Missing woman found 'alive and well' more than 60 years after she disappeared

REEDSBURG, Wis. (TCN) -- A woman who disappeared in Indiana over six decades ago was found safe and living in another state after a detective recently reopened her case.

According to the Sauk County Sheriff’s Office, Audrey Backeberg went missing from the area in July 1962 when she was 20 years old. Detectives at the time followed up on leads, but her case ultimately went cold. Earlier this year, a Sauk County detective began looking into Backeberg’s disappearance and interviewed witnesses again. The detective determined Backeberg is "alive and well" in another state, which was not divulged.

The sheriff’s office said Backeberg’s disappearance "was by her own choice and not the result of any criminal activity or foul play."

WISN-TV spoke with Det. Isaac Hanson about his work on the case, and he said he found a lot of data because Backeberg’s sister had an Ancestry.com account. Hanson located a woman living at an address with similar information to Backeberg, so he contacted the local sheriff’s office in her area and asked if they could send someone by. Hanson said Backeberg called him a few minutes later.

Hanson explained that he wanted to maintain privacy, but WISN reports Backeberg had an abusive husband. Hanson told WISN that Backeberg "sounded happy" and "confident" about her decision to leave. According to The Associated Press, Backeberg and her family’s babysitter hitchhiked out of town, then Backeberg got on a bus.

Hanson told The Associated Press, "There’s family living here, so she has my contact number if she ever wants to reach out or needs anything, any phone numbers of family members back here. Ultimately she kind of holds the cards for that."

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