Missing Person Photos

A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are unknown. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2 to 5 percent of missing children in Europe. By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends. A number of organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and images of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.



Missing Person Photos

Resources for Missing Persons

According to current statistics, 4,000 people in the United States go missing every day. Sometimes a child suddenly vanishes from the bus stop or the local park or even from their own yard or bedroom. Or a teenager doesn�t return home after a walk to the neighborhood grocery store or a bike ride or a party with friends. Other times, an adult is mysteriously absent from their job or neighbors haven�t seen them for several days, and family and friends haven�t heard from them either.

Missing Person Photos

Donna Kay Krnak
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
Donna, date, approximate 1998; Allen Krnak, date, approximate 1998; Derek Anderson (Andrew Krnak), date, approximate 2001
Date Missing 07/02/1998
Missing From
Helenville, Wisconsin
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Age 52 years old
Height and Weight 5'5, 150 pounds
Associated Vehicle(s) Black Chevrolet pickup truck (accounted for)
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, hazel eyes. Donna may wear eyeglasses. She has a scar on her face. Her last name is pronounced "CAR-nak" and her maiden name is Wrezenski.
Details of Disappearance Donna resided with her husband, Allen F. Krnak, and her two adult sons, Andrew Krnak (who ly changed his name to Derek Nicholas Anderson days after his family disappeared, and is referred to in media accounts by that name), and Thomas Krnak, in Helenville, Wisconsin in 1998. Photographs of Allen and Anderson are posted with this summary.
Donna, Thomas and Allen were last seen on July 2, 1998. Anderson, who was the last person known to see them, stated they were headed to the family's summer cabin in Coloma, Wisconsin when they disappeared. The family's dog, a cocker spaniel named Hunter, also went missing.
Anderson reported his parents and brother as missing persons seven days after he last saw them; he said he became concerned when they failed to return from the cabin as scheduled. It was later determined that they probably never arrived there.
On July 10, the family's black Chevrolet pickup truck was found in a forest near Reedsburg in Sauk County, Wisconsin. The truck had been wiped clean of fingerprints inside and out and there was no luggage in it, although Anderson stated his family packed their belongings before they left. There was no sign of any of the Krnaks or their dog.
Allen's skeletal remains were found in Roy Taylor Forest in North Carolina in December 1999, but they were not identified until 2001. He had died from blunt force trauma to the head.
Near Allen's body were a woman's t-shirt, a pair of men's briefs, a wedding ring later identified as Donna's and the remains of a dog, which authorities believe may have been the Krnaks' dog, although this could not be confirmed. There was no sign of Thomas or Donna at the scene.
Anderson ly changed his name days after his family disappeared. He had previous convictions for theft and breaking and entering, and a month after his family's disappearances he was jailed for drunk driving, driving with a revoked license, and probation violation.
In July 1999, he pleaded guilty to federal loan fraud and spent time in federal prison; he had lied on an application for a student loan. He had frequently hiked at Roy Taylor Forest when he was a student at Western Carolina University from 1991 to 1996; he has a bachelor's degree in psychology and sociology and subsequently took graduate classes at the university.
On February 1, 2001, shortly after he was released from prison and went to live in a halfway house, Anderson was charged with first-degree intentional homicide in connection with his father's death.
He was originally charged in North Carolina, but the charges were dropped in that state and he was charged in Wisconsin after it was determined there was no evidence to indicate Allen was killed in North Carolina.
On the day of his disappearance, Allen got a phone call at work and became very distressed. He left work early, saying he had a family emergency and "may have to go to a funeral." Anderson initially denied having placed the call; he later admitted that he had and said he had done so because he was fixing his parents' car and could not find a tool he needed.
Anderson was unemployed and lived with his parents in 1998. He was a student at the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater and owed tens of thousands of dollars in student loans. Allen's co-workers testified that the relationship between him and his son was troubled and that Allen had said Anderson had attacked him and tried to kill him with a club.
The family truck also had 2,618 miles unaccounted for, enough to travel to North Carolina and back; the distance between the Krnak home and the location of Allen's remains is approximately 1,560 miles round-trip. Anderson had no explanation for the unaccounted miles, but admitted to having driven the car.
Anderson pleaded not guilty to his father's murder and, at his 2006 trial, his lawyers argued that there was no evidence to connect him to the crime or to his mother and brother's disappearances.
The prosecution theorized that Anderson murdered his family to gain access to their estate, which is worth an estimated $550,000 to $600,000. In April 2006, he was convicted of his father's murder.
Although no one has been charged in connection with Thomas and Donna's disappearances and an extensive search of Roy Taylor Forest turned up no sign of them, authorities believe they were murdered by Anderson and their bodies are in North Carolina. Foul play is suspected in their s due to the circumstances involved.
Investigating Agency
Jefferson County Sheriff's Department
920-674-7310
Other
The Sylva Herald
Wisconsin State Journal
The Milwaukee Channel
WKOW 27
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
The Daily Jefferson County Union
The State Bar of Wisconsin
The Stevens Point Journal
The Doe Network
NamUs

Missing Person Photos

A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are unknown. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2 to 5 percent of missing children in Europe. By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends. A number of organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and images of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.



Missing Person Photos

Resources for Missing Persons

According to current statistics, 4,000 people in the United States go missing every day. Sometimes a child suddenly vanishes from the bus stop or the local park or even from their own yard or bedroom. Or a teenager doesn�t return home after a walk to the neighborhood grocery store or a bike ride or a party with friends. Other times, an adult is mysteriously absent from their job or neighbors haven�t seen them for several days, and family and friends haven�t heard from them either.

Missing Person Photos