Overview

Last Seen: May 27, 2018
Location: Mellen, Ashland County, Wisconsin
Age When Missing: 54
Home: Bergland, Michigan
Status: Endangered missing person
NamUs #: MP78847

Jody traveled from her home in Bergland, Michigan, to the Mellen area for the Mellen Jam music festival. She attended with a male companion and was reportedly separated from him during the weekend. Later accounts place Jody near a creek on the evening of May 27. She disappeared without returning home or contacting her family. Extensive searches of the heavily wooded and rugged area failed to locate her.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Jody Lynn Newberry Missing Person Case: What Happened at Mellen Jam in Wisconsin?

Jody Lynn Newberry was 54 years old when she disappeared during Memorial Day weekend in 2018 after attending the Mellen Jam music festival near Mellen, Wisconsin. More than eight years later, she remains missing, and her disappearance continues to leave her family searching for answers.

Brief Case Summary

Last Seen: May 27, 2018
Location: Mellen, Ashland County, Wisconsin
Age When Missing: 54
Home: Bergland, Michigan
Status: Endangered missing person
NamUs #: MP78847

Jody traveled from her home in Bergland, Michigan, to the Mellen area for the Mellen Jam music festival. She attended with a male companion and was reportedly separated from him during the weekend. Later accounts place Jody near a creek on the evening of May 27. She disappeared without returning home or contacting her family. Extensive searches of the heavily wooded and rugged area failed to locate her.

Jody Newberry Goes to Mellen Jam

Jody traveled to Mellen on the evening of Thursday, May 24, 2018, to attend Mellen Jam, an annual Memorial Day weekend gathering held on private property along Gilgen Road north of Mellen. The location is surrounded by densely forested, rugged terrain.

Early information released during the investigation stated that Jody had traveled with a male companion and that the two became separated, with an alleged last contact around noon on Saturday, May 26. Later case summaries state that Jody was seen going toward a creek on the evening of May 27. Wisconsin’s official clearinghouse now lists May 27, 2018, as her missing date.

Jody Fails to Return Home

Jody’s family became concerned when Mellen Jam ended and she neither returned home nor contacted them.

Contemporary reporting states that Jody’s sister contacted the Ashland County Communications Center at approximately 4:30 p.m. on May 29, 2018. Some later reporting gives May 28 as the date she was reported missing, so there is a discrepancy among published sources concerning the precise reporting date. The original 2018 reports place the call on May 29.

Her lack of contact was considered unusual. Later accounts also reported that there had been no activity on Jody’s cell phone, credit cards, or social-media accounts following her disappearance.

Search Teams Converge on the Mellen Area

The initial search focused on the festival property and surrounding wilderness. Ashland County Sheriff’s Office deputies searched the property and adjacent areas before the effort expanded to include the Sawyer County Search and Rescue K-9 unit. Searchers worked into the evening and nighttime hours without finding Jody.

The investigation ultimately involved extensive ground searches and specialized resources. Published accounts describe the use of search dogs, cadaver dogs, drones and an aerial or flyover search. Despite those efforts, investigators found no confirmed trace of Jody.

Jody’s disappearance was particularly challenging because the festival site borders dense forest and extremely rugged terrain. That geography left investigators with a large and difficult search area.

Family Members Search for Answers

As weeks passed without a breakthrough, Jody’s family continued distributing posters and using social media and news coverage to keep her disappearance before the public.

Her children emphasized that leaving without her belongings would have been unusual. Contemporary coverage quoted her son as saying that Jody normally carried things that were important to her, yet the family understood that she had apparently left without essentials such as water, clothing or her wallet.

By July 2018, more than six weeks after the disappearance, family members were still seeking information and attempting to generate new tips through Facebook, posters and the media.

Investigators Exhaust Leads in 2018

By August 2018, the investigation had reached a difficult point. Reporting attributed to the Ashland County sheriff stated that investigators had exhausted the leads then available. Search dogs, drones and a flyover had already been used, and another search was anticipated after leaves fell from the trees and visibility in the wooded area improved.

That statement did not mean the case was closed. Rather, publicly available reporting indicated investigators had reached the end of the actionable information they had at that stage.

As hunting season approached later that year, Jody’s family and friends appealed directly to hunters entering the surrounding woods. They asked people to watch for clothing, personal property or anything else that could potentially provide a clue to what happened.

Questions About Jody’s Final Hours

Some of the continuing questions involve exactly when and under what circumstances Jody became separated from the man with whom she traveled to Mellen.

Jody’s sister later publicly alleged that the companion gave differing accounts concerning when he last saw Jody. Those statements are the family’s allegations and should not be treated as a finding of wrongdoing. Publicly available sources reviewed for this article do not establish that the companion was charged with a crime in connection with Jody’s disappearance.

The circumstances therefore remain unresolved. There is no publicly established explanation showing whether Jody became lost or injured in the rugged terrain, encountered the creek or surrounding waterways, left the area, or was the victim of a crime.

What the Searches Found

Despite repeated searching, authorities and volunteers have not publicly reported finding Jody’s remains, clothing, personal belongings or another piece of physical evidence that establishes what happened to her.

The absence of a clear physical trail has made the case particularly difficult. Searches involving law enforcement officers, search-and-rescue personnel and dogs did not locate her in the area where she was believed to have disappeared.

The case eventually entered NamUs as MP78847, and Wisconsin continues to maintain Jody’s case through its Clearinghouse for Missing & Exploited Children & Adults.

Latest Information on the Investigation

The most significant recent news coverage located during research was published by WSAW in March 2025, nearly seven years after Jody vanished.

Her family told the station that there was still no trace of her. Family members described the large number of people and multiple law-enforcement agencies that had participated in searches. WSAW reported that the area where Jody was last seen had been searched multiple times and that authorities continued asking anyone with information to contact the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office.

In August 2025, Jody’s sister Melodee also participated in a podcast interview discussing the disappearance, unanswered questions and the family’s continuing effort to keep attention on the case.

As of September 2026, the Wisconsin Department of Justice Clearinghouse continues to publicly list Jody Lynn Newberry as missing. Its current listing identifies Mellen, Wisconsin, as both the location from which she disappeared and her last known location. The state lists her current age as 62.

No credible public source located during this review announced that Jody had been found, that remains had been identified as hers, or that anyone had been charged in connection with her disappearance.

Description of Jody Lynn Newberry

Jody was 54 when she disappeared. Current case information describes her as a white woman with brown hair and brown eyes, approximately 5 feet 3 inches tall and approximately 130 pounds. Earlier 2018 reports listed her weight at approximately 115 pounds.

She commonly wore wire-rimmed eyeglasses and had several missing teeth and a skin tag on her nose. She was reportedly wearing a hooded sweatshirt and long pants around the time she disappeared.

The Search for Jody Continues

More than eight years after Jody Lynn Newberry disappeared from the Mellen area, the central question remains unanswered: what happened to her after the Memorial Day weekend music festival?

Her case remains publicly listed by Wisconsin authorities, and investigators continue to request information from anyone who may know something about her disappearance. Even information that seemed insignificant in 2018 could potentially provide context when compared with other evidence or witness accounts.

Anyone with information concerning Jody Lynn Newberry’s disappearance should contact the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office at 715-685-7640 or non-emergency dispatch at 715-682-7023. The Wisconsin Clearinghouse for Missing & Exploited Children & Adults also accepts information at 1-800-843-4673.