James Ruland

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Fond Du Lac County Sheriffs Office (WI)

Missing From:

North Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

Summary:

James S. Ruland, a 40-year-old from Ripon, Wisconsin, was last seen by coworkers at Kaytee Products in Chilton on October 24, 1995. His remains have never been found, and the case shifted from missing person to homicide investigation over three decades. In September 2026, authorities arrested his former roommate Jerome Baier on a charge of intentional homicide.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Disappearance:

James S. Ruland was last seen by his coworkers at Kaytee Products in Chilton, Wisconsin on October 24, 1995. At the time of his disappearance, he was divorced with two children and lived with a roommate in Ripon, Wisconsin but he was in the process of moving to Kiel, Wisconsin to live with a new roommate. In the two weeks prior to his disappearance, Ruland got a new car and asked his parents, who lived in Florida, to mail him $2,500. A witness reported they may have seen him hitchhiking in North Fond du Lac on Oct. 26, 1995. His white Dodge Aires station wagon was later located at the Stretch Truck Stop in North Fond du Lac. The keys were in the ignition and Ruland's personal possessions were in the cargo area. Nine days later, he was reported missing by his sister.

Additional Details:

Baier and Ruland shared a farmhouse in Ripon when Ruland went missing in October 1995. A criminal complaint says the two had a falling out due to disputes about utility bills, rent and alleged stolen cash, and that Ruland was in the process of moving out. An acquaintance reported that Ruland was afraid to confront Baier because he could become violent. Baier later forged and deposited Ruland's checks, leading to a 1997 theft conviction. A Fond du Lac County judge formally declared him dead in a 1999 civil judgment, finding he died on or about October 23, 1995. Search efforts to locate his remains have included human remains detection K9s, ground-penetrating radar, aerial searches, large-scale excavations of potential burial sites, public safety divers searching waterways and detectives searching a pig farm manure pit. In 2021, advances in forensic testing technology led detectives to request additional testing of evidence previously submitted to the Wisconsin State Crime Lab. Those results helped corroborate information gathered through interviews and other evidence analysis. In late 2023, investigators deployed two separate cadaver dogs to Baier's Cork Street Road property in Ripon, both of which alerted to the scent of human remains, despite no physical body being found. Jerome Baier, Ruland's roommate at the time of his disappearance, was arrested after a search of his rural Marathon County home early Friday morning, Sept. 18, 2026. During a preliminary hearing and arraignment, Jerome Baier, 83, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the death of James "Jim" Ruland. A judge found that there was enough evidence to bind 83-year-old Jerome Baier over on a First‑Degree Intentional Homicide charge in the 1995 disappearance of his former roommate, James Ruland. Baier is pleading not guilty to the charge. He is due back in court on November 2nd.

Case Last Updated:

Oct 02, 2026