Ronald, but he was cleared of any suspicion. In her report to police, Backeberg alleged her husband threatened to kill her and had two loaded firearms in his car.

“The prevailing theory in the case is that she didn’t want to be with him anymore,” Zunker said.

 

[Bit of hope]

It's a long article on several different cold cases. Here are the quotes from the article about Audrey's case:






View attachment 163250

Thanks Gardner! Strange story about the can of Coke with pills.....

 

[Gardener1850]

Thanks Gardner! Strange story about the can of Coke with pills.....

Very strange, indeed! If it is true, then I wonder if perhaps she wanted to die on the bus? I don't know where someone would get pills like that in 1962 but I know she did not have the internet to look up and find out what a bunch of pills would do to her. Maybe that was a first attempt at self harm? And then maybe hooking up with construction workers? I don't know what to make of that... If the babysitter is to be believed then Audrey was putting herself in dangerous situations.

Maybe Audrey is a Jane Doe somewhere and has not been identified.

JMO.

 

[Bit of hope]

Very strange, indeed! If it is true, then I wonder if perhaps she wanted to die on the bus? I don't know where someone would get pills like that in 1962 but I know she did not have the internet to look up and find out what a bunch of pills would do to her. Maybe that was a first attempt at self harm? And then maybe hooking up with construction workers? I don't know what to make of that... If the babysitter is to be believed then Audrey was putting herself in dangerous situations.

Maybe Audrey is a Jane Doe somewhere and has not been identified.

JMO.

I think it's more likely, if the story is true, that she still had pain from the beating by her husband, that took place a couple of days before she went missing, and took painkillers. Or she just wanted to sleep during the bus ride and she took sleeping pills....it's quit a long trip. Still doesn't explain why she would put them in a can of Coke...maybe she just did water in it after drinking the Coke.

I also wonder why the destination was Indianapolis and if they brought luggage with them. The babysitter has to know this, for it was an exiting moment in her life, she was nervous and felt guilty.

 

[Bit of hope]

This is not her brother...Audrey J."Good" was married to Ron Backeberg, his brother Charlie also married a lady named Audrey. This is her brother.
Audrey J. "Good" Backeberg has 2 younger brothers that are still alive Rodney and William "Bill" Good. Audrey has only one living sister, Barbara K. Her mother is also still alive along with her daughter.
July 7 th 2012 will mark 50 years that Audrey has been missing. Please know we have never given up looking for her. We love her and just want to know what happened. Some one knows what happened...please help us have answers. The not knowing is far worse than anything you could tell us!

I'm just wondering...What could be the reason that Audrey J. Good didn't go the her own family, her mother or another family member (or sister if she was old enough at the time) first if she was in trouble. Or did they life in Madison and Indianapolis and was that the reason she travelled there.

 

[Odyssey]

For me, the biggest piece of the puzzle is that paycheck she was supposed to be picking up. Nobody ever says whether it was picked up or not.

If it was, that could support the idea that she left voluntarily. The babysitter doesn't say anything about stopping at the woolen mill.

If she didn't pick it up, that would lead me to think something happened before she left the house.

JMO.

 

[Bit of hope]

For me, the biggest piece of the puzzle is that paycheck she was supposed to be picking up. Nobody ever says whether it was picked up or not.

If it was, that could support the idea that she left voluntarily. The babysitter doesn't say anything about stopping at the woolen mill.

If she didn't pick it up, that would lead me to think something happened before she left the house.

JMO.

Yes, that's the big question (amongst others ). In the Doe Network file it states that she picked up the paycheck. The Doe Network: Case File 163DFWI

The Charley's file says she planned to retrieve her paycheck Audrey Jean Good Backeberg – The Charley Project

 

[Odyssey]

Bumping for Audrey, as her birthday and the anniversary of her disappearance just passed.

 

[Bit of hope]

I'm always very impressed by this site Audrey Backeberg

Very good writing, adding things up and my line of thinking, asking the "good" questions IMO. I also looked at the comments, interesting.

Somebody says she would never hid from her side of the family or her children.

Expressing my question why she wouldn't have gone to her own family when she was in trouble (abused). The late husband deceased in 2006 so if she still was around she would have contacted them already IMO.

Somehow I feel that she never took that bus...but why wouldn't the babysitter come clean on it after all this years...

And also this is very interesting.

In recent years, a tipster came forward, pointing investigators to an area where he believed Audrey’s remains would be found. The man had once been hired as a farm hand by Ron Backeberg. According to the witness, there was a particular area which Ron would never allow to be plowed. An extensive search, which included the use of a well-known search dog, was executed – however, the dog handler later admitted to having planted bones in the past, for her dog to find, in order to boost her reputation. They were no longer considered credible after that. I do not know if the area has been searched again. If it hasn’t, I hope it will be.

 

[Odyssey]

There are a few things I wish we knew.

Was the babysitter already at the Backeberg's house when she left with Audrey? If not, it almost seems like they would have to have planned it ahead of time to meet somewhere.

Also I noticed that she went missing on a Saturday, I'm not sure if the woolen mill was open on weekends for her to pick up her paycheck. I tried to find out, but all I could find was that the mill burned down in 1968. It was about 1/2 mile from her home.

 

[theshadow45]

Bumping for Audrey, today is her birthday.

 

[Richard]

Audrey Jean Good Backeberg

Audrey, circa 1962

• Missing Since 07/07/1962
• Missing From Reedsburg, Wisconsin
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race White
• Date of Birth 07/06/1942 (78)
• Age 20 years old
• Height and Weight 5'5, 125 pounds
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, hazel eyes. Audrey has a crippled left index finger. Some agencies refer to her by her maiden name, Good.

Details of Disappearance

Audrey married Ronald Backeberg in 1957, when she was about fifteen years old. The couple had two children together and resided on Vine Street in Reedsburg, Wisconsin. Audrey was employed at the nearby woolen mill in the early 1960s. A photo of Ronald is posted with this case summary.

Authorities said that Audrey and Ronald's marriage was troubled and there were allegations of abuse. Audrey filed a criminal complaint against her husband on July 4, 1962. She said that Ronald beat her shortly beforehand, resulting in head injuries. Audrey also stated that Ronald threatened to murder her. She claimed that he had two loaded firearms inside the trunk of his vehicle.

Audrey departed from her family's residence during the day on July 7, 1962, three days after she contacted authorities regarding Ronald's alleged behavior. She planned to retrieve her paycheck from the mill at the time. Audrey never returned home and has not been heard from again. Ronald phoned many of her loved ones after her disappearance and inquired as to her whereabouts. He maintained his innocence in his wife's case from the onset.

The couple's fourteen-year-old babysitter returned to Wisconsin shortly after Audrey disappeared. She claimed that she and Audrey hitchhiked to Madison, Wisconsin and then took a Greyhound bus to Indianapolis, Indiana shortly after Audrey vanished.

After they left the bus, the girl decided to turn herself in as a runaway. She said she last saw Audrey walking around the corner away from the bus stop. The babysitter stated Audrey chose to leave of her own accord and said she would not return, but Audrey's family members insisted she would never have abandoned her children.

Ronald passed a polygraph exam conducted after Audrey's disappearance. There have not been any arrests in her case. Audrey's case remains unsolved.

Ronald Backeberg, circa 1962

Investigating Agency

• Sauk County Sheriff's Department 888-847-7285

Source Information

• WISC-TV3
• Wisconsin Advocates for the Families of Missing People
• NamUs
• The Doe Network
• Audrey Jean Good Backeberg – The Charley Project

 

[Bit of hope]

I wonder if her children are still looking for her. It must have been so hard on them...the not knowing. Somehow I have the feeling she came to harm. But being so young, with a whole live before her...she also could have chosen to leave her "old live" behind, even her children. I think that is still a possibility, but it doesn't sit well with me.