Christopher James Winkler, known as Chris, was 19 when he was last seen in Burlington, Wisconsin, on the night of February 16, 1987. He is described as a white male with brown hair and blue eyes, about 5 feet 11 inches to 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighing 190 to 220 pounds, with a two-inch scar above one knee. Clothing reports vary: blue jeans, brown work boots or work shoes, and a gray jacket that may have been leather, or a flannel shirt over a thermal.

The final reported sighting placed him at a friend’s house seeking that friend; the friend’s grandfather told him to leave, and Christopher reportedly appeared panicked and said a black truck was following him. He was never seen again. In the months before he vanished he had been linked to a December 1, 1986 burglary at the Auctioneer’s Inn; two friends later pleaded guilty in that break-in and two owned a black truck like the one reported, which was said to have disappeared shortly afterward. Christopher’s burglary charge was later dropped when the statute of limitations expired. Family say he was close and would routinely return for dinner, and law enforcement has described his disappearance as suspicious, though no confirmed evidence of a crime has been made public.