Overview

Last seen: July 11, 1979
Location: Lone Rock area, Sauk County, Wisconsin
Age: 23
Status: Missing; case remains active
NamUs: MP153229
Law-enforcement case: 79-2287

Main circumstances: Donald disappeared from the Lone Rock/Bear Creek area. Although a family member said he might have traveled to California, that account was never substantiated. His wallet, clothing and vehicles were reportedly left at the farm where he had been living with his brother. Historical newspaper reporting later documented allegations that his brother Edward said he had killed Donald, although Edward reportedly denied making that statement when questioned by deputies. Donald’s remains have never been found, and no homicide conviction resulted from his disappearance.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Donald John Young: Wisconsin Man Missing Since 1979

Donald John Young was 23 years old when he disappeared from rural southwestern Wisconsin in July 1979. More than 47 years later, his whereabouts remain unknown, and his case is still listed as active. The Sauk County Sheriff’s Office remains the primary investigating agency.

Brief Case Summary

Last seen: July 11, 1979
Location: Lone Rock area, Sauk County, Wisconsin
Age: 23
Status: Missing; case remains active
NamUs: MP153229
Law-enforcement case: 79-2287

Main circumstances: Donald disappeared from the Lone Rock/Bear Creek area. Although a family member said he might have traveled to California, that account was never substantiated. His wallet, clothing and vehicles were reportedly left at the farm where he had been living with his brother. Historical newspaper reporting later documented allegations that his brother Edward said he had killed Donald, although Edward reportedly denied making that statement when questioned by deputies. Donald’s remains have never been found, and no homicide conviction resulted from his disappearance.

The Disappearance of Donald John Young

Donald John Young was a 23-year-old Wisconsin man living in the rural Lone Rock/Bear Creek area when he vanished during the summer of 1979. Current case records list his date of last contact as July 11, 1979, in Lone Rock, Wisconsin. The disappearance was reported to the Sauk County Sheriff’s Office on August 9, 1979.

Donald was approximately 6 feet to 6 feet 1 inch tall and about 190 pounds according to his current missing-person records. He had curly blond or strawberry-blond hair, hazel eyes and wore glasses. Possible identifying marks included a facial scar caused when he was struck by a rock while cutting hay and a scar on his hand from a pitchfork accident.

There is a discrepancy in older records concerning the precise date he disappeared. A historical Sauk County missing-person notice stated that Donald had been missing since July 17, 1979, while today’s case records give July 11, 1979 as his last-contact date. The July 11 date is therefore used here because it is the date in the current missing-person record.

The California Story and What Donald Left Behind

One early explanation was that Donald had left Wisconsin for California. NamUs-derived case information says a family member reported that possibility, but it was never substantiated.

Other circumstances made Donald’s disappearance difficult to explain as a straightforward move across the country. A historical Sauk County Sheriff’s Department missing-person notice reported that his wallet, clothing and vehicle remained at the farm where Donald and his brother lived on Strang Hollow Road, north of County Highway B in the Township of Bear Creek. Deputies could neither locate Donald nor determine what had happened to him.

Later newspaper reporting supplied additional detail. A 1987 article reported that Donald’s billfold, driver’s license, class ring and clothing had been recovered after his disappearance. It also stated that two vehicles belonging to him—a 1969 GMC truck and a 1969 Chevrolet four-door sedan—were still at the farm where he had lived.

The Young family continued searching. A classified advertisement seeking information about Donald reportedly ran in the Wisconsin State Journal in 1980 but received no response.

Allegations Involving Donald’s Brother

Historical newspaper reporting adds an important and troubling element to the case, but the distinction between an allegation and a proven fact is critical.

Donald’s older brother, Edward J. Young, lived in the same general area. An August 1979 newspaper report described Edward being apprehended after allegedly holding his father at gunpoint. That contemporary account said Edward had allegedly claimed that he had “done harm” to his brother.

Later reporting was more specific. According to articles published in 1987, sometime after Donald disappeared, Edward allegedly made a statement indicating that he had killed his brother. During a separate argument between Edward and their father, Gerald Young, over missing cattle, Edward was also alleged to have threatened Gerald by referring to what he had supposedly done to Donald.

Edward reportedly denied making the statement when deputies questioned him. Nevertheless, a Sauk County Sheriff’s lieutenant told the newspaper in 1987 that Edward remained the primary suspect in Gerald’s separate disappearance. The same reporting said deputies believed Donald might have been murdered but lacked a body to substantiate his death.

Edward could not ultimately provide investigators with answers decades later. Historical reporting states that he was struck by a vehicle and killed on August 29, 1982.

None of those circumstances establish that Edward killed Donald. The statements attributed to him were allegations reported in historical newspapers, he denied making at least one of the statements when questioned, and Donald’s remains have never been recovered.

Donald Was Legally Declared Dead, but the Case Stayed Open

By 1987, Donald had been missing for nearly eight years. His father petitioned the courts to have him legally declared dead.

A March 1987 Baraboo News Republic article reported that Donald had disappeared on July 7 following a baseball game in the Village of Plain—another historical-date discrepancy with today’s official July 11 date. The article said the Sauk County Sheriff’s Department had conducted a substantial search that summer without locating him.

Importantly, law enforcement said a legal declaration of death would not close the investigation. A sheriff’s lieutenant explained that investigators still needed to determine where Donald had gone and that the case would remain open until he was located, alive or deceased.

Latest Investigation Information

Donald Young’s disappearance has received significant renewed visibility since late 2025.

His NamUs case, MP153229, was created on December 10, 2025. The record identifies the Sauk County Sheriff’s Office as the investigating agency and lists law-enforcement case 79-2287.

The case subsequently appeared on additional missing-person databases. The Doe Network formally added Donald on June 3, 2026, assigning him case 7204DMWI.

Crime Solvers Central’s record for Donald was last updated August 28, 2026 and continues to list him as missing. It identifies Sauk County Sheriff’s Office Detective Tyler Pointon as the agency contact and lists the original agency case number 79-2287.

Public discussion has also revived examination of the old newspaper archives. A Websleuths discussion started in December 2025 uncovered and circulated contemporary 1979 and 1987 newspaper clippings concerning Edward Young, the family’s search for Donald and investigators’ suspicions. Those discussions include theories about where Donald’s remains could be located, but those theories should not be confused with confirmed investigative findings.

As of September 2026, the publicly available sources reviewed for this article do not document the recovery of Donald’s remains, an arrest or criminal charge for his disappearance, or an officially announced resolution of the case. His case remains active in current missing-person databases.