On July 6, 2020, officers responded to an apartment complex in the 1100 block of 12th Street in Baraboo, Wisconsin, after Kodie’s mother reported her missing. The circumstances raised immediate concerns: the 10-year-old had left barefoot and without her phone, and her mother said she had threatened to hurt herself. Police, firefighters, and K-9 teams searched the surrounding area, extending their efforts through streets, fields, and woods as the evening gave way to darkness.