An 83-year-old man is facing a first-degree intentional homicide charge in connection with the 1995 disappearance of his former roommate, a Ripon man whose remains have never been found despite three decades of searches across Wisconsin. Jerome Baier was arrested early Friday following a search of his rural Marathon County home, more than 31 years after James Ruland vanished at age 40.
Ruland was last seen on October 24, 1995, in the North Fond du Lac area, according to WBAY. He had been living with Baier in Ripon at the time but was in the process of moving to Kiel to room with someone else, according to Wisconsin Missing. He was never seen again after that October day, and the case has haunted investigators and Ruland's family ever since, per FOX6 News Milwaukee.
Ruland's station wagon was eventually found at a North Fond du Lac truck stop, keys still in the ignition and his belongings sitting in the cargo area, the outlet reports. Wisconsin Missing adds that blood was discovered on one of the vehicle's tires, and that cigars were found inside the car even though Ruland did not smoke. In the weeks after he disappeared, Baier cashed a $2,500 check that Ruland's parents had sent him and used another of Ruland's checks to pay a gas bill on November 1, 1995, according to the same source.
A Missing Person Case That Became a Homicide Investigation
What started as a missing person case gradually became a homicide investigation as evidence piled up over the years, FOX6 News Milwaukee reports. The Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Office kept the file open, and Ruland's information was entered into numerous nationwide databases in an effort to generate leads. A witness reported possibly seeing Ruland hitchhiking in North Fond du Lac a few days after he vanished, though that sighting was never confirmed.
For 31 years, investigators kept trying to find Ruland using an array of methods: divers searched waterways, human remains detection K-9s were deployed, ground-penetrating radar swept potential burial sites, and crews conducted large-scale excavations and aerial searches. WBAY notes that one of those searches even included a pig farm's manure pit. None of it turned up Ruland's remains.
Forensic Testing in 2021 Builds Toward an Arrest
The break in the case traces back to 2021, when advances in forensic technology led detectives to request new tests on evidence that had already been submitted to the Wisconsin State Crime Lab. Those test results corroborated information investigators had gathered through interviews, and authorities say the resulting investigation gave them probable cause to arrest Baier, per FOX6 News Milwaukee.
The Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Office was assisted in the investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation and the Marathon County Sheriff's Office, according to WBAY. Baier is being held at the Fond du Lac County Jail awaiting his initial court appearance, which is scheduled for Monday. The sheriff's office says it continues looking into Ruland's death and disappearance even as the case moves into the court system.
Decades-Old Cases Cracked by New Forensic Tools
Baier's arrest fits a pattern seen elsewhere in Wisconsin, where advances in forensic science have recently reopened long-dormant cases. A 1974 Dunn County murder case was cracked using DNA recovered from a hat found at the scene, as reported by Wisconsin Public Radio, while a Kenosha killing from 1977 also resulted in an arrest earlier this year, according to Channel 3000.
Anyone with information on Ruland's case is asked to call Lt. Alex Volm at 920-924-2406 or Det. Dave Olig at 920-906-4799. Those who wish to remain anonymous can instead contact the Fond du Lac County law enforcement tip line at 920-906-4777.
