FOND DU LAC COUNTY — Investigators have completed an extensive search of the former home of missing 5-year-old Bobby Jo Fritz, recovering new potential evidence they hope will provide answers in the unsolved 1983 disappearance.
The Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office announced that execution of the search warrant concluded late yesterday, and the property has been released back to its owner, who officials emphasized has no connection to the Fritz family or the investigation.
Although investigators did not locate Bobby Jo’s remains, detectives recovered additional items they believe could have evidentiary value. The evidence will be submitted to specialized laboratories for analysis, a process officials say could take several months or longer than a year.
According to Sheriff Ryan Waldschmidt, the search was the result of renewed investigative efforts over the past year. Detectives conducted new interviews—including with individuals who had never previously been questioned—and re-examined the original case file. That work established probable cause for a search warrant.
The initial basement search uncovered potential evidence, leading to a full-scale excavation involving sheriff’s detectives, Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation agents, crime scene analysts, Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory personnel, and a forensic anthropologist.
Investigators said approximately 500 five-gallon buckets—roughly 30,000 pounds—of soil were removed from the basement by hand using only hand tools. Each bucket was sifted and examined for evidence.
The sheriff’s office says advances in forensic technology, along with fresh investigative perspectives from new detectives, continue to provide opportunities to revisit long-unsolved cases.
Anyone with information about Bobby Jo Fritz’s disappearance is encouraged to contact Detective Tyler Tikkanen at 920-929-3384. Anonymous tips may also be submitted through the Fond du Lac County Tip Line at 920-906-4777.
