A Wisconsin Woman Vanished on Her Way to a Bar. Then, 12 Years Later, Her 5-Year-Old Niece Also Disappeared.
A 21-year-old Wisconsin woman left her home in 2009 to meet her cousin at a bar in the next town.
However, the woman never made it to the establishment that night and never returned home. There has been no trace of her since.
On Aug. 21, 2009, police said Rose Marie Bly left her residence in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, to drive just a few miles away. Before leaving, Rose told her husband she would be back before midnight.
Five days after her disappearance, her vehicle was found in a parking lot in Grantsburg, Wisconsin. The Federal Bureau of Investigation said the lot where it was found is typically used by truckers to park their tractor-trailers. The parking lot was approximately 30 miles from her home.
At the time the vehicle was located, the keys to her car were missing and there was no evidence of foul play recorded, The Sun reported.
Before she disappeared, Rose allegedly told her mother she fell off of a horse and was experiencing some head pain, The Sun reported. Because of that, her mother later speculated that Rose suffered brain damage from the fall and wandered off on her own.
There was never any evidence to support the theory, however.
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Rose had two daughters under the age of 2 when she vanished. Her husband filed for a divorce after she went missing, which a Wisconsin court granted. He also was given full custody of their daughters.
Rose’s mother, Candus Harer, spoke with WJHL in 2019 and said, “It’s just, it’s horrible, it’s hard to deal with, very hard to deal with, and my life will never be normal without knowing where my daughter is.”
Tragically, over a decade after Rose disappeared, her young niece, Summer Wells, also vanished in Tennessee. The then 5-year-old girl was reported missing in June 2021 and the hunt for her is ongoing.
Family believe the child may have been abducted.
Anyone with information about Rose Bly is urged to call (715) 485-8300 or, in the case of Summer Wells, (800) TBI-FIND.
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