Overview

Last Seen: April 2, 1983
Location: Route 2, Box 79, Frederic, Polk County, Wisconsin
Age: Approximately 54–55
Status: Missing / unsolved
NamUs: MP31481
Investigating Agency: Polk County Sheriff’s Office

Main circumstances: Dodge was last seen with a short, heavyset woman with short light-brown hair who reportedly drove a light- to medium-blue station wagon with Missouri license plates. Investigative information indicates he may subsequently have gone to Georgia or Florida. His family has raised concerns that his disappearance could have involved misuse of his Social Security benefits. A later report to Social Security claimed Dodge died on September 25, 1984, but authorities have not located documentation establishing that death.

Detailed Case Breakdown

David Charles Dodge Missing Person Case: What Happened to the Wisconsin Navy Veteran Who Vanished in 1983?

David Charles Dodge disappeared from Frederic, Wisconsin, on April 2, 1983. More than four decades later, the disappearance of the disabled U.S. Navy veteran remains unsolved.

Dodge was last known to be with a woman whose name has been reported as Jean, Gina, Jenna, or something similar. What happened afterward has never been established. The case eventually developed an unusual connection to Georgia, Social Security payments, and an unverified report claiming Dodge died in 1984.

Brief Case Summary

Last Seen: April 2, 1983
Location: Route 2, Box 79, Frederic, Polk County, Wisconsin
Age: Approximately 54–55
Status: Missing / unsolved
NamUs: MP31481
Investigating Agency: Polk County Sheriff’s Office

Main circumstances: Dodge was last seen with a short, heavyset woman with short light-brown hair who reportedly drove a light- to medium-blue station wagon with Missouri license plates. Investigative information indicates he may subsequently have gone to Georgia or Florida. His family has raised concerns that his disappearance could have involved misuse of his Social Security benefits. A later report to Social Security claimed Dodge died on September 25, 1984, but authorities have not located documentation establishing that death.

David Charles Dodge Disappears From Frederic, Wisconsin

David Charles Dodge was living in Frederic in Polk County when he disappeared. Wisconsin’s Clearinghouse for Missing & Exploited Children & Adults currently lists him as missing since April 2, 1983, with Frederic as his last known location.

The state clearinghouse says Dodge was last heard from that day and was with a woman identified as “Jenna or Gina.” Other case sources give variations of the name, including Jean. She has consistently been described as short and heavyset with light-brown hair.

Dodge was reportedly last seen at Route 2, Box 79, in Frederic.

A Distinctive Medical History Could Help Identify Him

Dodge was a white man with black hair and blue eyes. Sources vary slightly on his measurements, placing him approximately 5 feet 3 inches to 5 feet 7 inches tall and roughly 150 to 170 pounds.

One of his most important identifying characteristics involved his right leg. Dodge suffered from severe rheumatoid arthritis and was considered disabled. His right knee had been surgically fused during the 1960s. The operation left his right leg shorter than his left, and he sometimes wore a specially built-up shoe.

The Charley Project reports that metal and screws were present in the affected leg and that Dodge walked with a noticeable limp, swinging his right leg outward. He had also previously broken his back and used reading glasses.

Dodge was also a U.S. Navy veteran, having served from 1946 to 1948.

The Woman and the Blue Station Wagon

One of the central unanswered questions concerns the unidentified woman who was reportedly with Dodge around the time he disappeared.

Descriptions vary slightly regarding her first name, but sources generally identify it as something similar to Jean, Gina, or Jenna. She was described as short and heavyset, with short light-brown hair.

She reportedly drove a light- to medium-blue station wagon displaying Missouri license plates.

No publicly available official information located for this article establishes the woman’s identity or explains what happened after Dodge was seen with her.

Possible Connection to Georgia and Florida

Dodge had reportedly divorced in Barron County, Wisconsin, around 1980 or 1981 before relocating to Frederic. Information associated with his missing-person case indicates investigators or family members believed he could have traveled or moved to Georgia or Florida after leaving Wisconsin.

Georgia became particularly significant because Social Security payments connected with Dodge were reportedly being mailed to a post office box in Milledgeville.

According to published case summaries, Dodge’s family believes his disappearance could have been connected to a scheme involving his Social Security benefits and has questioned whether the woman associated with him was receiving those payments.

That remains a family theory rather than a publicly established finding of criminal responsibility.

The Mysterious 1984 Death Report

Perhaps the strangest development came after Dodge had already been missing for more than a year.

Someone contacted the Social Security Administration and reported that Dodge had died on September 25, 1984. However, case sources report that no death certificate or other documentation was located to substantiate the reported death.

This distinction is important: September 25, 1984, is not a confirmed date of death.

Without documentation establishing that Dodge actually died on that date, his disappearance remains an unresolved missing-person case.

His Family Continues to Keep His Case Visible

Dodge’s daughter, Connie Gillis, has publicly discussed the experience of having a missing parent and became involved with Wisconsin Missing Persons Advocacy.

In 2023, Gillis attended a Wisconsin missing-persons event honoring her father approximately 40 years after his disappearance. She described how few resources were available to families when Dodge originally vanished and how much the support network for families of missing people had changed over the intervening decades.

Public awareness efforts have continued. Dodge was also among the missing or remembered people acknowledged at a Wisconsin Missing Persons Advocacy family retreat reported in November 2025.

Latest Publicly Available Case Information

As of September 2026, the Wisconsin Department of Justice Clearinghouse continues to publicly list David Charles Dodge as a missing adult from Frederic, Wisconsin. The state lists the Polk County Sheriff’s Office as the law-enforcement contact and continues to request information from the public.

Another relatively recent development in the case’s public documentation occurred in September 2024, when the Doe Network added Dodge to its database as case 6442DMWI.

No publicly documented announcement located for this article indicates that Dodge has been found, that his reported 1984 death has been verified, or that an arrest or other major investigative resolution has occurred. His disappearance therefore remains unresolved in current public records.

What Happened to David Charles Dodge?

More than four decades after Dodge vanished, several fundamental questions remain unanswered.

Who was the woman accompanying him? Did Dodge voluntarily leave Wisconsin for Georgia or Florida? Who had access to his Social Security payments? Who reported him dead in 1984, and why was September 25 selected as the date of death? Most importantly, what ultimately happened to him?

Until evidence answers those questions, David Charles Dodge remains a missing Wisconsin man whose disappearance stretches from a small community in Polk County to possible connections hundreds of miles away in the southeastern United States.

Anyone with information concerning David Charles Dodge or the circumstances surrounding his disappearance should contact the Polk County Sheriff’s Office or the Wisconsin Clearinghouse for Missing & Exploited Children & Adults.