MISSING
Ricky Jean (Jeannie) Bryant
A 4-year-old disappears while her family home burns down
Last updated: November 18, 2021
Location: Mauston, WI
Date of last contact: December 19, 1949
Date Missing: December 19, 1949
Birthday: November 9, 1945
Current Age: 76
Age at Incident: 4
NAMUS Number: MP5890
Hair Colour: Blonde
Height: 3’4″
Weight: 40 lbs
Race: Caucasian / White
Gender: Female
Ricky Jean Bryant was last seen in Mauston, Wisconsin on December 19, 1949. She was at home with her grandmother, who was her primary caregiver, and two other siblings. That afternoon, a fire broke out in the house. Accounts of what happened next differ between those who were there.
According to Ricky’s 5-year-old brother, he and his siblings were standing in the yard watching the fire when a woman drove up in an expensive-looking car. He claims she instructed him to get help, and rather than go to the nearest home, she urged him to go to a house further down the road. When he returned with help, both his sister and the unidentified woman were gone.
Ricky’s grandmother, however, told a very different account of events. She claims that when the fire started, she took Jeannie’s brother and sister outside, and then returned to the house to find Ricky. She was unable to locate her.
The neighbour that came to help has also shared her story, which is much more in line with Ricky’s brothers’ account. Further, she claims that Ricky’s grandmother told her to stop looking and that Ricky was elsewhere.
Most authorities believe Jeannie died in the fire that consumed her house. Some possible bone fragments were sent to a state laboratory for analysis, but they were not identified as hers.
Ricky’s siblings believe she may possibly still be alive. They think Jeannie was possibly conceived out of wedlock and the fire was set as a diversion so someone could take Jeannie away from her home.
It was at her siblings’ request that authorities reopened the investigation into Jeannie’s disappearance over fifty years after she vanished. A Minnesota woman had her DNA tested against the Bryant’s family in 2006, but the results were not a match. Her case remains unsolved.
