Portage Daily Register from Portage, Wisconsin • A4

A4 Saturday, July 22, 2017 Portage Daily register 00 1 events of the day the small girl went missing. Years later, the story drew statewide attention when the Milwaukee Sentinel interviewed siblings in 1987. It remains one of Juneau Coun- biggest mysteries. After the fire broke out, Ricky, along with older brother Forrest and younger sister Liz went to the yard for safety. Forrest, who was a year older than Ricky, who also went by Jeannie, recalled seeing an expensive car drive up to the home.

A woman got out and told Forrest to run to a house for help. When the boy returned, Liz was still there, but Ricky and the woman were gone. It was initially assumed Ricky had died in the fire. Particles ap- pearing to be human bones were analyzed but came back negative. Evidence never verified Ricky died in the blaze.

original reports were de- stroyed in a flood at the old sher- Goyette said of the Bryant case. family came back in 2005 and filed a new miss- ing persons report. been an ac- tive case since The office took DNA samples from siblings, which were placed in a national database. When a woman from California called with questions about her past and seemed to fit the description of Bryant, Goyette was optimistic, but the DNA did not match. have been so many un- answered Goyette said.

was talk there may have been somebody in Minnesota who may have information, but nobody has come The Minnesota reference is compelling, because after Ricky disappeared, her siblings remem- bered their mother, Opal Bryant, taking weekend trips to the state. She never discussed why she would go to Minnesota and the family never talked about the weekend excursions. A rumor surfaced Ricky may have been born out of wedlock and the fire was started intentionally to mask a possible abduction. Did the mysterious woman in the nice car kidnap the girl to Min- nesota? After she was lost, her siblings were told not to speak of her. The Bryants had family in Iowa and based on her insistence, the family placed a gravestone honoring the girl in the town of Hesper in 1979.

Members of her family remained convinced Ricky perish in the fire and she was living some- where. Goyette said Forrest passed away recently, but two sisters are still alive. After all these years, they still search for the truth. If she is still alive she would be in her early 70s. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children published an updated composite photo of what Ricky Bryant would have looked like in 2012.

problem is no one from the fire department is still around from back then, no one from the sher- department is still around and some members of her family have Goyette said. one has come forward and the case still sits on my desk. My gut feeling is she perish in that Body found under bridge In the mid-1970s, two cases in- volving young people captivated the Lake Delton-Baraboo area. In 1976, the body of 21-year- old Lisa Staes was found under a bridge off Highway 23 about three miles outside the village of Lake Delton. Staes was a resident of Leawood, Kansas.

was found nude under the bridge and it took us more than a year to identify Detective Lt. Chris Zunker of the Sauk County Office said. For the past 40 years, authorities in Sauk County have worked with Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation to try to solve murder. Zunker said he is actively reviewing evidence gathered at the scene to determine what should be resubmitted to the state crime lab. There is a chance killer could have DNA in the system.

my understanding, she liked the Zunker said. we know where she was prior to her possible she could have been murdered in another area and the killer chose to dump her body in different location. Detectives ar- sure how she was murdered. is a case where we are strictly limited to physical evidence and looking into whether new technology will yield different re- Zunker said. In September 1977, Robert Louis Christian, an 18-year-old, went missing near Baraboo.

The department published a missing person notice with vital information, but the case remains open after four decades. Zunker said Christian left Mad- ison on Sept. 16 to meet a friend in Baraboo to go bow hunting the following day. Christian never saw his friend. His father reported him missing two days later.

Police eventually found the car he was driving, an AMC Hornet, aban- doned in the town of Greenfield near the Lake bluffs. four tires were missing and the battery was removed from the Zunker said. Mother Nature also hampered the investigation as it had rained prior to police finding the car. Any tire tracks or footprints that may have been there were washed away. Detectives did find the tires in a quarry south of Badger Ordinance.

There was no sign of violence in- side or outside the vehicle. has not been located since and we have many leads in that Zunker said. hold out hope for the one break we Detectives placed DNA into a national FBI database in 2013. If a body of an unidentified person is found, investigators can check to see if it matches profile. Zunker said the first 48 hours of a homicide or missing person case is crucial.

After two days the evi- dence trail often becomes murky. Witnesses either flee the area or choose not to talk and potential suspects are harder to pin down. While the advent of forensic testing, computer databases and more advanced police work have aided local departments, most rural counties have cold case units. The files are often as- signed to a specific detective and are reviewed at least once a year. Zunker said retired investigators are often hired by DCI to assist in open cases.

have been a big help to many local he said. Jane Doe mystifies Portage area Detective Lt. Roger Brandner and his team in Columbia County have a wide range of cold cases to deal with, from suspicious homi- cides to hit-and-runs. Probably the most difficult to crack was the murder of an unidentified female, a Jane Doe, in the early 1980s. Authorities say the victim was killed from blunt-force trauma to the head.

Her body was found in a ditch off Petra Road in the spring of 1982. Brandner thinks she might have been killed several months before her remains were discov- ered. A.J. Agnew, a fellow detective with the Columbia County Sher- Office, said the woman was likely between 45 and 65 years old. very tough when you have a homicide and the victim remains Brandner said.

was assigned this case a few years ago and has done a lot of work on it and developed a DNA profile and facial reconstruction with the FBI. hard to believe in this day and age with social media that we have not got the right information to identify who this person body was all bones and clothing when she was found, so it could have been up to a year prior to when she was Agnew said. The remains were found by a man who was collect- ing glass soda bottles. A couple of people were looked at as suspects, but were ruled out. Bringe death suspicious When Lori Bringe died in August 1988, her death was ruled a suicide.

Jim Smith, who was the Columbia County sheriff at the time, kept thinking something was off about the case. Several years later, after retiring from law enforcement, Smith requested the case be re- opened. Bringe, a 33-year-old mother of two, was found with a gunshot wound to her head in some woods near her Poynette home. Bringe was right-handed, but was shot on the left side, making a suicide unlikely. she came home from work that day she was not de- pressed and there was no suicide Brandner said.

came back to us and said this was one that really bothered him. convinced it is a Brandner said the department has a suspect in mind, but is not willing to release his name at this time. Columbia County is also still trying to find the body of Beth Kutz who was allegedly killed by her hus- band in 2000. Dan Kutz was con- victed of the murder in 2001, but will not disclose where the body is. In 2000, the couple was going through a divorce and witnesses said her husband stalked her.

know if other peo- ple were Brandner said. are confident someone knows something; they either know or are just not telling us or they have a bit of information they know is important. exhausted some tips but they taken us in the right direction Hit and runs stymie detectives On Dec. 15, 1994, William Law- rence was walking along Highway 22 in the village of Wyocena before sunrise when a truck, a Ford pickup or Bronco from the late 1970s, struck and killed him. The vehicle stopped briefly then continued south on Highway 22.

An eye witness said the truck was silver or gray and had passen- ger headlight assembly damage. The witness could not identify a description of the driver. observed both the collision and saw the vehicle, but since most people have cell phones back then, she had to go to another gas station down the road, call 911 and report the said Detective Cory Miller. Detectives realize finding a nearly 40-year-old truck will be difficult, but they think someone knows a piece of valuable information. their loved one came home with a smashed vehicle or came back and sold it right away and they wondered Brand- ner said.

in those days, me- dia coverage as widespread. Nowadays when something like this happens people tend to know in minutes. Our hope is that some- one local is still around and is will- ing to come Since the case is considered a reckless homicide, the 15-year statute of limitations has passed. The perpetrator be prose- cuted, but Brandner and his team is still hoping to close the case and bring a sense of comfort to the Lawrence family. The hit-and-run fatality of Shari Sampson in 2010 was especially grizzly.

Sampson was found in the eastbound lane along Wolfram Road in the town of Lewiston. think this started as an argu- ment at a local tavern, called Side- track at the time, now Triple Brandner said. was hit on the roadway and then ran over by a second vehicle. None of them Police are looking for a 2000 to 2002 Saturn series with possible passenger side fog light and front lower fascia damage. Authorities are unsure what the make and model of the first car that struck Sampson was.

It is believed she died before the second vehicle ran her over. Because the incident hap- pened around 10 p.m. along a dark stretch of highway, identifying the vehicles was difficult. Success stories While multiple cases remain un- solved, Columbia County author- ities were pleased to finally close two in recent years. In November 2010, a jury con- victed Curtis Forbes of the 1980 murder of Marilyn McIntyre.

Forbes was an initial suspect, but never charged in the days after the Columbus murder. The case was reopened in 2007 and Forbes was brought to justice. The McIntyre case attracted national interest and was profiled on Investigation Cold and In the death of Curtis Wylesky in 2001, authorities charged his girlfriend, Leah Waldhart, but the defendant was found not guilty. Brandner said it often takes on the work whether interviewing suspects or taking a fresh look at evidence to solve cold cases. When law en- forcement agencies exhaust all possible leads, a case turns cold.

people who want to talk back then decide to finally Brandner said. every cold case out there in ev- ery jurisdiction, someone knows something. what will help us solve these cases and give fam- ilies Contact Kevin damask at 608-963- 7323 or on twitter JUNEAU COUNTY OFFICE PHOTO, CONTRIBUTED this composite of what ricky Jean Bryant may look like in recent times was created in 2012. Bryant went missing as a 4-year-old during a house fire in rural Mauston in 1949. FROM PAGE ONE will be busy starting today, when 4-H and FFA members from throughout the county congregate for the traditional pre-opening cleanup of the fairgrounds.

Entry and weigh-in for swine exhibits will start at 5 p.m. Tues- day, and other livestock is sched- uled to arrive on Wednesday. During the run, the bulk of the available parking for fairgoers is in a mostly open field along Su- perior Street. But on the busiest days of the fair, such as Friday and Saturday, visitor parking has tra- ditionally spilled over into the area now occupied by the horse arena an area just across the road from the barns that are the temporary homes of livestock on exhibit. Fair Board President Paul Becker said people who were ac- customed to parking near where the horse arena is now located will be directed to the former location, where he expects additional space to offset the lost parking just off Superior Street.

And, for livestock exhibitors, there will still be some space to park, near the new arena and handy to the barns. Bahr said she has additional concerns about the new arena. located, she said, in a low area that could be too wet for either show or the horse speed show, scheduled for 8:30 a.m. July 29. There are about 60 youths en- rolled in the Columbia County 4-H Horse Project, and about 25 of them plan to ride in at least one event at the fair, she said.

To show a horse at the Columbia County Fair, a youth must be a member in good standing of the Horse Proj- ect. But they she said, if the arena is too wet for safe riding. Bahr said the Horse Project spent about $20,000 for the new fence, building and fill for inside the arena, whose dimen- sions are about 131 feet by 245 feet slightly smaller than the old arena, which Bahr said had been at its location for 20 to 30 years. The city of Portage, Bahr noted, donated 10 loads of fill, but taken about 40 loads of fill to pre- pare the arena for show. Most of it was placed inside the arena this week.

The new arena includes a set of bleachers for spectators and a building. But the building does not have electricity for a public address system. She said city of- ficials have loaned the Horse Proj- ect a PA system that can run on a car battery, but the Horse Project board had to spend $90 for the battery. If the arena stays where it is for coming years, Bahr said, it will likely need repeated infusions of fill material to compensate for the low terrain. Bahr said the Horse Project had cleared out of the old arena in March.

Until now, it had no place for its activities, including several clinics last spring. Often, the peo- ple who presented the clinics also offered a venue for the horses and their exhibitors. Becker said taking a philo- sophical attitude about changes in the fairgrounds, including reloca- tion of the horse arena. never love he said. situation is what it is, so we will have to make do with what Other fair notes Thursday grandstand show is new, but then again, it really.

Becker said been about 40 years, maybe more, since the Columbia County Fair has featured motorcycle and ATV flat-track racing, which uses the entire oval of the grandstand track rather than just the area in front of the bleachers. at the front of the store, waving other shoppers by at the register, then going back to get a bottle of water, then going back to get a couple of other items, then wait- ing at the end of the line, arms folded showing an athletic build and tattoos on his upper left arm and back. Once at the register after about 20 minutes in the store, the man asks for a pack of cigarettes and begins to pay, and once the cash drawer opens reaches over to grab $20 bills from the drawer. On his second attempt the clerk batted his arm away and threw change at him as he ran out of the store. At the time, Portage police had already been dispatched to look for a suspect connected to an unrelated incident around 7:30 p.m.

Detective Lt. Dan Garrigan was driving through the north part of Portage and noticed some- one between and then around in at Infinite Auto Body on East Al- bert Street. Garrigan then found Shawn Powell, 28, of Oxford, at the scene sitting on the steps of the doors. says out for a walk and he had a couple of Garri- gan said. we found his car parked and Among the explanations Pow- ell gave, one included mention of a friend, necessitating a search through the vehicles in and around the facility.

The K-9 unit was called in but no one else was found at the scene. Powell was arrested and cited for attempted theft, accused of trying to steal tires that appeared to have been moved in the min- utes before officers arrived. Anyone with information about the Market Basket suspect is asked to call the Portage Police Department at 742-2171. Baker, who also helps library patrons with technology, came to the Portage library from Spring Green at the end of May with the mission of providing fun place for young adults to hang Teen Days this summer have been held from 12:30 to 3 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays and end July 27.

But when the school year begins, Baker will offer af- ter-school activities for teens once a week, those dates and times are still to be determined, he said. Librarian Dawn Fos- ter and Library Director Jessica Bergin interviewed Baker for the open position in the late spring, along with two other candidates, from a pile of about 12 ap- Foster said in an email after Baker was hired. was our first she added. young, ener- getic, has experience in youth services, and I think be a fantastic fit for our Baker had been a part-time Youth Services Librarian at Spring Green Community Library before jumping at the opportu- nity for the full-time position in Portage. He still commutes from Spring Green but to do what he does, full time, makes the drive worth Baker who was and bred in plans to move to Portage soon.

Baker comes to Portage with and degrees related to theater, from Uni- versity of Wisconsin-Parkside (Kenosha) and Virginia Com- monwealth University in Rich- mond, Virginia, respectively. While Baker maintains his pas- sion for theater, he knows to move into library ser- vices as my main Establishing think the thing found is to talk to teens like people, not Baker said of his ap- proach. think that really helps them connect and I think it also establishes boundaries they en- joy working Treating teens as adults, he explained, is key to making them want to participate in the educa- tional pieces of his programming. They watch a lot of movies, sure, but because Baker want them by the programming. Reading programs for teens so far have involved earning tickets for prizes, via reading prizes like Kindle Fires and Nintendo and Minecraft products.

During the school year, Baker expects be doing more science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) activities, but Bak- activities will never go away. A and claimed Baker said the teens at the library have already expressed interest in forming Pokemon and Magic the Gath- ering groups. really want them to feel an ownership with the Baker said, that in- stills a type of duty, that they can be a part of Building momentum for public service among teens, in general, is a factor in what Baker does too. ones who might eventu- ally say, I should help out with the my hope is that (ownership) bleeds out into the community of Follow Noah Vernau on twitter Cold cases From A1 Horses From A1 Library From A1 Robberies From A1 Follow lyn Jerde on twitter.