By Brandi Makuski

Six months ago, Jason Sypher walked into the Plover Police Dept. and reported his wife, 44-year-old Krista, was missing.

By the time he contacted police on March 20, she’d been missing for a full week.

Investigators have spent thousands of man hours to date searching for clues on Krista Sypher’s whereabouts, but say it’s still not clear why so much time went by before her disappearance was reported — and they’ve had few answers to satisfy that and other questions.

“I’m not satisfied with any answers I’ve been given,” said Plover Police Chief Dan Ault. “There are still many questions that have not been answered.”

Krista Sypher, who is still categorized as missing, is an educational assistant with the Stevens Point School District. She was last seen by her husband at their Hoffman Dr. home in Plover on March 13.

Jason Sypher has not been ruled out as a suspect, Ault said, and now only communicates with law enforcement through his lawyer.

“But I remain as confident as I ever have been that this will be concluded in due time,” Ault said.

Crews search a Wisconsin Rapids landfill on June 28. (City Times photo)

The department has been working the case “very aggressively”, Ault said, in partnership with officers from Stevens Point, Portage Co. Sheriff’s Office, the Wisconsin Dept. of Criminal Investigation, FBI and other entities.

His officers have all the resources they need, he added.

“I absolutely understand the frustration felt by the public,” Ault said. “We share that frustration, but it’s important to know that there’s often a lot of activity going on with this case that the public just isn’t aware of.”

Investigators have conducted several searches related to the Sypher disappearance, including a nine-hour search of the family’s home, and a two-week stint in June searching a Wisconsin Rapids landfill.

Ault declined to comment on what, if any, evidence was collected from the landfill, except to say it was “necessary and beneficial”.

“I’m glad we did it,” he said, adding the search allowed the department to confirm some suspicions and cross others off its list. “There’s a possibility we’ll go back to the landfill…the landfill is awful big, and we didn’t find everything we’re looking for.”

Ault said he and other officers think they know what happened to Krista, but he’s quick to point out they need solid evidence for any possible criminal proceeding in the future.

Ault added while the possibility is remote, and police don’t believe she left on her own accord, there have been instances across the country where a missing persons case turns out to be the result of an individual simply leaving their lives behind suddenly for various reasons, and that’s also something the investigation may need to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt.

“Do I think Krista’s alive? No, I don’t. Do I hope she’s alive? Absolutely, yes,” Ault said. “I hope I’m wrong — there would be no better day in my career than to tell this family she’s alive. The family is wanting their daughter back; we are doing everything we can to find her. We will solve this case.”

Krista is a white female, 44 years old and 5’3” tall. She is approximately 160 pounds with blonde hair and green eyes. Police say she may use her maiden name of Kellerman, or her former married name of Lorbecki.

The Plover Police Department is asking that anyone with information about Sypher’s whereabouts or any other information about her disappearance to contact Det. Mike Tracy or Det. Brian Noel at the Plover Police Dept., (715) 345-5255.