Midwest
Missing woman found after more than 60 years, sheriff reveals what really happened
A more than 60-year-old cold case out of Wisconsin involving a missing mother has been solved.
Audrey Backeberg, now 82, who disappeared at age 20, has been found “alive and well,” the Sauk County Sheriff’s Office said in a media release.
“The Sheriff’s Office is now able to report that Audrey Backeberg is alive and well and currently resides out of State,” the sheriff’s office said in a media release. “Further investigation has revealed that Ms. Backeberg’s disappearance was by her own choice and not the result of any criminal activity or foul play.”
Backeberg disappeared from her family’s home on July 7, 1962, the Wisconsin Department of Justice website says. The family’s babysitter told authorities that she and Audrey hitchhiked to Madison, Wisconsin, before taking a Greyhound bus to Indianapolis, Indiana.
WANDA BARZEE, ONE OF ELIZABETH SMART’S CAPTORS, ARRESTED ON ALLEGED SEX OFFENDER VIOLATION
Audrey Jean Backeberg, whose maiden named was Good, went missing in July 1962 when she was 20 years old. (Wisconsin Department of Justice)
There, the babysitter said, she last saw Audrey walk around the corner away from the bus stop. The mother of two never returned home and had not been heard from again, according to the Charley Project, which profiles missing person cold cases.
The Charley Project says Audrey married Ronald Backberg when she was “about fifteen years old” and that their “marriage was troubled and there were allegations of abuse.”
KIDNAPPING HOAXER SHERRI PAPINI INSISTS SHE WAS ‘TORTURED’ FOR WEEKS, IN FIRST INTERVIEW SINCE DISAPPEARANCE
Audrey Backeberg lived with her husband and children in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, seen here. (Google Maps)
The Backeberg’s babysitter said she and Audrey took a Greyhound bus from Madison, Wisconsin to Indianapolis, Indiana. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“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,” The Charley Project said, adding that “Ronald passed a polygraph exam conducted after Audrey’s disappearance.”
The Sauk County Sheriff’s Office assigned the cold case to a detective earlier this year, “which included a thorough re-evaluation of all case files and evidence, combined with re-interviewing witnesses and uncovering new insights,” the media release said.
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Milwaukee, WI
Tom Tiffany campaign memo obtained by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel focuses on Francesca Hong
MADISON, Wis. (WBAY) – A leaked memo prepared for Republican Tom Tiffany’s campaign shows he is taking Democratic frontrunner Francesca Hong seriously in the race for Wisconsin governor.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel obtained the memo this week.
Wisconsin has a Democratic governor through the end of the year. November’s election will determine the next governor.
Hong is the current frontrunner in a crowded Democratic field, according to polling. Tiffany is the lone Republican in the field.
See more in the video above.
Copyright 2026 WBAY. All rights reserved.
Minneapolis, MN
Man stabbed brother in north Minneapolis home after arguing about messy kitchen, charges say
Prosecutors on Friday accused a 23-year-old Chicago man of fatally stabbing his brother in a north Minneapolis home early Wednesday after the two got into an argument about cleaning the kitchen.
Police were called to the home on the 3000 block of Girard Avenue North shortly after 3 a.m. after hearing about the stabbing. They found a man in his 20s lying on the floor and his girlfriend holding a cloth to his wound. The man was pronounced dead roughly 30 minutes later.
According to the criminal complaint, the girlfriend told officers that she had been making food with her boyfriend when her boyfriend’s brother came upstairs. The brother was upset at her boyfriend for not cleaning up the kitchen, she told officers.
The brother then went downstairs but returned later and pushed her boyfriend around, she said. Charging documents say the brothers got into a fight.
The girlfriend told police that the brother had a bloody knife in his hands, and her boyfriend said “he just stabbed me,” the complaint states.
Police arrested the 23-year-old at the house. In a post-Miranda statement, he initially told officers he blacked out around the time of the stabbing. He later admitted to stabbing his brother, at first saying that he was trying to “fake” stab him but ended up stabbing him. He also said that his brother charged at him and ran into the knife, the complaint says.
Charging documents say the man admitted that his brother did not have a weapon on him.
He faces two counts of second-degree murder.
The Indianapolis Colts are in a make-or-break season under longtime general manager Chris Ballard.
After exiting a season that featured yet another mid-season collapse, this regime is holding onto its last remaining breath of hope as it attempts to right the ship entirely. Colts Owner/CEO Carlie Irsay-Gordon said in her post-season press conference that the sense of urgency ‘has never been higher’ for Ballard and Shane Steichen, who is entering his fourth season as the Colts’ head coach.
As a result, this offseason has featured numerous high-floor, low-ceiling decisions for Indianapolis. In an attempt to replicate last year’s early-season success, Ballard’s Colts are once again ‘running it back,’ something that has yet to produce meaningful results in past years.
Ballard’s recent draft has been deemed by some a near-perfect outing considering their situation — not having a first-round pick to bolster their roster — but more than anything, it’s a showing that addressed the team’s weakest position rooms.
From immediate contributors to sleepers and depth pieces, Colts on SI breaks down each draftee’s projected 2026 role.
Immediate Starters
Georgia LB CJ Allen
After trading longtime starter and leader of the defense, linebacker Zaire Franklin, to the Green Bay Packers, Georgia’s CJ Allen will slide in seamlessly as his replacement for the future.
“We’ve liked CJ (Allen) through the whole process,” general manager Chris Ballard began fawning over his newest linebacker in his post-draft press conference. “He stands for all the right stuff. He’s an athletic, fast MIKE. He’ll be a green-dot guy for us from the get-go. I mean, he’s a face of the program type of guy. He’s a really special dude now.”
Still just 21-years old, Allen did not compete at the NFL Scouting Combine as he was rehabbing a knee injury suffered late in his final season at Georgia, but Ballard and Co. are confident in his progress and foresee no setbacks ahead of the season after he worked out a few weeks prior to the NFL Draft.
LSU S A.J. Haulcy
Although the Colts replaced Nick Cross with an aggregate of veteran safeties in free agency to compete for the opening at strong safety, rookie A.J. Haulcy has the inside track at winning the job this summer.
The SEC safety moved up in competition each step of the way (New Mexico, Houston, LSU), starting in 44 of 48 possible games. Haulcy is a ballhawk who logged eight interceptions over the past two seasons, but his versatility to play both in the box and back deep is what’s most intriguing about his game.
Sleepers
Kentucky G Jalen Farmer
The Colts may have confidence in their projected starting five (Raimann, Nelson, Bortolini, Goncalves, Travis), but insurance beyond them was nonexistent entering the NFL Draft.
Kentucky’s Jalen Farmer is set to provide depth across the entire offensive line, while likely being prioritized across the interior as a former guard. He makes the third consecutive installment of fourth-round offensive linemen drafted by Chris Ballard, who are subsequently thrust into the Tony Sparano Jr. school of hard knocks — aka, a recently-established draft-and-stash process that has produced two full-time starters who are still on their rookie contract.
Farmer is projected to immediately become the team’s swing offensive lineman, though don’t count him out from winning the right guard spot from Matt Goncalves.
Oregon LB Bryce Boettcher
Boettcher is set to be a special teams demon as a rookie, but his plus coverage ability bodes well in his favor as he joins a position room that lacks a specialist as such — they do have Jaylon Carlies set to return, who has flashed in coverage, though his early injury history makes it difficult to bet on him moving forward.
The Oregon linebacker should compete for the opening at WILL linebacker alongside veteran Akeem Davis-Gaither. Even if he ultimately loses the job, Boettcher presents a high-floor for a depth piece, and more than likely carves out a role as a sub-package coverage defender.
Kentucky RB Seth McGowan
McGowan had a troubled past early in his college career, causing him to climb back to earn consideration as an NFL prospect. He has since earned the opportunity to not only join an NFL roster but also to truly compete for touches as the Colts have an opening at backup running back under star feature back Jonathan Taylor.
Oklahoma WR Deion Burks
The Colts entered the 2026 NFL Draft with an opening at wide receiver alongside Alec Pierce and Josh Downs, despite adding Nick Westbrook-Ikhine earlier this offseason.
Deion Burks immediately strengthens the depth chart at wide receiver, serving as a potential steal after being selected with one of the last picks in the draft (254th overall). His small build (5’9″, 180 lbs) suggests that he’ll sit directly under Josh Downs for the foreseeable future, but his experience at outside receiver points to a potential rotational role as early as his rookie season.
Long-Term Bets
EDGE George Gumbs Jr.
Indianapolis has been lacking juice at defensive end for far too long, and though Gumbs Jr. doesn’t scream day-one contributor as a former wide receiver turned edge defender, his profile as a long-term project takes no convincing.
It was a bit of a headscratcher to see the Colts finally address edge during the fifth round, though their lack of depth outside of an opening up top needed addressing, and Gumbs Jr. provides just that.
EDGE Caden Curry
Similar to Gumbs Jr., Caden Curry doesn’t project as an immediate force, though he does present a bigger production profile (16.5 tackles for loss and 11 sacks as a senior) that you can see him contributing in a rotational role as a rookie.
Curry may have historically small arms, a threshold that NFL decision-makers often stray away from, but his relentless motor is worth betting on despite his physical limitations.
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