There are some cases where the silence is the loudest part of the story.
No suspect.
No public explanation.
No clear answer—just a timeline, a discovery, and a family still waiting.
In June 2020, 22-year-old Katelyn Kelley disappeared from the Menominee Indian Reservation in northeastern Wisconsin. Months later, her remains were found.
And still, today, her case remains unsolved.
Who Was Katelyn Kelley?
Before anything else, Katelyn was a person—not a case.
She was 22 years old. A daughter. A young mother. Someone her family described as reliable, someone who stayed in touch, someone who would not simply walk away from her life without explanation.
That detail matters.
Because when someone like that disappears, it doesn’t feel like a mystery—it feels like something is wrong.
Where This Happened: The Menominee Reservation
Katelyn disappeared from the Menominee Indian Reservation, located in northeastern Wisconsin.
The reservation—home to the Menominee Indian Tribe—is centered around Keshena, about 45 miles northwest of Green Bay. It spans roughly 235,000 acres (about 358 square miles) and largely overlaps with Menominee County, one of the least populated counties in the state.
This is not a dense urban setting.
It’s a landscape of long roads, wooded areas, rivers, and scattered communities. At night, distances stretch. Visibility drops. And what seems close on a map can feel incredibly far in reality.
That geography matters when someone goes missing.
The Night Katelyn Disappeared
The timeline in this case is narrow—but critical.
- June 16, 2020 (~10:30 p.m.) – Katelyn was seen near County Highway VV and Silver Canoe Road on the reservation.
- Late that night into early morning (11:00 p.m. – 3:00 a.m.) Authorities stated she was observed at her apartment in Shawano, Wisconsin.
- June 18, 2020 – Katelyn was reported missing by her family.
That’s the window.
Somewhere between those locations—and within those hours—something happened that has never been publicly explained.
The Ride That Still Matters
One of the most important details investigators shared early on was this:
Police believed someone may have given Katelyn a ride near County Highway VV and Silver Canoe Road.
They publicly asked that person to come forward.
That request is incredibly specific—and incredibly important.
It doesn’t mean the driver was responsible for harming her. But it does suggest that person may have been one of the last to see her. They may know where she was going, who she was with, or what was happening in those final known hours.
In cases like this, a single interaction—a ride, a conversation, a stop—can become the key to everything.
And as far as the public knows, that piece of the timeline has never been fully explained.
Search Efforts and a Growing Silence
In the days and weeks after Katelyn was reported missing, search efforts expanded across the area.
Authorities described searching:
- Roadways
- Forested areas
- Bodies of water
Community members—hunters, campers, residents—were asked to stay alert and report anything unusual.
By July 2020, the Menominee Tribe announced a $5,000 reward for information, and multiple agencies were involved, including tribal police, the FBI, and local law enforcement.
But even with that attention, answers did not come.
The Discovery
On March 17, 2021, human remains were found on the Menominee Reservation.
An autopsy confirmed those remains were Katelyn Kelley.
But even in that moment—when one question was answered—many others remained.
Authorities did not publicly release the location where her body was found.
They did not publicly disclose her cause of death.
They did not publicly explain what happened between her last known movements and her death.
And they made it clear: the investigation was ongoing.
Still Unsolved
Today, the Wisconsin Department of Justice still lists Katelyn Kelley’s case as unsolved.
That means:
- No publicly identified suspect
- No confirmed cause or manner of death released
- No official explanation of what happened
Just an open case—and a request for information.
A Wider Pattern in Wisconsin
Katelyn’s case exists within a broader reality that cannot be ignored.
Wisconsin officials have acknowledged that cases involving missing and murdered Indigenous women are often:
- Underreported
- Misclassified
- Complicated by overlapping jurisdictions
Even today, there is no fully accurate statewide count of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
Research organizations have also emphasized that existing data likely represents an undercount, not the full picture.
That doesn’t explain what happened to Katelyn.
But it helps explain why cases like hers can remain unresolved for so long.
The Questions That Remain
Years later, the most important questions are still unanswered:
- Who gave Katelyn a ride that night?
- What happened after she was last seen at her apartment?
- What evidence do investigators have that has not been made public?
- And most importantly—who knows something they haven’t said?
Because in many unsolved cases, the truth isn’t completely missing.
It’s just never been fully spoken.
How You Can Help
If you have any information about Katelyn Kelley’s disappearance or death, you are urged to contact:
Menominee Tribal Police Department
(715) 799-5806
Wisconsin Clearinghouse for Missing & Exploited Children & Adults
1-800-843-4673
wisconsinclearinghouse@doj.state.wi.us
Even the smallest detail could matter.
Final Thoughts
Katelyn Kelley was 22 years old.
She disappeared in June 2020.
She was found in March 2021.
And her story is still unfinished.
This isn’t just a mystery.
It’s a life that deserves answers.
And somewhere, someone may still hold the piece that brings them.
Have thoughts on this story or other cases you’d like to see highlighted? Share them with us in the comments or connect with us on social media. Together, we can ensure that stories like this one are never forgotten.
Listen to our full episode on Katelyn’s case on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. If her story moved you, share this post. Visibility is the one thing that costs nothing and could change everything.
Don’t forget to follow us on social media, @VanishedVoicesPod, share your thoughts, and let us know what you’d like to hear about in future episodes. If you have any true crime stories of your own, send them our way Vanishedvoicespodcast@gmail.com to be featured on a future episode! And as always, Refuse to let these voices vanish. See you in the next episode of Vanished Voices!
Resources:
Native News Online. (2020, June 26). Search for missing Katelyn Kelley continues.
https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/search-for-missing-katelyn-kelley-continues/
Green Bay Press-Gazette. (2021, March 25). Katelyn Kelley’s body found on Menominee Reservation in Wisconsin.
https://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/news/native-american-issues/2021/03/25/katelyn-kelley-body-found-menominee-reservation-wisconsin-mmiw/6982084002/
Uncovered. (n.d.). Katelyn Kelley: Missing person case.
https://uncovered.com/cases/katelyn-kelley-keshena-wa
Wisconsin Department of Justice. (n.d.). Unsolved case: Katelyn Kelley.
https://www.missingpersons.doj.wi.gov/wisconsin-unsolved-cases/unsolved-katelyn-kelley
FOX 11 News. (2020). Menominee Tribal Police looking for missing woman.
https://fox11online.com/news/local/menominee-tribal-police-looking-for-missing-woman
Official / Primary Sources
Wisconsin Department of Justice. (2020, June 30). Wisconsin DOJ announces Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Task Force [Press release].
https://www.wisdoj.gov/PressReleases/6.30.20_MMIW_TaskForce_Announce.pdf
Wisconsin Department of Justice. (2020, October 15). MMIW Task Force membership announced [Press release].
https://www.wisdoj.gov/PressReleases/10.15.20_MMIW_Membership_1.pdf
Wisconsin Department of Justice. (2023, April 27). MMIW Task Force resolution supporting budget proposals [Press release].
https://www.wisdoj.gov/PressReleases/4.27.23_MMIW_Resolution_0.pdf
Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin. (n.d.). Brief history / Our location.
https://www.menominee-nsn.gov/culturepages/briefhistory
Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin. (n.d.). Legislature.
https://www.menominee-nsn.gov/GovernmentPages/Legislature
Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin. (n.d.). Facts & figures reference book.
https://www.menominee-nsn.gov/CulturePages/Documents/FactsFigureswithSupplement.pdf
U.S. Census Bureau. (n.d.). QuickFacts: Menominee County, Wisconsin.
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/menomineecountywisconsin/PST045224
Tribal / Indigenous-Led Research
Urban Indian Health Institute. (2018). Missing and murdered Indigenous women & girls: A snapshot of data from 71 urban cities in the United States.
https://www.uihi.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Missing-and-Murdered-Indigenous-Women-and-Girls-Report.pdf
Indigenous Journalists Association. (n.d.). Reporting guides.
https://indigenousjournalists.org/reporting-guides/
Indigenous Journalists Association. (2023). Reporting and Indigenous terminology guide.
https://indigenousjournalists.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/NAJA_Reporting_and_Indigenous_Terminology_Guide.pdf
Original Reporting
WBAY. (2020, June 23). Family of missing Menominee Reservation woman seeking answers.
https://www.wbay.com/content/news/Family-of-missing-Menominee-Reservation-woman-seeking-answers-571452381.html
WBAY. (2020, July 2). Tribal police believe someone gave missing woman a ride before disappearance.
https://www.wbay.com/2020/07/02/tribal-police-believe-someone-gave-missing-woman-a-ride-before-disappearance/
NBC 26 News. (2020, July 22). Menominee Tribe addresses ongoing search for missing persons.
https://www.nbc26.com/news/local-news/menominee-tribe-addresses-ongoing-search-for-missing-persons
Wisconsin Examiner. (2020, July 28). Searching for Katelyn Kelley.
https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2020/07/28/searching-for-katelyn-kelley/
WBAY. (2021, March 22). Police: Remains of missing woman found on Menominee Reservation.
https://www.wbay.com/2021/03/22/police-remains-of-missing-woman-found-on-menominee-reservation/
FOX 11 News. (2021, March 22). Human remains found on reservation belong to missing woman, police say.
https://fox11online.com/news/fox-11-investigates/human-remains-found-on-reservation-belong-to-missing-woman-police
Native News Online. (2021, March 22). Remains of missing Indigenous woman found on Menominee Reservation.
https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/remains-of-missing-indigenous-woman-found-on-menominee-reservation/
Context / Ethics
Society of Professional Journalists. (2014). SPJ code of ethics.
https://www.spj.org/spj-code-of-ethics/