December 19, 1949. Juneau County, Wisconsin. A fire breaks out at the residence of four-year old Ricky Jean “Jeannie” Bryant, which burns her family’s farmhouse to the ground. While Jeannie’s remains cannot be found in the rubble, the authorities conclude that she died in the fire. As the years go by and Jeannie’s surviving siblings discuss what happened, they become troubled by a number of suspicious discrepancies, including the presence of an unidentified blonde woman who had stopped by the house while the fire was taking place. They begin to believe their mother and grandmother may have orchestrated Jeannie’s disappearance and that she could still be alive somewhere, so they manage to convince the authorities to open a new investigation. Did Ricky Jean Bryant actually die in the fire, or was the whole thing an elaborate set-up to fake her death? On this year’s final holiday-themed episode, “The Trail Went Child” tackles a truly unusual missing children’s case.

If you have any information about this case, please contact the Juneau County Sheriff’s Office at (608) 847-5649.

Additional Reading:

https://charleyproject.org/case/ricky-jean-bryant

https://lostnfoundblogs.com/f/ricky-jean-bryant-taken-or-trapped

https://madison.com/news/local/siblings-hold-out-for-long-lost-sister-first-edition-mystery-of-long-lost-sister-may/article_2ab0f9e9-17ff-50c7-be36-446231e4934e.html

https://madison.com/mobile/article_565e45b1-c765-5869-a130-f911017c2e04.html

https://www.wiscnews.com/news/local/search-continues-for-ricky-jean-bryant/article_cb9c12bc-bd7c-530d-a558-80a143fb32e5.html

https://wi-homicide.com/content/area-cold-case-mysteries-keep-investigators-searching

https://www.newspapers.com/image/407566158/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/404441037/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/404442939/

“The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.

“The Trail Went Cold” is doing a weekly livestream show on Vokl every Thursday from 7:00-8:00 PM ET as part of their “True  Crime Thursday” line-up. For more information, please visit their website.

The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.