Today I bring you a very cold case that has not received nearly the amount of attention it deserves. A young mother leaves on a late night bike ride (or walk, depending on the source) to a nearby lounge and is brutally ripped from this world. Who murdered Rhys Pocan and why? Let’s explore.
Who Was Rhys?
Unfortunately, this is a case much like many of the others we cover here at the library. Because there is so little coverage of this case available, we don’t have much of a picture of who Rhys was in life. I can’t even find when she was born. I know she was 35 in August of 1989, so she was born in 1954 (or 1953 if she hadn’t had her birthday yet). She was a member of the Menominee tribe. Beyond that, everything we know about Rhys personally comes from the few interviews we have with her daughter Charlee. From these interviews, we know that Rhys was a loving mother to four daughters and deeply cared for by her family.
via Justice for Native People)
The Murder
As with most unsolved murders, we don’t know a lot of the details. Rhys was last seen leaving her home alone at around midnight on August 10, 1989. According to her daughter Charlee, she left on her bike. Most other outlets say she was walking. Regardless of her method of transport, she was traveling around National Avenue on Milwaukee’s south side.
And then….nothing. Rhys vanished.
The Investigation
On September 2, 1989, a torso was found by a hiker in Nichols Creek in Sheboygan County, which is just over 50 miles north from where Rhys was last seen. Later, a head and a pair of hands were found by hunters in Vernon Marsh, which is a hunting ground in Waukesha County, about 30 miles west of where she was last seen. The body was not immediately identified, despite efforts by investigators.
Body Found
It took half of a year for the body to be identified as Rhys. According to the Sheboygan Press, a relative of Rhys came across the story of the unidentified body and mentioned it to the detectives working on her case. This led to the Milwaukee County medical examiner to compare Rhys’s medical records and x-rays to the unidentified body. Identifying features – specifically a healed fracture and surgical clips from a previous surgery – matched with the unidentified decedent and led to the identification.
After that, however, it appears the case grew cold, until the late 2010s. Specifically, in 2017, a new detective was assigned to the case. Since then, there appears to have been a push to reinvigorate the investigation. In 2017, Detective Nathan Hatch made statements that evidence was being sent for testing, though the results of that testing are not currently public. He also made statements in 2017 that investigators believe that the individual responsible for Rhys’s death was still alive, and that investigators had most likely already spoken with them.
Theories
The current team investigating this case believes that Rhys most likely knew her murderer, and it’s hard to disagree with them – they have access to all of the information that we do not.In all of the available information, I can’t particularly see anything that would point to this, unless someone had said in an interview that Rhys would not have stopped for or approached someone she did not know.
Regardless of whether or not Rhys knew her murderer or not, it seems likely to me that her murderer was a resident of Milwaukee at large, if not a resident of Rhys’ neighborhood or the surrounding ones. This area is not one that seems to be bustling today – it seems to be more of a commuting road, bordering mostly residential spaces, with some commercial spaces here and there. It does cross I-94 at one point, but it doesn’t seem like a spot that would be a popular pull-off for truckers or travellers, leading me to believe that the perpetrator in this case is local.
As for who? It’s hard to say. In all of my research, there has been no mention of any persons of interest or suspects. No spurned lovers or rivals. No mention of the father(s) of her daughters. There were no mentions of creepy hangers-on or friends who were a little strange.
The best theory I can come up with is that someone approached Rhys while she was out that night – or she was actually going out to meet someone – and things got heated. Why did they get heated? I don’t think we can even begin to speculate on that until someone is in custody and tells their side of the story. But I think there was an altercation of some sort, and Rhys’s murder was the result of that. I believe the person decided to decapitate and dismember her in an attempt to prevent her from being identified – which did work for a time.
The good news here is that in the past 7 years, investigators have gotten back on the horse with this case. They believe that they have spoken to the perpetrator, or someone close to them. They believe the person responsible for Rhys Pocan’s murder is still living locally. And the net is tightening on them.
Investigating Agencies
If you or anyone you know has any information about the murder of Rhys Pocan, it is time to come forward and speak up. It has been 35 long years since Rhys was so brutally taken from her family and friends. To submit a tip regarding Rhys’s case, contact the Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Office at 920-459-3112. You can also submit a tip online anonymously to Sheboygan County CrimeStoppers at cufthem.com.
Sources
- https://www.bia.gov/missing-murdered-cases/rhys-pocan
- http://www.cufthem.com/sitemenu.aspx?P=unsolved&ID=1042&PageNum=2
- https://www.tmj4.com/news/local-news/daughter-of-native-american-woman-abducted-and-murdered-in-1989-is-hopeful-new-leads-will-solve-cold-case
- https://www.tmj4.com/news/local-news/daughter-of-native-american-woman-abducted-and-murdered-in-1989-is-hopeful-new-leads-will-solve-cold-case
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FEAfBtQdgI
- https://wwisradio.com/four-decades-old-cold-case-has-ties-to-black-river-falls-sheboygan-county-deputies-ask-for-help/
- https://www.sheboygancounty.com/departments/departments-r-z/cold-case-investigations
- https://www.weau.com/2023/10/05/sheboygan-county-cold-case-has-ties-jackson-county/
- https://www.wqow.com/news/wisconsin/information-sought-in-1989-cold-case-of-rhys-pocan-of-black-river-falls/article_623e698a-6499-11ee-a6a4-77e2cf55433a.html
- https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sheboygan-press/77372276/
- https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sheboygan-press-rhys-pocan-sheboygan/133293961/
- https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sheboygan-press/133579844/
