A mother of two is found murdered 6 months after being forced into a vehicle Susan Poupart, a 29-year-old Native American woman and mother of two, vanished in the early morning hours of May 20, 1990. The night before, she had attended a party on the Makwa Trail in her hometown of Lac Du Flambeau, Wisconsin. Around 4:00 a.m., she was seen leaving the gathering with two men. While some witnesses reported she simply got into a car with them, at least one person claimed she appeared to be forced into the vehicle. That was the last time she was ever seen alive.
When she failed to return home, her family reported her missing.
For six months, her disappearance remained a mystery. Then, on Thanksgiving Day, November 22, 1990, two hunters made a grim discovery deep within the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. They found a purse containing Susan's tribal ID card and a jacket. Underneath, they uncovered partial human remains, which were later confirmed to be Susan's. Investigators found evidence at the scene, including duct tape and plastic, suggesting her killer or killers had attempted to conceal her body. The condition of her remains indicated she had been sexually assaulted, but a precise cause of death could not be determined, though it was officially ruled a homicide.
The investigation quickly focused on the two men last seen with Susan: Joe Cobb and Robert Elm. When questioned, they denied abducting her, claiming they had offered her a ride home but got into an argument and dropped her off near an elementary school. Over the years, a third man, Francis “Fritz” Schuman, also became a person of interest. It was rumored that Schuman had confessed to another inmate that he and others had taken Susan into the woods, raped her, and beaten her to death. In 2007, a man was brought to court in connection with the murder, but the charges were ultimately dismissed after witnesses declined to testify.
Despite ongoing interviews and public efforts to generate new leads, including a billboard on a local highway, the case has grown cold. All three men have been considered persons of interest, but none have ever been charged in connection with Susan Poupart's death. The case remains an unsolved homicide, leaving her family and community still searching for answers and justice decades later.
