Overview

Last Seen: April 13, 2017
Location: Town of Saratoga, Wood County, Wisconsin, near State Highway 73 and South Young Street
Age When Missing: 73
NamUs: MP62357
Investigating Agency: Wood County Sheriff’s Department

Main circumstances: Brody is believed to have left his residence on foot. He did not have a cell phone. A camera captured an image of him in the woods south of his residence on April 13, 2017. Despite searches of the surrounding area and continued publicity, he has not been located.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Gerald L. Brody Missing Person Case: Disappearance from Saratoga, Wisconsin in 2017

Gerald L. Brody was 73 years old when he disappeared from the Town of Saratoga in Wood County, Wisconsin, in April 2017. Nearly a decade later, his case remains listed as an active missing-person case by the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

Very Brief Case Summary

Last Seen: April 13, 2017
Location: Town of Saratoga, Wood County, Wisconsin, near State Highway 73 and South Young Street
Age When Missing: 73
NamUs: MP62357
Investigating Agency: Wood County Sheriff’s Department

Main circumstances: Brody is believed to have left his residence on foot. He did not have a cell phone. A camera captured an image of him in the woods south of his residence on April 13, 2017. Despite searches of the surrounding area and continued publicity, he has not been located.

Gerald Brody Disappears in Wood County, Wisconsin

Gerald L. Brody lived in the Town of Saratoga, a Wood County community south of Wisconsin Rapids. According to the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Brody was reported missing by family members in April 2017. The state currently records his official missing date as April 13, 2017.

Brody was 73 at the time. The current state missing-person poster describes him as a white male with gray hair and brown eyes, approximately 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing about 170 pounds. Contemporary and secondary reports have provided somewhat broader estimates for his height and weight.

The Last Known Image of Gerald Brody

One of the most significant pieces of information in Brody’s disappearance is an image captured on April 13, 2017. Reporting on the case places the camera location in woods south of Brody’s residence, near State Highway 73 and South Young Street in Wood County.

Brody was reportedly wearing a green coat and a dark blue or black stocking cap. Authorities believed that he had left his residence on foot. The Wisconsin Department of Justice states that he did not have a cell phone with him.

Search Efforts After the Disappearance

Brody’s family searched the surrounding area after his disappearance, and authorities conducted searches in an effort to locate him. A Wisconsin Missing case summary reports that extensive searches were performed and that reported leads were followed, but none resulted in Brody being located.

News coverage from the period documented the continuing search during the days following his disappearance. The case ultimately remained unresolved after those initial search efforts ended.

There has been no publicly confirmed evidence establishing what happened to Brody after his disappearance. The official Wisconsin Department of Justice case page continues to state that there has been no contact with him.

Later Developments and Possible Remains Discussed Online

In 2022, unidentified human remains discovered near Port Edwards in Wood County later prompted online discussion about whether the remains could have belonged to Brody. A February 2023 Websleuths discussion compared the unidentified person with Brody because of factors including geography, estimated age and the time period involved.

That discussion should not be treated as an official investigative announcement. A Websleuths participant subsequently reported that they contacted the Wood County Sheriff’s Office and were told that the unidentified person was not Gerald Brody. The claim appears in the forum discussion rather than a formal law-enforcement release, so it should be understood in that context.

Latest Public Information on the Gerald Brody Investigation

The case remains unresolved.

In April 2025, WSAW reported on the eighth anniversary of Brody’s disappearance and said the search for him was continuing. The station again identified April 13, 2017, as his last-seen date and reported that authorities were still asking anyone with information to contact the Wood County Sheriff’s Office.

Later in 2025, Wisconsin reporting continued to identify Brody among Wood County’s unresolved missing-person cases.

Most importantly, the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s current missing-person database still lists Gerald L. Brody as missing from the Town of Saratoga. The listing gives his current age as 83 and continues to direct tips to the Wood County Sheriff’s Department. In the public sources reviewed through September 2026, there is no subsequent announcement that Brody has been located or that his disappearance has been resolved.

What Happened to Gerald L. Brody?

The publicly available evidence leaves the central question unanswered. Brody apparently left his Saratoga-area residence on foot, without a cell phone, and was captured by a camera in the nearby wooded area. Searches failed to locate him, and no publicly confirmed later contact has established where he went afterward.

Authorities have not publicly classified the disappearance as a homicide, and publicly available official information does not identify a suspect or establish that another person caused Brody’s disappearance. For that reason, theories about foul play, an accident, voluntary disappearance or other possibilities should not be presented as established fact.

Gerald L. Brody remains listed as missing, and investigators continue to seek information that could explain what happened after April 13, 2017. Anyone with information about his disappearance should contact the Wood County Sheriff’s Department.