Sandra Eckert is a missing Franklin, Wisconsin, woman who hasn’t been seen since March 26, 2021, when she vanished without a trace.
In June 2022, police finally announced a break in the case. Franklin police now have two persons of interest in the case, and they are treating Eckert’s disappearance as a homicide, according to WISN-TV.
Those two people have not been named or charged, but they were known to Sandra Eckert, according to the television station.
“The truth will prevail 💛 and the atrocious monsters that did this will pay. Won’t stop until we have the answers and justice you deserve mom 💛💪🏼” Eckert’s daughter Kelsey Eckert wrote on Facebook on June 17, 2022.
Eckert is 70 years old. She was last seen at the home she shared with her husband of 40 years in Franklin, a suburb of Milwaukee, near Country Dale Elementary School, on a Friday evening at 11:30 p.m.
Eckert’s husband, Wes Eckert, revealed to WTMJ-TV that he was arrested but released, and he denied having anything to do with his wife’s disappearance. He told the television station they argued about his mother’s will the night she disappeared.
She hasn’t been seen since, and loved ones and law enforcement officials have mounted a major effort to find her, complete with a website and Facebook page called, “Help Find Sandy.” There is a $10,000 reward for information leading to Eckert’s whereabouts. People with information can call Franklin police at 414-425-2522.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Sandra Eckert’s Car Was Spotted by Police in a Local Suburb in the Early Morning Hours
Find Sandy Eckert websiteThe car Sandra Eckert may have been driving
WISN-TV reported that police “took one man into custody June 7 to conduct a search warrant at his Waukesha home in connection to a first-degree intentional homicide charge and hiding a corpse.” However, he has not been charged.
“We confiscated electronic devices and additional evidence from his home during our search warrant. We have not returned any evidence because of the active and ongoing nature of the case,” Franklin police told WISN. Heavy has reached out to Franklin’s police chief for verification of this information.
The search warrant is under seal, according to the television station. The person of interest was released.
There’s one strange clue that’s emerged in Eckert’s disappearance. According to the website set up to find her, Eckert may have been driving a 2005 Dark Gray Dodge Stratus, with a Wisconsin License plate 319 LGT (the muffler is on the passenger side).
“The vehicle was last seen by Muskego police at 3 a.m. on Saturday, March 27,” the website says. “It was traveling southbound on Racine Avenue, westbound on Tans Drive, and then southbound on Crowbar Drive. Police did not pull the car over because there was not a missing person alert out yet and no reason otherwise.”
It’s only about 13 minutes from Franklin to Muskego, which is a suburban community in a county adjacent to Milwaukee County. A news release issued by the Franklin Police Department imparted the same information as the website.
2. Eckert’s Husband, Wes Eckert, a Convicted Felon, Says They Argued Over His Mother’s Will & Concedes ‘It’s No Secret We Didn’t Get Along’ But Denies Killing His Wife
FacebookSandra Eckert and her husband, Wes Eckert
Eckert’s husband, Wes Eckert, spoke to local television shortly after crime scene investigators searched the couple’s home.
“If anybody sees her, send her home,” said Wes Eckert to WTMJ-TV. “Send her home for her kids. Not so much for me, but for the kids. It’s no secret we didn’t get along, but we live together and made a family. This is especially hard on my kids.”
He told WTMJ-TV that he was arrested but released and had nothing to do with his wife’s disappearance, saying they have been married 40 years with four children and three grandchildren.
Wes Eckert told WISN-TV that he was arrested because he’s a convicted felon due to a “1970s financial crime” and thus can’t possess firearms but had an “antique gun on the wall.”
Wes Eckert told WTMJ that he and his wife had an argument the night she disappeared and that she took his old car, which he didn’t know she had a key for.
“My mom recently died,” said Wes Eckert to WTMJ. “Sandra and I had an argument over my mother’s will. She wanted me to contest it, and I said I wouldn’t…The last thing Sandra said to me was that I will hear from her lawyer. I convinced her to go upstairs and go to bed. I said we’d talk in the morning.”
Questioning why investigators didn’t search the house right away, he commented, “Investigators may have blown it.” Of his children, he told WTMJ: “They’re being supportive, but every so often they come out and ask me if I killed mom. That’s not the case.”
Wes Eckert also spoke with WISN-TV, which reported that authorities executed search warrants for the couple’s home and a storage building. He told that television station that investigators said the warrant was for a “suspected homicide investigation.”
3. Eckert’s Phone Is Turned Off & She Hasn’t Used Her Credit Cards or Social Media Accounts
Missing websiteSandra Eckert
Rapid Search and Rescue Corp. wrote on Facebook that Eckert was last seen wearing distinctive clothing.
“She was last wearing black leggings, colorful tennis shoes, and a large navy blue and teal North Carolina Tarheels starter jacket,” the post says.
Missing websiteSandra Eckert in the jacket
“Sandra is 5’7″ and weighs 130lbs, she has blonde hair and green eyes. Her phone is turned off and there has been no recent activity on her credit cards or her social media accounts since she went missing.”
4. Eckert Lived a Family Focused Life, According to Her Social Media Posts
FacebookSandra Eckert
On Facebook, Eckert indicated that she lives an active life focused on her children and grandchildren.
Eckert’s Facebook page says she’s from Milwaukee and enjoys art, travel, cooking, dance, hiking and swimming. Her cover photo shows her with her husband and kids.
Other pictures show her celebrating her adult daughter’s birthday, at a family Baptism, and wearing a Packer T-shirt. One picture bore the filter, “Stay home, save lives.”
Essentially, there are no warning signs on Facebook that anything was amiss, and she came across as living a family centric life. “Sandy you’re beautiful inside and out,” a friend wrote.
There was a past civil judgment for more than $2,500 against the Eckerts by Health Payment Systems, Inc., but it was paid in full and dates to 2011. Wages were garnished from a Saukville, Wisconsin, company called Johnson Brass & Machine Foundry Inc. There was also a 2012 small claims judgment against Sandra Eckert for just under $1,000 from G.E. Capital Retail Bank.
5. Family & Friends Are Desperate for Eckert’s Return
FacebookSandra Eckert missing poster.
Danielle Eckert, Eckert’s daughter, wrote, “Momma….mum…mommy…nana we miss you we love you! Come home! Xoxo.” On April 7, she wrote, “12 days and unfortunately still no trace of my mom or car. Please continue to pray, spread the word, and keep your eyes peeled. We have added a website to help spread the word and a $10,000 reward for ANY information that can help locate my mother.”
On Facebook, her daughter explained why no silver alert was issued for her mother, writing, “because she doesn’t have dementia, Alzheimer’s, life threatening medical issues.” Heavy has reached out to Danielle to give the family a chance to comment; comment will be added into this story if it’s received.
Her son, Wes Eckert, wrote on Facebook, “Been almost two weeks now. There’s a link to the flyer here and if you have any information please contact the Franklin police department. Continue to spread the word and be on the look out. Please return home safely mom.”
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