Louise N. Zunker - Missing in Wisconsin Since 1976

Paraphrased details from government source**: The missing person, Louise N. Zunker, had a scheduled dentist appointment for August 17th, 1976 in Portage, Wisconsin. Louise's sister, Hilda Zunker, took her to the dentist appointment (ie. disputed: I think they were just planning to go there). They were in the parking lot (possibly of a shopping center) when her sister turned around and Louise was gone. There were reported sightings of Louise walking east on Albert Street in the Mud Lake vicinity several hours after becoming separated from her sister. There has been no known contact with Louise since this time.

Missing Person: Louise Zunker
Last-contact date: August 17th, 1976 (Tuesday)
The area where the MP was last seen: Portage, Wisconsin, possibly walking east on Albert Street in the Mud Lake district of town. 
Link to government source: NamUs MP84012

VITAL DETAILS

Ethnicity: Caucasian
Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 56 years old
Birthdate: Louise Zunker was born between August 18th, 1919, and August 17th, 1920 based on her reported age at the last date of reported contact.
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Scar: None
Height/weight: 5-foot-3 to 5-foot-5 and 125 to 135 pounds
BMI*: Louise Zunker was in the normal range for BMI.
Tattoos: Louise Zunker did not have any tattoos associated with her profiles.
Find-a-grave: There is a Louise N. Zunker on find-a-grave.com for the Columbia County area of Wisconsin. This person has an unknown date of death. It may reference the same person, however, it's likely a cenotaph memorial and not a final resting place.

Louise Zunker was last heard from on August 17th, 1976 when she was 56 years of age. This individual has now been missing for about 45 years as of the original publication date of this blog post.

The NamUs description of Louise's circumstances isn't great. It's hard to tell from that source if she disappeared before or after the dentist appointment. According to some journalism I read from 1976, she and her sister Hilda appeared to be on their way to the appointment, presumptively from their shared residence or from a shopping center. One source gave her address as 619 W. Franklin Street while another newspaper article gave her address as 56 Franklin Street. The individual that reported her missing was her brother Albert on August 18th, 1976.

21 Aug 1976, Sat Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wisconsin) Newspapers.com

The article below mentions that Louise was despondent at the time of her disappearance. In my view, that increases the chances of a voluntary disappearance or even suicide and decreases the chances of something clandestine happening to her. However, everything appears to be in play. One thing that stood out with this case is the way Louise seemingly just went "poof" into thin air. In picturing the disappearance, I imagined Louise and Hilda walking in stride and then Louise disappearing when Hilda wasn't paying attention to her.

07 Sep 1976, Tue Waukesha Daily Freeman (Waukesha, Wisconsin) Newspapers.com

20 Aug 1976, Fri Portage Daily Register (Portage, Wisconsin) Newspapers.com

Given the missing person's footwear (ie. low heels), it's hard to picture her planning on walking all that far. I considered the Albert Street sighting and examined the bridges in the area as prospective suicide points. However, none appeared to be of sufficient height. However, Google Maps in the area only went back to 2008. 

The marshy area to the east of Mud Lake could be the focal point. However, if she was planning to kill herself, the method is the question. It would be interesting to learn about her purchases on the shopping trip that she was reportedly on. That they searched the marshy area to the west of the town and did not find her does not mean that she could not still be there. Police searches fail quite often.

This was an individual who was in Ancestry's files with simple searches (ie. first and last name) as she appeared in a few censuses with her original family. She had at least two sisters by my research, one of which is likely the one referenced in the NamUs description as being the last person that knew Louise to see her alive.

Louise's whereabouts were sought for legal matters that developed following the death of her mother in 1977. She was referred to as "deceased" in a 1983 classified ad, which isn't unusual given the circumstances.

25 Jun 1977, Sat Portage Daily Register (Portage, Wisconsin) Newspapers.com

17 Dec 1977, Sat Portage Daily Register (Portage, Wisconsin) Newspapers.com

12 Nov 1983, Sat Portage Daily Register (Portage, Wisconsin) Newspapers.com

Louise Zunker may have had the following articles when she disappeared: a blue and white square patterned sleeveless dress; a blue/black raincoat, dark-rimmed and tinted glasses, and beige low-heeled shoes.

Furthermore, she was thought to only have 15 cents in her purse. These are items that can be cross-referenced against Jane Does or reports associated with unidentified remains in hopes of finding a reason for further comparison between Zunker and the Jane Doe.

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Author: Shane Lambert (Edmonton, Canada)

All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

Shane Lambert (Edmonton, Canada) is not a Private Investigator, however, he is currently studying to be one as of April 2021.

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Website hashtag: #MPCSL

*For BMI values, I use the UPPER or HIGHER ranges that are given for height and weight.
**Might not be the exact meaning that NamUs or Canada's Missing conveys. I improve upon their descriptions with my research.
Disclaimer: Whenever possible, government sources are preferred for getting the details of a missing persons case. However, any source that the article writer deems reputable may be used.

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