On May 31, 1976, 38-year-old Mildred Louise Butterworth Roche was last seen by her parents at their farm in Eagle Lake, Minnesota. She and her husband, Ronald Roche, were leaving to drive back to their home in Fargo, North Dakota, a journey of about five and a half hours. This departure would be the last time her family ever saw or heard from her. The days that followed her departure were filled with a concerning silence, a silence that would stretch into decades, leaving her loved ones with
unanswered questions and a story marked by suspicion and mystery. Mildred, who was known to her friends and family as "Millie," was described as a woman with long brown hair, brown eyes, and a mole on her right cheek. She also lived with a mild form of epilepsy, which required her to take prescription medication to manage her condition.
It wasn't until June 16, 1976, that Mildred's parents received any news, and it came in the form of a letter from their son-in-law, Ronald. In the letter, Ronald stated that he and Mildred had decided to divorce and that she had left him on June 2nd. Alarmed by the lack of direct contact from their daughter, Mildred's parents reported her missing on June 23rd. When questioned by police, Ronald claimed that Mildred had packed two suitcases, an overnight bag, and a significant amount of cash and traveler's checks, totaling between three and four thousand dollars, before leaving. He also told investigators that Mildred had called him on three separate occasions after she left, with the last call supposedly coming from Boston, Massachusetts, in August of 1976. However, police were never able to find any evidence to corroborate Ronald's claims of these phone calls or to suggest that Mildred had ever been in Boston.
As the investigation into Mildred's disappearance unfolded, several details emerged that cast doubt on Ronald's version of events. Her parents found some of her best clothing for sale at a Salvation Army in Fargo, and the suitcase she had packed for her visit to their farm had been left behind at her and Ronald's home. Furthermore, less than a week after Mildred was last seen, Ronald sold the car they had used for the trip to her parents' farm. The traveler's checks that Mildred had allegedly taken with her were never cashed, her Social Security number has been inactive since 1976, and her prescription for epilepsy medication was never refilled. In 1996, police excavated the backyard of the Fargo home Mildred had shared with Ronald, but nothing of interest was discovered. Ronald Roche remarried in 1977 and passed away in 2018, having never faced any charges in connection with his wife's disappearance. The case of Mildred Louise Butterworth Roche remains an unsolved and troubling mystery, an overview of a life interrupted, leaving behind a legacy of unanswered questions and the enduring pain of a family that never found closure. Foul play is suspected in her disappearance, and the Fargo Police Department continues to investigate.Last Seen: May 31, 1976
