Four-year-old Hickle Harley Ware, known as Punky, was last seen in a meadow near his family farm in Bungo Township, Minnesota, between noon and 1:00 p.m. on June 11, 1938. He was with his two older brothers, ages ten and thirteen; the boys left him briefly to round up cattle and returned minutes later to find him gone. He was wearing a blue and white striped shirt and tan overalls, without shoes or socks.

A massive search followed: by morning authorities were involved and about 1,500 people, including the National Guard and the Civilian Conservation Corps, combed dense woods and swampy terrain. Tracker dogs and an airplane were used, but a rainstorm on June 13 washed away tracks. Reports over the years mentioned two unfamiliar men seen in the area and a farmer who said he saw a crying boy in a truck, though the sheriff believed Hickle likely wandered off and succumbed to the elements. No trace of him has ever been found and the case remains unsolved.