Overview

Last seen: Public sources conflict on the exact date. Wisconsin’s official missing-person records list October 14, 2003, in Porterfield, Marinette County, Wisconsin. Other case sources state Carrie was last seen at approximately 12:30 p.m. on October 4, 2003, at her rural home near the 7200 block of North Shady Lane.

Age when missing: 39

Current status: Missing / unresolved

NamUs: MP365

Main circumstances: Carrie reportedly disappeared from her rural Porterfield residence and has never been heard from again. She was not reported missing until October 21, when her employer reported her disappearance. Public case summaries say authorities have considered foul play possible and Carrie’s husband a possible suspect. No criminal charge establishing responsibility for her disappearance is identified in the current public sources reviewed.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Carrie Ann Polega Missing Person Case: What Happened in Porterfield, Wisconsin?

Carrie Ann Polega was 39 years old when she disappeared from Porterfield in Marinette County, Wisconsin, in October 2003. More than two decades later, her whereabouts remain unknown, and Wisconsin authorities continue to list her as a missing adult. Her NamUs case number is MP365.

Brief Case Summary

Last seen: Public sources conflict on the exact date. Wisconsin’s official missing-person records list October 14, 2003, in Porterfield, Marinette County, Wisconsin. Other case sources state Carrie was last seen at approximately 12:30 p.m. on October 4, 2003, at her rural home near the 7200 block of North Shady Lane.

Age when missing: 39

Current status: Missing / unresolved

NamUs: MP365

Main circumstances: Carrie reportedly disappeared from her rural Porterfield residence and has never been heard from again. She was not reported missing until October 21, when her employer reported her disappearance. Public case summaries say authorities have considered foul play possible and Carrie’s husband a possible suspect. No criminal charge establishing responsibility for her disappearance is identified in the current public sources reviewed.

Carrie Polega Disappears From Porterfield

Carrie Ann Polega, whose maiden name was Stowell, was living in rural Porterfield when she vanished in October 2003. She was working as a waitress at the Northwoods Evergreen Ballroom, reportedly located close to her home. She had also worked as a bartender at taverns in the Kenosha area and was described as a motorcycle enthusiast.

The circumstances surrounding the date she was last seen contain an unresolved discrepancy in publicly available records.

Wisconsin’s Clearinghouse for Missing & Exploited Children & Adults lists Carrie’s missing date as October 14, 2003 and says her last known location was Porterfield. The state’s current missing-person poster likewise says she disappeared October 14 and was last seen in the morning at her residence in the Porterfield area. Her NamUs number is MP365.

However, The Charley Project reports that Carrie’s husband last saw her at approximately 12:30 p.m. on October 4, 2003, at their rural residence near the 7200 block of North Shady Lane. Wisconsin Missing Persons Advocacy also gives October 4 as the date she was last seen at home.

The reason for the ten-day difference is not explained in the currently available public records reviewed here.

More Than Two Weeks Passed Before Carrie Was Reported Missing

One of the notable circumstances of Carrie’s case is the delay before authorities were notified.

According to The Charley Project and Wisconsin Missing Persons Advocacy, Carrie was ultimately reported missing by her employer on October 21, 2003, rather than by someone in her household. If the October 4 last-seen date is correct, more than two weeks had passed before that report was made.

Carrie has not been heard from since her disappearance.

Authorities Have Considered the Possibility of Foul Play

Public case summaries state that foul play is considered possible in Carrie’s disappearance.

The Charley Project identifies Carrie’s husband as a possible suspect and reports that he filed for divorce shortly after Carrie disappeared. Wisconsin Missing Persons Advocacy similarly reports that police suspected foul play and considered her husband a possible suspect.

Those descriptions should not be interpreted as proof of criminal responsibility. The public sources reviewed for this article do not establish that Carrie’s husband was charged with causing her disappearance, and Carrie’s case remains unresolved.

What Carrie Polega Looked Like

Carrie was described as a white woman with sandy-blonde or blonde hair and green eyes. Records vary somewhat on her measurements, placing her at approximately 5 feet 4 inches to 5 feet 5 inches tall and roughly 130 to 165 pounds.

Identifying features include a dark birthmark on her buttocks, pierced ears and a tattoo of red roses or a red rose with leaves around her left ankle.

She was reportedly wearing blue jeans, a white T-shirt, a light-green crocheted sweater with a floral pattern and black boots. She was also reported to have been wearing a gold wedding band and a gold ring containing a ruby.

Latest Publicly Available Information

As of September 2026, Wisconsin’s official Clearinghouse for Missing & Exploited Children & Adults continues to list Carrie as missing from Porterfield. The official listing gives her current age as 61 and directs anyone with information to the Marinette County Sheriff’s Office.

The Charley Project’s Carrie Polega entry was most recently updated on June 10, 2026, with updates to identifying characteristics and details of the disappearance. It continues to classify Carrie as endangered missing and states that her case remains unsolved.

Carrie was also added to the Doe Network in December 2023 as case 4591DFWI.

There is online discussion about possible unidentified-person comparisons, but no reliable source located for this article establishes that recent speculation has identified Carrie or resolved her disappearance. The official Wisconsin record continues to list her as missing.

The Search for Answers Continues

More than two decades after Carrie disappeared, the basic question at the center of the case remains unanswered: what happened after she was last seen at or near her Porterfield home?

The discrepancies between public records—particularly whether the relevant last-seen date was October 4 or October 14—make careful sourcing especially important when sharing Carrie’s case.

What is not in dispute is that Carrie disappeared in October 2003, she has not returned, and her case remains listed with Wisconsin authorities. Anyone who has firsthand information, even information that may have seemed insignificant at the time, should contact law enforcement rather than attempt to investigate individuals independently.