Two-and-a-half-year-old Michelle Manders disappears from her Watertown home in the middle of the night in October 1981. About three weeks later, her body is found in the Rock River, which winds through town.

Hers was the fifth in a series of strange disappearances and deaths in Jefferson County over a seven-year period. At first, police suspect she was abducted. But after her body is found, officials deem it an accidental drowning.

The district attorney at the time doubts that conclusion, and a review by the Journal Sentinel reveals shortcomings in the investigation.

For more information on the true crime series Unsolved: A murder mystery podcast, visit http://usatoday.com/unsolved.

For more reporting on cold cases, unsolved cases and true crime detectives, as well as additional true crime stories and investigative journalism visit witness.usatoday.com. Crime reporter and investigative reporter Gina Barton is also host of Untested: A true crime podcast, in which Annie Harrison joins the rank of true crime detectives as she solves the cold case of a possible serial rapist. Subscribe to Untested: A true crime podcast at https://art19.com/shows/untested

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