3/22/25

Hometown Tragedy: The Vanishing of a Promising Wisconsin Teen | Full Episode

Barrett Beck, 18, vanished in 1990. Her van was found, then her body. Dennis Brantner's prints were on the van; he was charged. A mistrial occurred, he later pled to reckless homicide. The Beck family created a music scholarship in her memory.

This video delves into the disappearance and subsequent investigation of 18-year-old Barrett Beck in 1990, from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Here's a breakdown:

  • The Disappearance: Barrett Beck vanished while traveling to Appleton for computer training [00:49]. Her van was found a couple of days later at a Kmart, but she was nowhere to be found [04:05].

  • The Discovery: A month later, her body was found in a ditch near Waupun [07:07].

  • The Investigation:

    • Investigators found cigarette ashes in the van, even though Barrett wasn't a smoker [04:54].

    • They also found that a section of the red shirt she was wearing had been cut or torn [05:45].

    • Initially, a person named Craig Ron was investigated, but was later ruled out [09:11].

    • Years later, in 2013, the case was revisited, and fingerprints from the van were matched to Dennis Brantner [12:13].

    • Brantner had a history of car theft and was a smoker [09:18].

    • He was interviewed and gave strange stories, but denied killing Barrett [14:45].

  • The Trial and Outcome:

    • Brantner was charged with first-degree intentional homicide [16:02].

    • The trial was largely circumstantial, with no direct witnesses or DNA evidence linking him to the body [16:49].

    • The jury was hung, and a mistrial was declared [18:38].

    • Brantner later accepted an Alford plea to a lesser charge of first-degree reckless homicide [19:44].

  • Legacy: The Beck family established a scholarship for aspiring musicians at Barrett's high school [20:40].

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