Overview

Last Seen: September 8, 1975

Location: Her residence near West Elm Street and North Hudson Avenue, Sturgeon Bay, Door County, Wisconsin

Age: 35

Circumstances: Carol disappeared from her home while her husband, Richard Gale Pierce, was serving with the U.S. Coast Guard in Sturgeon Bay. Personal possessions and her cat remained at the residence, and investigators found no subsequent records demonstrating that Carol established another life.

Case Outcome: Richard Pierce was charged in 2018 and convicted in April 2022 of first-degree murder and disinterment of the dead.

Sentence: Life imprisonment for murder plus three years for disinterment of the dead.

Current Status: Richard Pierce died in prison on October 24, 2024. His appeal continued after his death and received a new attorney in February 2026. Carol’s remains have never been recovered.

Key Unresolved Question: The location of Carol Jean Pierce’s remains remains unknown.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Carol Jean Pierce: The 1975 Sturgeon Bay Murder Case That Took Decades to Reach a Conviction

Carol Jean Pierce was 35 years old when she disappeared from Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, in September 1975. For more than four decades, no one was charged in her disappearance, her remains were never recovered, and her case remained one of Wisconsin’s enduring cold cases.

That changed in 2018, when her husband, Richard Gale Pierce, was charged with her murder. Nearly 47 years after Carol vanished, a Door County jury convicted him of first-degree murder and disinterment of the dead.

Yet one question remains unanswered: Where is Carol Jean Pierce?

Carol Jean Pierce’s Disappearance in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin

Wisconsin’s Clearinghouse for Missing & Exploited Children & Adults lists Carol Jean Pierce as missing since September 8, 1975. She was 35 years old, 5 feet 5 inches tall and approximately 115 pounds, with blonde hair and hazel eyes. Identifying characteristics included a small scar on her upper lip and a surgical pin in her right femur.

Carol was last seen at her residence near West Elm Street and North Hudson Avenue in Sturgeon Bay sometime between approximately 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Her husband, Richard Gale Pierce, was serving aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mesquite, which was homeported in Sturgeon Bay. According to the Sturgeon Bay Police Department’s account of the case, Richard said he spoke with Carol at their home around 8:00 a.m. before leaving for work. He said that when he returned later that afternoon, she was gone.

Friends who visited the home after learning Carol was missing reportedly found her purse, personal belongings and prized cat still there. The couple had only one vehicle, and Richard had possession of it.

What Happened After Carol Disappeared?

According to the Sturgeon Bay Police Department, Richard traveled to Cheboygan, Michigan, on September 12, 1975, to see whether Carol had gone to property the couple owned there.

The department states that Richard reported Carol missing to Sturgeon Bay police on September 15. Days later, he retired from the Coast Guard and subsequently relocated to the couple’s property in Cheboygan.

Carol never reestablished contact with her family.

Investigators eventually checked an extensive range of records in an effort to determine whether Carol could have left Wisconsin and begun another life. Searches included credit records, Social Security information, driver’s-license and government databases, insurance information, international records and other sources. Investigators reported finding no subsequent activity attributable to Carol.

A Case That Remained Unsolved for Decades

Carol’s disappearance remained unresolved as investigators revisited the case over the years.

Former Sturgeon Bay Police Chief Arleigh Porter began working on the investigation as a detective in the early 1980s. Authorities continued attempting to determine whether Carol was alive and searching for evidence that might explain her disappearance.

Investigators also turned their attention to Richard Pierce’s property in Cheboygan, Michigan.

A search was conducted there in 2008. The property was searched again during the renewed investigation in 2018.

During the 2018 search, a trained human-remains detection dog alerted at six locations at Richard’s Michigan residence. Investigators examined an area beneath the home where a section of the crawlspace appeared to have changed since the earlier search.

Despite those searches, Carol’s remains were not recovered.

The Cold Case Investigation Leads to Richard Pierce

The investigation gained significant momentum in 2018 when the Wisconsin Cold Case Review Team examined the case.

Investigators focused on circumstances surrounding Carol’s disappearance, Richard’s statements over the years, the couple’s relationship, the absence of records showing Carol living elsewhere and what prosecutors argued Richard stood to gain after she disappeared.

Witness testimony also became important.

At trial, jurors heard testimony concerning statements Carol reportedly made before she disappeared about problems in her marriage and fears concerning her husband.

Prosecutors argued that Carol did not voluntarily abandon her life. Among other circumstances, they pointed to personal possessions she left behind, her abrupt loss of contact with family and the absence of records establishing that she lived anywhere else after September 1975.

Richard maintained that Carol had left him and maintained his innocence.

Richard Pierce Charged With Carol Jean Pierce’s Murder

Richard Pierce was charged in 2018 with killing Carol.

The prosecution faced an unusual challenge: investigators had never found Carol’s body, a murder weapon or direct physical evidence establishing exactly how she died.

The case therefore depended heavily on circumstantial evidence and witness testimony accumulated across decades.

The defense argued that prosecutors could not establish that Carol was dead through physical evidence and challenged the state’s interpretation of the circumstances surrounding her disappearance.

The 2022 Trial

Richard Pierce went on trial in Door County in April 2022 at the age of 86.

Prosecutors presented six days of testimony. Jurors heard from Carol’s relatives, former law-enforcement officers, investigators, people who had known the couple and specialists involved in searches of Richard’s Michigan property.

The prosecution emphasized Carol’s complete disappearance from documented life, statements witnesses attributed to her before she vanished, Richard’s differing accounts and the human-remains detection dog alerts at his Michigan property.

The defense stressed what investigators did not have: Carol’s remains, a known murder weapon, eyewitness testimony to a killing or physical evidence establishing precisely how Carol died.

Richard did not testify, and the defense called no witnesses.

Richard Pierce Convicted Without Carol’s Body Being Found

On April 29, 2022, after approximately 10 hours of deliberation, a Door County jury found Richard Gale Pierce guilty of first-degree murder and disinterment of the dead.

The verdict came approximately 47 years after Carol disappeared.

On August 5, 2022, Richard was sentenced to life in prison for Carol’s murder and an additional three years for disinterment of the dead.

Carol’s relatives continued asking for the one thing the conviction could not provide: the location of her remains.

Richard did not disclose where Carol was located.

Richard Pierce Dies in Prison

Richard Pierce continued to maintain his innocence and pursued post-conviction relief.

He died at age 88 at Dodge Correctional Institution on October 24, 2024, while serving his sentence.

His death did not immediately end the litigation surrounding his conviction.

In December 2024, a Door County judge rejected post-conviction arguments seeking to overturn the conviction. A notice of appeal was subsequently filed.

Latest Development: Richard Pierce’s Appeal Continues After His Death

The most recent publicly reported court development came in February 2026.

Although Richard Pierce had died in 2024, his appeal was permitted to continue because the appellate process had begun before his death. Proceedings had been delayed after his previous attorney experienced a medical issue.

In February 2026, attorney Brian Patrick Mullins was appointed to take over the appeal. News reports said the new attorney was given 60 days to file the appeal.

The continuing appeal concerns Richard Pierce’s conviction and evidentiary issues raised by the defense; it does not change the central unresolved physical question in Carol’s case.

As of the latest publicly available Wisconsin missing-person and Sturgeon Bay Police Department information, Carol Jean Pierce’s remains have still not been recovered. Wisconsin continues to maintain a missing-person entry for her, and authorities continue to provide a telephone number for anyone with information.

Very Brief Case Summary

Last Seen: September 8, 1975

Location: Her residence near West Elm Street and North Hudson Avenue, Sturgeon Bay, Door County, Wisconsin

Age: 35

Circumstances: Carol disappeared from her home while her husband, Richard Gale Pierce, was serving with the U.S. Coast Guard in Sturgeon Bay. Personal possessions and her cat remained at the residence, and investigators found no subsequent records demonstrating that Carol established another life.

Case Outcome: Richard Pierce was charged in 2018 and convicted in April 2022 of first-degree murder and disinterment of the dead.

Sentence: Life imprisonment for murder plus three years for disinterment of the dead.

Current Status: Richard Pierce died in prison on October 24, 2024. His appeal continued after his death and received a new attorney in February 2026. Carol’s remains have never been recovered.

Key Unresolved Question: The location of Carol Jean Pierce’s remains remains unknown.