On May 14, 1983, 5-year-old Bobby Joe Fritz asked his sister to walk him back home after playing a game of kickball with the neighborhood kids in the Wisconsin village of Campbellsport. After walking him toward their house and watching as he made it to the end of their driveway, his sister waved goodbye and returned to kickball — and that was the last confirmed sighting of Bobby Joe. For nearly four decades, police in Wisconsin have been trying to figure out how Bobby Joe seemingly vanished into thin air.
Courtesy of Wisconsin Association of Homicide Investigators and Wisconsin Department of Justice
Episode Info
If you know anything about the 1983 disappearance of Bobby Joseph Fritz, please call the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office at 920-906-4777.
To donate to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, visit audiochuck.missingkids.org. To learn more about NCMEC, visit missingkids.org.
An article in Fond du Lac’s newspaper The Reporter from July 22, 1983 — two months after Bobby Joe’s disappearance — noting that his sixth birthday was less than one month away. Photo Courtesy: The Reporter
A photo of Michael Menzer with his death notice in the Sheboygan Press. Mezner was the prime suspect in Bobby Joe’s disappearance after police found evidence that he preyed on young boys. Photo Courtesy: Sheboygan County Sherriff's Office
Mezner’s house/art gallery in Waldo, Wisconsin. He bought the property in 1981. Photo Courtesy: Sheboygan County Sherriff's Office
Mezner’s house/art gallery in Waldo, Wisconsin. He bought the property in 1981. Photo Courtesy: Sheboygan County Sherriff's Office
A photocopy of one of Menzer’s paintings, which appears to depict six young boys. Photo Courtesy: Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Office
In 1990, Menzer’s art gallery/home was set ablaze, killing his 7 and 8-year-old stepsons. Menzer was later convicted for the murder of the two children and arson. Photo Courtesy: Sheboygan County Sherriff's Office
An article in The Reporter from May 14, 2013, with a digitally aged photo of Bobby Joe, predicting what he would have looked like at age 32 — 27 years after his disappearance. Photo Courtesy: The Reporter
After receiving a tip from a relative of Menzer, members of the Sheboygan County and Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Departments conducted two days of excavation operations at Grasshopper Hill. They were fully expecting to find Bobby Joe’s body but found nothing in their search. Photo Courtesy: Sheboygan County Sherriff's Office
The Sheboygan Press featured Bobby Joe’s story on March 19, 2017 - Page 1 Photo Courtesy: Sheboygan Press
The Sheboygan Press featured Bobby Joe’s story on March 19, 2017 - Page 2 Photo Courtesy: Sheboygan Press