Body of Missing 10-Year-Old Girl Found After Urgent Search in Wisconsin

A search for a missing 10-year-old Wisconsin girl ended in tragedy on July 7, 2020, when authorities confirmed that her body had been found near her Baraboo home.

Kodie Dutcher was last seen at approximately 4 p.m. on July 6 in the 1100 block of 12th Street in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Police responded to the apartment complex around 5:40 p.m. and spoke with her mother.

According to the police account, information gathered at the residence raised concerns about Kodie’s safety. Authorities believed she had left the residence on foot. Her phone and shoes were reportedly left behind.

An Amber Alert was subsequently issued as law enforcement and emergency personnel began searching the surrounding area.

The search involved the Baraboo Police Department, Baraboo Fire Department, and K-9 teams from Wisconsin Dells. Officers and volunteers worked through the evening and into the following morning in an effort to locate the child.

A Devastating Discovery

At approximately 11 a.m. on July 7, authorities confirmed that Kodie’s body had been found near the intersection of 11th Street and County Highway T, close to where she lived.

The discovery brought an end to the immediate search but left a grieving family and community facing an unimaginable loss.

The information available in the account does not establish the cause or manner of Kodie’s death. Those details should not be assumed without confirmation from investigators or official records.

A Community Left Grieving

Cases involving missing children can bring an entire community together, particularly when there is an immediate concern for a child’s safety. In Kodie’s case, emergency personnel and search teams responded quickly after authorities were alerted that she was missing.

What began as a desperate effort to bring a 10-year-old girl home safely ended with the confirmation of her death less than 24 hours later.

The circumstances surrounding her disappearance and death remain an important part of understanding what happened. But regardless of the unanswered questions, the outcome was devastating: a young girl who had been the subject of an urgent search would not be returning home.

For Kodie’s family, July 2020 became a date marked not by a reunion, but by heartbreak.

And for the community of Baraboo, the case remains a reminder of how quickly a missing-child emergency can turn into an unimaginable tragedy.