WI KAYLA BERG: Missing from Antigo, WI - 11 Aug 2009 - Age 15

Kayla May Berg

Kayla, circa 2009; Age-progression to age 26 (circa 2019); Kevin Kielcheski

• Missing Since08/11/2009
• Missing FromWausau, Wisconsin
• ClassificationEndangered Missing
• SexFemale
• RaceWhite
• Date of Birth08/29/1993 (26)
• Age15 years old
• Height and Weight5'2, 108 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry DescriptionA red spaghetti-strap top, a dark blue hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, tan low-heeled sandals and a silver ringed necklace.
• Distinguishing CharacteristicsCaucasian female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Kayla has a scar on her right shin and small chicken pox scars on her right cheek and the right side of her nose. She has abdominal scars from laparoscopic surgery, and her appendix has been removed. Her navel is pierced and her ears are double-pierced. Her nickname is Kay Kay.

Details of Disappearance
Kayla was last seen on August 11, 2009. That evening, she was with a 24-year-old friend, Kevin J. Kielcheski. A photo of Kielcheski is posted with this case summary. He drove her around her hometown of Antigo, Wisconsin and the pair allegedly smoked marijuana.

Sometime between 9:00 and 11:00 p.m., Kielcheski dropped Kayla off at her boyfriend's home in Wausau, Wisconsin, about a forty-minute drive from Antigo. He stated the house, which is across the street from the Colonial Manor Nursing Home, had all the lights turned off and it looked as if no one was home. Kielcheski never actually saw Kayla go inside it. She has never been heard from again.

Kayla wasn't reported missing for six days because her parents, who are separated, each thought she was in the other one's home. Her parents had a fairly open living arrangement for her and her younger brother, and they often traveled back and forth by themselves between one parent's house and another. Kayla, her brother and her mother had moved to Texas earlier in 2009, but the two children were homesick and after just three months their mother took them and moved back to Wisconsin.

Authorities initially believed Kayla was a runaway, and they stated her friends appeared evasive, as if they were trying to conceal her whereabouts. Police began to reconsider the runaway theory as weeks passed without any contact. Her boyfriend denied having seen her the day of her disappearance. He is four years older than Kayla and her mother didn't approve of the relationship because of the age difference. The house Kayla went to on the night of her disappearance had actually been condemned and its occupants had moved out while the building was being renovated, but it's unclear whether she knew about this.

In October 2009, Kielcheski was arrested and charged with second-degree reckless endangerment, a felony; this is related to substance use with Kayla on the night she was last seen. The charge was dismissed in July 2011, however. Kielcheski hasn't been charged or named as a suspect in her actual disappearance, and he is no longer cooperating with the investigation.

Kayla is described as a passionate gymnast who was looking forward to being on her school's team. She didn't own a cellular phone or a computer at the time of her disappearance and apparently didn't use the internet very much. She has no history of running away from home and it's uncharacteristic of her not to keep her parents informed of her whereabouts. Although there is no evidence of foul play in her case, her mother believes she was abducted. Her case remains unsolved.

Kayla May Berg – The Charley Project

NamUs The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

KAYLA BERG has been #MISSING from Wausau, Wisconsin since August 2009. She disappeared after being dropped off at her boyfriend's house!

That evening, she was with a 24-year-old friend, Kevin J. Kielcheski. He drove her around her hometown of Antigo, Wisconsin and the pair allegedly smoked marijuana. Sometime between 9:00 and 11:00 p.m., Kielcheski said he dropped Kayla off at...

www.crimewatchers.net

MEDIA - KAYLA BERG: Missing from Antigo, WI since 11 Aug 2009 - Age 15

 

[Jason Futch]

Wisconsin mother still searching on 10th anniversary of daughter Kayla Berg's disappearance

Aug. 9, 2019, 7:33 PM EDT
By Veronica Fulton
Hope Berg and her daughter Kayla spent the beginning of the summer of 2009 with family in Texas where Hope spent her childhood. In early August they returned to Antigo, Wisconsin so Kayla could spend the rest of her summer vacation there before going back to school in the fall.
“I grew up in Texas,” Hope Berg told Dateline. “But my kids were born in Antigo and grew up here.” That summer, Kayla was 15, “Just two weeks shy of her Sweet 16,” her mother said. “Kayla was sweet and kind-hearted. She talked to everybody, it didn’t matter the clique.”

Hope told Dateline that Kayla was energetic and wanted to be a choreographer. She was on the dance team in school and also did gymnastics.
Even though she was no longer with Kayla’s father, Hope told Dateline that she and her ex, Jim, had an “open-door” policy with their kids, allowing them to see both parents whenever they wanted.
So once the mother and daughter returned from Texas, Kayla naturally wanted to spend some time at her father’s. She was spending the night there on August 11.
“Kayla called that night, August 11,” Hope Berg told Dateline. “And said she might go see some friends, but that she’d let me know. Then Kayla said, ‘I love you.’ And I said, ‘I love you, too,’” Hope remembered. “Next thing I know, she hasn’t been heard from for days.
Hope told Dateline that Kayla’s father, Jim, who passed away five years ago, simply remembered that Kayla yelled through the house that she was going out.
Hope said that Kayla’s older brother, James, told her that Kayla had called him that night and wanted to go to a party with him. “He said no, and that was the last he heard from her,” Hope told Dateline.
Looking back, Hope said, “There was a lot of miscommunication between Kayla’s father and I that week.”
“It took about six days, but I thought, ‘Something’s not right: No one has heard from her or seen her.’ So I went to the Antigo Police Department and filled out a missing person’s report,” Hope Berg told Dateline. “She was filed as a runaway at first. Then within the first 48 hours, we had her upgraded to endangered missing.”
Dateline spoke with Antigo Police Department Captain Daniel Duley. Captain Duley told Dateline that he has been on this case since the beginning.
“Kayla was reported missing on August 17, 2009, but hadn’t been seen since August 11,” Capt. Duley said. “She didn’t have a history of being a runaway and there’s nothing to indicate that’s what happened.”
Hope told Dateline that, “Apparently, Kayla was picked up by her brother’s friend to go for a drive. Then, around 9:00 pm, Kayla’s other friend was working and they went to stop by and say hi.”
Captain Duley told Dateline that Kayla’s brother’s friend supposedly picked Kayla up and took her to her ex-boyfriend’s house, 35 miles away, in Wassau, Wisconsin.
“Our main focus in this investigation is the gentleman who supposedly took her for a ride to her ex-boyfriend’s house and the ex-boyfriend,” Capt. Duley said.
Hope told Dateline that, “Kayla knew that her ex-boyfriend had just moved, and had even been over to his new house. For her to be dropped off at night, at his old, abandoned house, with nobody there? I can’t see it.”
As far as the investigation goes, Capt. Duley told Dateline, “There’s been many searches conducted in the areas around the state of Wisconsin. We’ve had human remains detection dogs and other investigative searches done. We’ve had tips that have led us all over the country.”
It has been 10 years to the day since Kayla Berg was last seen, but her case has not been forgotten by her family, the town or the authorities.
“I’ve never considered Kayla’s case a cold case. It’s an active, ongoing investigation. And we actively work on any tips that we get,” Capt. Duley said. “There are people out there that we think have information and we’d like them to come forward and talk to us about anything they know about the case.”
Ten years is a long time to wait, hoping for answers. “We want this resolved for the family and, really, the entire community,” Capt. Duley told Dateline. “They’ve all been affected by this for the past 10 years.”
“Somebody doesn’t just vanish off the face of the earth. I think something bad happened, but I don’t know for sure,” Kayla’s mother Hope Berg said. “Then there’s that hope and faith that she is out there somewhere safe and we can bring her home. There’s a lot of things that run through your mind when something like this happens.”

Hope and Kayla Berg.
Hope Berg told Dateline that, “I always try to keep that hope and faith alive. The Ohio women were found. Jayme Closs was located. That always gives someone renewed hope and faith, like, ‘Maybe that could happen to me.’”
Kayla Berg would be 25 years old today. If you have any information on her disappearance, please contact the Antigo Police Department at (715) 627-6411.

 

[Kimster]

Jason, thank you for remembering Kayla! We had a nice thread about her before the great crash of Jan. 2, 2020 - a foretelling episode of things to come this year.

 

[Kimster]

Five facts about this case:

Sports

Sports news, analysis, rumors, statistics, predictions and roster moves around the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and more.

heavy.com

 

[GrandmaBear]

Sad Case.

Even though it was "dismissed" that video is hard to ignore. The resemblance even... I wonder how they can be so very sure it relates in no way.

The obvious suspect would appear to be the one who dropped her off at a home that according to the one article Kayla knew her bf no longer lived in so it makes no sense she would ask to go there if that is fact... It would make sense however, if the driver did not know he had moved and wanted to make up a story of where he dropped her. 24 years old, you take a young 15 year old girl miles away to another city and do not even make sure anyone is home or she makes it inside? And he said himself there were no lights on and it looked as if no one was home? Odd. Imo. But apparently not enough to charge him.

I hope if there is anyone that knows they think twice and come forward against the possible perp. Antigo is not a huge town, probably 8,000 maybe, Wausau is bigger at maybe 40,000 but not huge cities or anything. Not saying everyone would know everyone but they are not huge areas. Wausau is big enough though to have the usual businesses and more of cities that size with I would think some cameras. But she was not reported missing right away and then was first thought to possibly be a runaway which may have made it too late for any security footage to be found. There is also is major acreage of national forest in the Antigo, etc. area. If she was alone with someone, or trusted the wrong person, it is very rural... Where would one even begin to search...?

Cell phones and GPS have changed many things at times in narrowing things down but it does not sound as though she had one. I wonder if the guy she was riding with did? I imagine they looked into that though although I can't recall in 2009 how accurate they were or towers were, etc. to pinpoint things... .

Just sad. I hope her family gets answers one day. This case is one that crosses my mind every so often. Glad to see it put on here.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Antigo Police hope for new information as 12 year mark hits in Kayla Berg disappearance

It’s been 12 years since Kayla Berg seemingly vanished into thin air. Berg, who will turn 28-years-old later this month, was last seen on Aug. 11, 2009.

www.wsaw.com

Antigo Police hope for new information as 12 year mark hits in Kayla Berg disappearance​

It’s been 12 years since Kayla Berg seemingly vanished into thin air. Berg, who will turn 28-years-old later this month, was last seen on Aug. 11, 2009.

 

[Kimster]

It’s hard to believe this case has been unsolved for so long.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Disappearance of Antigo teen hits 13-year mark

Thirteen years have now passed since Kayla Berg seemingly vanished. Berg, who will turn 29-years-old later this month, was last seen on Aug. 11, 2009.

www.nbc15.com

Disappearance of Antigo teen hits 13-year mark​

Thirteen years have now passed since Kayla Berg seemingly vanished. Berg, who will turn 29-years-old later this month, was last seen on Aug. 11, 2009.


12 years ago today, August 11, 2009, Kayla May Berg went missing from Antigo at the age of 15 years old. Kayla is greatly missed by her family, friends, and her disappearance has saddened the whole Antigo community.
The Antigo Police continues to actively investigate Kayla’s disappearance and conducts follow up investigations on current tips that are received. The Antigo Police Department thanks all Law Enforcement personnel and other support personnel in North Central Wisconsin, throughout Wisconsin and the entire country that continue to assist in the investigation.
The Antigo Police Department requests anyone with information related to Kayla’s disappearance please contact the Antigo Police Department at 715-627-6411 or Langlade County Crime Stoppers at 715-627-6245 or using the P3
Please help to bring Kayla home.

 

[Kimster]

It still seems like they have absolutely no leads. I hope there’s something they know that we don’t.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Forgotten Wisconsin Cold Cases: Kayla Berg - Keeping Hope

When people ask about what case we are working on next, not one person doesn’t know at least a little bit about 15-year-old Kayla Berg.

www.wsaw.com

Forgotten Wisconsin Cold Cases: Kayla Berg - Keeping Hope​

In what is now our 11th episode of Forgotten, the names and cases we have discussed have been fairly unknown for the most part, outside of their respective communities in central Wisconsin. That’s not the case with this one though.

When people ask about what case we are working on next, not one person doesn’t know at least a little bit about 15-year-old Kayla Berg.

If you type her name into Google, Kayla is featured on countless missing-person forums, websites, and podcasts across the web. A quick peek back at the NewsChannel 7 archives reveals dozens of reporter stories delivering the most recent updates.

Her name is also attached to viral a YouTube video called ‘Hi Walter’ which garnered almost three million views.

The disturbing video posted in October 2009 depicts a girl with brown hair tied up on a floor with a man talking to the camera. The FBI quickly tracked down its creators and determined the video to be fake and the people in it were actors.

“That was horrifying,” Kayla’s mom Hope Berg said. “I guess the only benefit that I did get out of that was worldwide coverage. Her name went worldwide, real quick. Other than that, it was a nightmare, just a living nightmare.”

Hope welcomed our crew into her home to talk about Kayla’s disappearance. It’s been years since she’s had an interview with anyone.

It’s understandable. Strangers showing up and asking very personal questions about likely one of the most difficult things she has ever experienced.

So, why now?

“Well, the more she’s out there, the more people hear her name, hear her story, the better,” Hope said.

She was candid with her thoughts about who she believes knows something and how she blames herself for how the first few days of Kayla’s disappearance were handled. More importantly, she was candid about what she wants out of all of this.

“Something definitely went wrong,” Hope said. “Something happened. I would really like some closure. I would really like to know what happened to my daughter.”

MORE AT LINK

 

[GrandmaBear]

A home state case. I honestly don't see a ton of WI cases online or in forums like this, etc. Some sure, but few really and few that ever take nationwide interest. Kind of funny since we have some of the most open records laws there are. There have been a few. Dahmer of course back in the day. The parade one. The poor girl in Chippewa Falls more recent killed by a was it 14 year old cousin or some such? THAT one even has no big national attention or online attention despite being a child killer and wannabe rapist being waived into adult court. Jake Patterson now that went world wide. Not going to name his living victim out of respect to keep her out of online stuff. The boy missing right now near the Dells who they think went survivalist and who they have not found, WE have it but nothing big going on on YT etc.

There was a case a few years ago that was so very reminiscent of Arias and ALL of it televised. I didn't see it live or even KNOW about it until after the fact. When I didn't work and it was winter I think I was in need of something to watch and came across it. Very weird and very interesting. Court TV I believe had it. You'd think it would have gone bigger. Ezra something was her name I think. An interesting trial watch if you're ever bored...

I think that our investigators for the mos part keep things close to the vest bu I honestly think it's more than that, unless it becomes HUGE first, major national news outlets just don't bother. I do think we have less serious crime in at least 2/3 of the state or more and murder is rare and in the city areas in the south, it's a lot more drug killings and things like that.

Anyhow this one hits me because it was that scary video that made me aware of it and other than that, I knew nothing of it in my own state. That garnered major attention as it says but that national attention hasn't helped solve it has it...

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Bench in memory of Kayla Berg completed

ANTIGO -- A bench in City Park now holds a plaque memorializing Kayla Berg, the Antigo girl who on Aug. 11 will have been missing for 15 years.

www.antigojournal.com

Bench in memory of Kayla Berg completed​

A bench in City Park now holds a plaque memorializing Kayla Berg, the Antigo girl who on Aug. 11 will have been missing for 15 years.

Hope Berg, her mother, said that while in years past the family often released balloons on the anniversary of Kayla’s disappearance, this year, she wanted to do more.

“I was sitting at home thinking about her a lot — which, I think about her all the time — but I wanted to do a little more of a memorial for the 15 year anniversary, and the thought just came across my mind about having a memorial bench put in,” Berg said. “I’ve seen them around town, so I thought, what better way that would keep her memory for a long time, instead of just for a few moments.”

Berg mentioned the idea on the Antigo Information Facebook page, and one person quickly donated the $1,500 required.

“There was one very generous benefactor that took care of it and it was done. I had asked if they wanted to be named and they said, ‘No, it wasn’t necessary,’ so I just say it was one very generous benefactor. The person knows who they are and I thank them from the bottom of my heart. It meant a lot,” she said.

Berg chose a bench near the Splash Pad for the plaque because her children played there when they were young.

The plaque, inscribed with the words “Forever Loved, Never Forgotten, Always Missed,” has further meaning as well, according to Berg.
“To me, it’s a reminder,” she said. “There’s still a missing girl out there. She went missing 15 years ago and we still have really nothing more than what we had 15 years ago when it happened. But 15 years is coming up on August 11, and I wanted something special, something that was going to last a long time, something where I can go sit and feel like I’m close, and something that would maybe remind other parents that this does happen in a small town and to keep an eye on their children.”


“I just really want to thank the community for their support over the last 15 years and I truly, honestly hope that nobody ever forgets about her,” Berg said. “I hope that this memorial bench is a way that people won’t forget about her.”

 

[Guess Who]

So her 24 year old friend supposedly dropped her off at a house with no lights on and it appeared that no one was home and he didn't wait to see that she got inside???

I have no idea if he was involved with this or not, but what an azz!

 

[GrandmaBear]

So her 24 year old friend supposedly dropped her off at a house with no lights on and it appeared that no one was home and he didn't wait to see that she got inside???

I have no idea if he was involved with this or not, but what an azz!

I have never believed him, there isn't any reason to.

I find it a bit odd someone she considered a boyfriend, that she wouldn't know he was not living there or that it was condemned or whatever, but she's 15 and maybe she saw him occasionally and she thought him a bf, I'd have to look back but you generally know where your bf is living.

The person she was with imo is the one I'd suspect and they seem to of course, even charged with something and then dismissed.

I don't think he EVER dropped her off. Or they went into the house but if he did something to her there, he'd then have to somehow move her. I go with her never dropped her off. I WONDER if HE had a phone... Not sure why she didn't other than maybe mom didn't allow one at her age back then. They are something that has changed over time as to when parents for got one, whether they would allow kids to have one until a certain age, etc. My daughter did not get her first until 16 but that was some years before this happened and using them for internet wasn't a thing yet. OR texting. She could only call with it. And under my control, my plan, her minutes and all.

His story he dropped her off does make him an azz to strand her but I don't think it's true. It's just to his benefit...

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

15 years since Kayla Berg went missing

ANTIGO, Wis. (WAOW)-- It has been fifteen years since 15-year-old Kayla Berg went missing and police say they are still looking for clues in this case.

www.waow.com

15 years since Kayla Berg went missing​

It has been fifteen years since 15-year-old Kayla Berg went missing and police say they are still looking for clues in this case.

The Antigo Police Chief Dan Duley says this is not a cold case. Duley has worked on the case since the beginning and has stayed on it ever since.

"The fact that there is no conclusion is very sad to me it's a case I think of on a daily basis," Chief Duley said. "My mind is always working and trying to figure out what could we be missing, what else should we do, where we need to go with the case."

"Sometimes we get tips or rumors that we have already heard in the past, but they don't know what we have heard so I always encourage them (people) to come forward with any information that they have heard," Chief Duley said. "I believe there are more people out there that know more facts and details and it would be nice if they would step forward and come to us with that information."

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Kayla Berg case marks 16 years since Antigo teen last seen

When people ask about what case we are working on next, not one person doesn’t know at least a little bit about 15-year-old Kayla Berg.

www.wsaw.com

Kayla Berg case marks 16 years since Antigo teen last seen​

In what is now our 11th episode of Forgotten, the names and cases we have discussed have been fairly unknown for the most part, outside of their respective communities in central Wisconsin. That’s not the case with this one though.

When people ask about what case we are working on next, not one person doesn’t know at least a little bit about 15-year-old Kayla Berg.

If you type her name into Google, Kayla is featured on countless missing-person forums, websites, and podcasts across the web. A quick peek back at the NewsChannel 7 archives reveals dozens of reporter stories delivering the most recent updates.

Her name is also attached to viral a YouTube video called ‘Hi Walter’ which garnered almost three million views.


She was candid with her thoughts about who she believes knows something and how she blames herself for how the first few days of Kayla’s disappearance were handled. More importantly, she was candid about what she wants out of all of this.

“Something definitely went wrong,” Hope said. “Something happened. I would really like some closure. I would really like to know what happened to my daughter.”


As our interview wrapped up, looking at the walls of Hope’s home, they are covered in photographs of her family, and of course Kayla.

There are also ones of a little girl — her granddaughter.


“She makes me laugh. Nothing will probably take the hurt away, but it makes me forget just that little bit to where I can enjoy,” Hope said. “That’s — yeah, she’s my reason for being right now. Honestly, I really feel that way.”

Hope found out she was going to be a grandma two years ago on a date she knows all too well.

“Honestly, I found out when she was pregnant, she had the 3D ultrasound, and amazingly enough, I was at a Union Conference in Green Bay and her appointment was on August 11,” she said.

And the little girl’s name?

“Kayla — Kayla Lynn. She can never replace big Kayla, but that little peanut sure does fill a void in my heart.”

Monday will mark 16 years since Kayla was last seen. She would also be celebrating her 32nd birthday.


What has remained strong and steadfast though, is Hope’s love for her daughter and her quest to learn the truth.

“Here I am still standing strong and still advocating, which I will do till I can’t know more or until I get answers,” she said.

Kayla, you have not been forgotten.