Missing Wisconsin Woman Audrey Backeberg Was Found Alive 62 Years After She Went Missing
Audrey Backeberg was reported missing in 1962.
Published May 5 2025, 2:46 p.m. ET
When people are reported missing, many fear the worst, and in some of those cases, family members and loved ones aren't seen or heard from again. When a 20-year-old woman by the name of Audrey Backeberg went missing in Reedsburg, Wis. in 1962, and she wasn't found or heard from, her family likely felt the same way. So when she was found more than 60 years later, alive, many couldn't help but wonder what happened to Audrey Backeberg.
According to CBS News, Backeberg was found alive in April 2025 at the age of 82. The outlet reported that she was found living outside of Wisconsin, which is not too far from where she lived when she was reported missing decades before. Backeberg's case was part of an ongoing cold case files investigation, per the Sauk County Sheriff's Office in Wisconsin. However, according to CBS News, she was found through an Ancestry.com account instead.
What happened to Audrey Backeberg?
Regardless of how she was found, what many really want to know is what actually happened to Backeberg when she left her home in 1962. Detective Isaac Hanson spoke with WISN 12 News after Backeberg was found and shared how he used Ancestry.com data to locate her. However, he wouldn't share contact details with her or many details of the conversation he had with her to confirm that she was, in fact, the missing woman.
He did, however, share that no foul play was involved in the reason for Backeberg leaving her husband and kids when she did. There were suspicions of domestic abuse and reports that her husband allegedly threatened to kill her before she left home, according to WiscNews.
Hanson didn't confirm that to be the case when he spoke with her. But, he shared with WISN 12 News that when he spoke with Backeberg, she sounded happy.
"I think she just was removed and, you know, moved on from things and kind of did her own thing and led her life," he said. "She sounded happy. Confident in her decision. No regrets."
Backeberg was married when she was roughly 15 years old, per Fox News. Backeberg willingly left home with her family's babysitter and hitchhiked and then took a bus to Indianapolis, Ind. From there, she was never seen again, and the family babysitter shared no other details with authorities.
Audrey Backeberg's husband may have died.
Backeberg's husband at the time of her disappearance, Ronald Backeberg, might have died in 2006, years before she was found. An obituary from 2006 in Wisconsin was written about a man with the same name and birth date that would have been close to his if he was indeed Audrey's husband.
It was not confirmed to be her husband's obituary. None of Audrey's family members have spoken out about her being found more than 60 years after she willingly left her home.