In 1949, This Wisconsin Toddler Disappeared During A House Fire A Week Before Christmas: But, It Remains Unknown If She Was Somehow Kidnapped In The Chaos
In 1949, Ricky Jean Bryant was just four years old. The toddler lived with her grandmother, who was her primary caretaker, as well as her two siblings in Mauston, Wisconsin.
But on December 19 that year– less than a week before Christmas– the Bryant family suffered two grave tragedies.
That afternoon, a horrific fire broke out inside Ricky’s home. But, amidst a battle with the flames, the four-year-old mysteriously disappeared.
According to Ricky’s older brother, who was five years old at the time, he and his two siblings had made it out of the home safely.
Then, while standing in the front yard and watching the fire rage on, he claims that a woman driving an expensive-looking vehicle rolled up in front of the Bryant family property.
At that point, Ricky’s brother claims the woman instructed him to go to a neighbor’s house for help. Instead of running over to the nearest home, though, the woman reportedly told him to go to a neighbor’s house that was a bit further down the block.
Ricky’s brother did oblige and ran to that further house. Once he returned to his own home with help, though, he claimed that both Ricky and the unknown woman had disappeared.
Now, Ricky’s grandmother actually recalls an entirely different chain of events. The grandmother detailed how, after the fire broke out, she grabbed Ricky’s sister and brother to take them outside.
Then, the grandmother ran back inside the home to locate Ricky and claimed she was unable to find the four-year-old.
Wisconsin Clearinghouse for Missing and Exploited Children and Adults – pictured above is Ricky
Interestingly, though, the neighbor that Ricky’s brother alerted for help also shared their perspective of events– and the story lined up much more with the young boy’s.
In addition, the neighbor claims that after they arrived, Ricky’s grandmother actually told them to stop looking for the four-year-old. Plus, the grandmother reportedly claimed that Ricky was already elsewhere.
Being that the Bryant home had been destroyed in the fire, most investigators believed that Ricky had perished due to the flames.
Once the property was extinguished, there was also some debris thought to be possible bone fragments which were sent out for analysis at a state laboratory.
The lab never identified the bones as belonging to Ricky, though, and the toddler’s siblings still believe that their sister might be alive.
In fact, the Bryant kids think that Ricky might have been conceived out of wedlock. So, they have a hunch that the fire was lit as a sort-of diversion to help the unknown woman take Ricky away from her family and home.
And per Ricky’s siblings’ request, investigators have since reopened the investigation into the four-year-old’s disappearance– even though she vanished over seventy years ago.
Back in 2006, one Minnesota woman even had her DNA tested after believing that she could have possibly been a Bryant family member. The woman’s DNA test revealed she was not a match, though.
Moreover, in early 2000, a flood wiped out all of the records associated with Ricky’s house fire and disappearance.
This is a substantial setback since first-person accounts of the case are harder and harder to come by with each passing year.
“The problem is no one from the fire department is still around from back then, no one from the sheriff’s department is still around, and some members of her family have passed,” explained Shaun Goyette of the Juneau County Sheriff’s Office.
So, Ricky’s case still remains unsolved to this day. In 2012, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children released a composite photo of what Ricky might have looked like that year.
If you have any information regarding her disappearance or whereabouts, you are urged to contact the Juneau County Sheriff’s Department at (608) 847-5649.
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