Nearly forty years after 5-year-old Robert "Bobby Jo" Fritz vanished from a quiet street in Campbellsport, investigators are literally tearing up concrete for fresh answers. Crews with state investigators and local detectives have begun excavating the basement of a Campbellsport home this week as part of a renewed probe into his 1983 disappearance.
The dig follows a search warrant executed at the residence on July 16 and, officials say, grows out of material located during an earlier search of the property. The methodical work has pulled a decades-old mystery back into the spotlight in the small Fond du Lac County community where people still remember the day Bobby Jo disappeared.
According to the FOX6 Milwaukee report, the Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Office said detectives recovered potential evidence during the July 16 search that triggered the larger-scale excavation. Teams from the State Crime Lab and agents with the Wisconsin Department of Justice's Division of Criminal Investigation are working on-site to identify and process any evidence, the sheriff's office told FOX6.
Cold case background
Robert Joseph "Bobby Jo" Fritz was 5 years old when he disappeared on May 14, 1983, after he was last seen playing near his Campbellsport home, according to the Wisconsin DOJ clearinghouse for missing persons. The clearinghouse poster lists his distinguishing marks, includes an age-progressed image and provides contact information that investigators have used over the years to chase leads that never quite panned out.
Past leads and a key suspect
Over the decades, investigators zeroed in on one primary suspect, Michael Menzer. His property was excavated in 1990, and officers reportedly recovered boxes of abusive images, news clippings about Fritz and decayed fragments of children's clothing, according to the Charley Project. Menzer was later convicted in an unrelated arson and child-killing case and died in custody in 2008. Authorities say he never cooperated with efforts to learn what happened to Bobby Jo.
Forensic twists over the years
For a time, small bones recovered decades ago raised hopes that investigators might finally have a breakthrough. Earlier forensic testing, however, showed that the remains were animal, not human, according to Associated Press reporting via NBC26. That disappointment, combined with previous digs that turned up nothing conclusive, has long frustrated both the Fritz family and the investigators who have stayed with the case.
How the public can help
The Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Office is again asking anyone with information, no matter how small it might seem, to come forward. Tipsters can contact Detective Tyler Tikkanen at 920-929-3384 or leave anonymous information on the county tip line at 920-906-4777, according to FOX6 Milwaukee.
The sheriff's office says it remains "dedicated to uncovering the facts" surrounding Fritz's disappearance. Officials have also emphasized that additional details about the excavation and any findings will be released only when they do not risk compromising the active investigation.
