Crime Junkie is examining the disappearance of Kenneth Plaisted, an attorney and Navy veteran from New Holstein, Wisconsin, who disappeared while on a day trip to Milwaukee.
The 48-year-old’s disappearance has remained a mystery for over 50 years. One theory argues that Kenneth ran away after getting into financial difficulties, but his family insists he was murdered.
On November 16, 1971, Kenneth and his wife traveled to Milwaukee, so the couple could visit their daughter, do some shopping, and Kenneth could attend a business meeting.
After the meeting, Kenneth drove without his wife to his daughter’s apartment, but he never made it inside. His daughter spotted the car outside, but it had been abandoned.
The car was unlocked, the windows rolled down, and the keys were missing. Kenneth had left a gift for his daughter on the back seat.
Rather chillingly, his hat was found crumpled in the gutter nearby, and it appeared as though someone had searched through the glove compartment.
Kenneth Plaisted accused of stealing money from trust fund
The cops launched a missing persons case but soon switched their focus to a manhunt. They learned that Kenneth had taken $65,000 from a trust fund he was handling and put it in his own account. He had left an IOU at the bank.
Watch the Latest on our YouTube ChannelInvestigators charged Kenneth with theft and evading federal taxes.
However, the cops subsequently learned that Kenneth had spent the money before he went missing. In 1979, a Calumet County Circuit Court jury concluded that Kenneth would have contacted his family if he was still alive and that he was most likely dead. The case has been classified as an unsolved missing persons ever since.
Kenneth Plaisted family believe he was murdered
Kenneth’s family and his son, Michael Plaisted, now a Milwaukee attorney, believe he was murdered. Michael suspects a former associate of his father might have been the culprit. The pair allegedly had a bitter falling out, and the former associate was in Milwaukee on the same day.
In 1986, Kenneth’s wife, Priscilla, told reporters, “You could say, ‘OK, the guy Just left, you have to look at that.’ But he couldn’t do that to his family. I don’t think he could stay away from his children or me that long.”
Kenneth had six children and they have continued to seek answers about what happened to their father. In 2019, one of his daughters, Patricia Plaisted, attended the fifth annual Missing Persons Awareness event hosted by Wisconsin Missing Persons Advocacy, Inc.
Patricia said at the event, “He would be in his 90s, so I think now my family is more thinking about if we could ever find or if they would ever be able to come up with some remains of him. That would be helpful for all of us to get some closure.”
If anyone has any idea of what happened to Kenneth Plaisted, they should contact the New Holstein Police Dept. at (920) 898-4241.
This episode of Crime Junkie is also looking into the disappearance of Ben McDaniel, who allegedly vanished while exploring underwater caves in Vortex Spring, Florida. This case initially looked like a tragic drowning accident, but some experts suspect he may have been murdered.
MISSING: Ben McDaniel & Kenneth Plaisted is available to download now at Crime Junkie.