Vance and Kimberly Cramer of Oconomowoc have filed a lawsuit against Norris Adolescent Center after their son disappeared in February 2024 and remained missing. Isaiah Cramer, who was 16 when he disappeared, left the facility on the evening of Feb. 4, 2024, and the complaint states he is presumed dead.
Lawsuit Details Night Cramer Walked Off
According to Greater Milwaukee Today, the lawsuit was filed against Norris Adolescent Center.
Isaiah had been admitted to Norris Adolescent Center by court order on July 26, 2023, according to the complaint as reported by the outlet. The complaint further states that staff had been instructed to follow youths who tried to leave to the property line, attempt to persuade them to return, and call 911 immediately if a resident did not come back.
Pattern of Departures Before Feb. 4
The complaint states Isaiah had left the facility and walked off the grounds on multiple documented occasions before the night he disappeared, and that he had been bullied by peers during his time there, per the same account.
He left the facility that night, the lawsuit states.
Headphones Confirmed by DNA, Family Still Without Answers
Cramer left the facility without his epilepsy medication that night, according to WISN. Months later, the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department confirmed that headphones found in the woods near the Norris facility belonged to Isaiah, based on DNA testing, per WISN's reporting.
Searches for Isaiah involved K-9 units, drones and volunteers who came from across the country to help comb the area around the facility, according to a separate WISN report. Despite the extensive effort, Isaiah remains missing.
Facility's Response and State Oversight
Norris Adolescent Center Executive Director Mark Mertens received a request for comment from the Freeman but had not returned the call as of Friday afternoon, according to the outlet's reporting. Norris is a treatment facility in Vernon.
The lawsuit filed by Vance and Kimberly Cramer does not resolve what happened to their son after he walked toward Highway L that night, and the complaint's allegations against Norris remain just that — allegations pending the outcome of the case.
