SAUK COUNTY, Wis. — A Wisconsin woman who was missing for 63 years has been found safe, the Sauk County Sheriff’s Office shared on its website.
Audrey Backeberg first went missing in July 1962 after reportedly hitchhiking with her family’s babysitter and catching a bus to Indianapolis. At the time, she was 20 years old and lived in the City of Reedsburg.
Nobody ever knew where she went or what happened to her.
Investigators said they pursued many leads to determine where the missing 20-year-old went, but the case eventually turned cold.
Then, in early 2025, the case was assigned as part of an examination of cold case files to Detective Isaac Hanson. After re-evaluating all case files and evidence, re-interviewing witnessed, uncovering new insights and discovering and out-of-state arrest record that matched Backeberg, the sheriff’s office said it found Backeberg alive and well outside of the state.
Officials said they determined that Backeberg left by her own choice and there was no foul play.
“She’s happy, safe and secure, and just kind of lived under the radar for that long,” Hanson said.
Hanson was assigned the case in late February and, after discovering the arrest record, he and other officials met with Backeberg’s family to see if they had a connection with that region. They also started digging through Backeberg's sister's Ancestry.com account, pulling census records, obituaries and marriage licenses from that region.
Within about two months, they found an address where a woman was living that Hanson said shared a lot of similarities with Backeberg, including date of birth and social security number. Hanson was able to get a deputy from that jurisdiction to go to the address. Ten minutes later, Backeberg, now in her 80's, called Hanson.
“It happened so fast," he said. "I was expecting the deputy to call me back and say, ‘Oh nobody answered the door.’ And I thought it was the deputy calling me, but it was actually her. And to be honest, it was just a very casual conversation. I could sense that she obviously had her reasons for leaving.”
Most of the information he learned during that call he declined to share, saying it was still important to Backeberg that she not be found.
“I think it overwhelmed her of course with the emotions that she had, having a deputy show up at her house and then kind of call her out and talk with her about what happened and kind of relive 62 years in 45 minutes,” he said.
Hanson described discovering her safe after more than six decades practically unheard of. While he doesn't know what will happen next in terms of her family reconnecting, he said he was happy that she can reach out if she wants.
“…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 in the release.
