Case Details

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This person was missing Missing Since 05/14/1983

Missing Since:

Missing Since 05/14/1983

Missing From:

Missing From Campbellsport, Wisconsin

Classification:

Classification Non-Family Abduction

Gender:

Male

Race:

Race White

Date of Birth:

Date of Birth 08/05/1977 (47)

Age:

Age 5 years old

Height and Weight:

Height and Weight 4’0, 50 pounds

Clothing/Jewelry Description:

Clothing/Jewelry Description A red, blue and gray short-sleeved shirt, dark blue pants and brown cowboy boots.

Distinguishing Characteristics:

Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Blond hair, blue eyes. Robert has a strawberry birthmark on his outer left thigh just above his knee. At the time of his disappearance it was two inches by three inches, or about the size of a cigarette pack; it may be larger now and lighter in color. Robert had difficulty pronouncing the letters T, K and R at the time of his disappearance. His nickname is Bobby Joe, which is sometimes spelled “Bobbie Joe.”

Details of Disappearance:

On May 14, 1983, Robert disappeared in Campbellsport, Wisconsin. He was playing near the Mill Pond/Milwaukee River with his sister and friends, about halfway between the playground and his home on East Main Street. Around 2:30-4:30 PM, he said he was hungry and was walking home alone. He never arrived. His toy gun was found, but Robert wasn’t.

Police searched the river and pond, thinking he might have drowned, but found nothing. His parents were divorced, and his dad remarried a week after Robert vanished. Police investigated both parents but ruled them out as suspects. The father has since passed away, and the mother moved.

A year later, Michael Menzer became a suspect. Menzer was a convicted child sex abuser who lived near Campbellsport. Police searched his property and found disturbing things: pictures of child abuse, news articles about Robert’s disappearance, and some old clothes and bones (it was unclear if the bones were human). In 1990, Menzer burned down his home, killing his two young stepsons (he’d been accused, but not convicted, of abusing them). He was later convicted of the arson and murders and died in prison in 2008. He never talked about Robert’s case.

Because no one ever found Robert, police believe he was abducted. He looked very much like his brother, Tony, so a picture of Tony is included to help identify him if he’s still alive.

Agency:

Fond Du Lac County Sheriff’s Office 803-642-1761

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