Katharina Buczek
On Wednesday, June 5, 1974, seventeen-year-old Catherine Lynne Sjoberg of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, headed to one of the most coveted events among high schoolers– prom.
Catherine, also known as Cathy, attended with her boyfriend Timothy as her date. And for a while, the evening went magically.
Then, at about 3:00 a.m., she reportedly left the post-prom party– which was being held at Concord House– following a disagreement with Timothy. One of Catherine’s friends witnessed her storming off.
But where exactly Catherine went and what happened next during those early morning hours has remained unknown– because Catherine was never seen or heard from again.
No alarm bells had gone off in her mother, Ruth Schwartz’s, head until Friday night. Apparently, Catherine was supposed to have spent the night at a friend’s house, so she was not expected at home until then.
By that evening, though, Timothy called Ruth to tell her that “Nobody can find Cathy.”
The police were immediately notified, but due to wet and cold inclement weather, a search was not launched until Saturday. And even after both foot and air searches were conducted, no evidence of Catherine was found.
So, the searches continued for weeks, according to former Sheriff Roger Reinel. Still, these efforts never found any evidence to indicate that Catherine was dead.
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children; pictured above is Catherine
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