Overview

Last seen: May 24, 2022, at approximately 5:00 p.m.

Location: Town of Drummond, Bayfield County, Wisconsin. Early information described the location as the vicinity of West Tahkodah Lake Road; the current Wisconsin missing-person listing and poster identify the vicinity of South Lake Owen Drive.

Age when missing: 81

Physical description: Approximately 5 feet tall and 130 pounds, with gray hair and hazel eyes.

Medical condition: Lenz had dementia; a family memorial page describes her as having struggled with Alzheimer’s disease for about a decade before her disappearance.

Main circumstances: Lenz left her home on foot. Authorities and family knew she had wandered away before, but on those occasions she had been located in cabins, in wooded areas or walking along roads. This time, extensive searches failed to locate her.

Current status: Missing. Wisconsin’s official database continues to carry her as a missing person, and a December 2025 WISN report said she remained missing more than three years after her disappearance.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Joyce Eileen Lenz Missing Person Case: Wisconsin Woman Missing Since May 2022

Joyce Eileen Lenz was 81 years old when she disappeared from the Town of Drummond in Bayfield County, Wisconsin, on May 24, 2022. More than four years later, her whereabouts remain unknown, and Wisconsin’s official missing-person clearinghouse continues to list her case and a $1,000 reward for information leading to her location.

Brief Case Summary

Last seen: May 24, 2022, at approximately 5:00 p.m.

Location: Town of Drummond, Bayfield County, Wisconsin. Early information described the location as the vicinity of West Tahkodah Lake Road; the current Wisconsin missing-person listing and poster identify the vicinity of South Lake Owen Drive.

Age when missing: 81

Physical description: Approximately 5 feet tall and 130 pounds, with gray hair and hazel eyes.

Medical condition: Lenz had dementia; a family memorial page describes her as having struggled with Alzheimer’s disease for about a decade before her disappearance.

Main circumstances: Lenz left her home on foot. Authorities and family knew she had wandered away before, but on those occasions she had been located in cabins, in wooded areas or walking along roads. This time, extensive searches failed to locate her.

Current status: Missing. Wisconsin’s official database continues to carry her as a missing person, and a December 2025 WISN report said she remained missing more than three years after her disappearance.

The Disappearance of Joyce Lenz

On the evening of May 24, 2022, Joyce Lenz disappeared from the rural Drummond area of northern Wisconsin.

According to accounts preserved from the early investigation, Joyce had been outside with her husband, Ron Lenz, near their home. Ron reportedly went inside briefly for water and discovered when he returned that Joyce was gone. Because Joyce had dementia and had wandered before, her disappearance immediately presented serious concerns.

Official information places her departure at approximately 5:00 p.m. The Wisconsin Department of Justice currently describes her last-known area as the vicinity of South Lake Owen Drive in the Town of Drummond. Contemporary reports, later news coverage and other missing-person records also identify West Tahkodah Lake Road as the area from which she disappeared.

What Joyce Lenz Was Wearing

When Joyce disappeared, she was described as wearing a denim jacket and black pants and possibly a pink sweatshirt. Reports also indicated she may have been wearing mismatched footwear—a tennis shoe on one foot and a slipper on the other.

Joyce was approximately 5 feet tall and weighed about 130 pounds. She had gray hair and hazel eyes.

Joyce Had Wandered Away Before

One important part of Joyce’s case is that this was reportedly not the first time she had wandered away.

Wisconsin’s official missing-person information states that she had previously been found in cabins, walking in wooded areas or along roads. Those earlier incidents provided searchers with possible locations and behaviors to consider after she disappeared in May 2022.

This disappearance, however, did not end like the previous incidents.

Accounts from the investigation indicate that when Joyce could not quickly be located, law enforcement and others began a major search. Search efforts over time involved law enforcement personnel, volunteers, K-9 teams and other search-and-rescue resources.

Search Efforts in Bayfield County

The day after Joyce disappeared, the Bayfield County Sheriff’s Office asked area residents to examine trail cameras and surveillance cameras for anything that might show Joyce on their property.

The search expanded considerably. A contemporary account reproduced in the Websleuths case discussion described hundreds of police, volunteers and rescue personnel participating over time, along with dogs, drones and dive crews.

Search activity did not end with the initial response. An October 2022 search brought together multiple K-9 search-and-rescue organizations, ground personnel, the Bayfield County Sheriff’s Office and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources watercraft. Despite those efforts, the search produced no reported discovery of Joyce.

The Family’s Search for Answers

Joyce’s disappearance affected a large extended family. Accounts published after she vanished described Joyce and Ron as having six children as well as dozens of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her husband continued hoping for an answer about what happened to her.

A family-related memorial page published through Cure Alzheimer’s Fund provides another glimpse into Joyce’s life. It says Joyce wrote a poem in 2012 as she began what her family described as a decade-long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. The page says that she wandered away from her northern Wisconsin home on May 24, 2022 and was not found despite extensive search-and-rescue efforts.

Her family later planned a Celebration of Life and chose to support Alzheimer’s research in her memory.

Reward Offered in the Joyce Lenz Case

A $1,000 reward is currently advertised for information leading to Joyce’s location. The Wisconsin missing-person poster states that the reward is being offered by her family.

Anyone who believes they saw Joyce, has information concerning her movements after 5:00 p.m. on May 24, 2022, or has other information potentially relevant to the case should provide that information directly to investigators rather than posting a tip publicly.

Latest Information on the Investigation

The most important recent development is that Joyce Lenz remains officially listed as missing.

Wisconsin’s Clearinghouse for Missing & Exploited Children & Adults continues to maintain an active page for Joyce, lists her current age as 86, displays the $1,000 reward and directs tips to the Bayfield County Sheriff’s Office.

A WISN 12 News report updated December 17, 2025 also confirmed that Joyce remained missing more than three years after the Silver Alert was issued. The report again asked anyone with information to contact the Bayfield County Sheriff’s Office.

The official Wisconsin poster currently identifies NamUs #MP109591. The case is also now included in The Charley Project, whose case file was added in 2025.

Publicly available sources reviewed for this article do not report an arrest, identified suspect, confirmed sighting after her disappearance, or discovery of Joyce’s remains. Her case should therefore be treated as an unresolved missing-person investigation rather than a confirmed homicide or criminal abduction.

One detail has changed in public-facing records over time. Early reports repeatedly identified West Tahkodah Lake Road as Joyce’s disappearance location, while the current Wisconsin Department of Justice listing and updated poster say she was last seen in the vicinity of South Lake Owen Drive. Both descriptions place the disappearance in the Town of Drummond area.

Why the Joyce Lenz Case Remains Unresolved

Joyce disappeared on foot in a rural part of northern Wisconsin while living with a condition affecting her memory. Her history of wandering gave investigators some idea of where she might go, but the places and behaviors that had helped locate her previously did not lead searchers to her in 2022.

Despite searches on land and water, K-9 deployments, community involvement, publicity, a Silver Alert and continuing missing-person listings, publicly available information still provides no verified explanation for what happened after Joyce left home.

More than four years after her disappearance, the central question in the Joyce Eileen Lenz case remains unanswered: Where did Joyce go after leaving her Drummond-area home on May 24, 2022?

Anyone with information should contact the Bayfield County Sheriff’s Office at 715-373-6120.