Jean M. Jape
- WMPA, Inc
- 1 hour ago
- 2 min read
Jean M. Jape was 38 years old when she disappeared from Manitowoc, Wisconsin on November 7, 1997. Before she left, she made sure her children were safe, dropping them off with her mother. That was the last time her family saw her. About three months later, a letter arrived. It was handwritten, postmarked in Illinois, and believed to have been written by Jean herself. In it, she told her mother she was with her boyfriend, Robert Darrel Davidson, and that she would write again once they were settled somewhere new. That letter, sent around January 1998, is the last trace of her. No confirmed contact has been made since. Jean's family has not stopped looking. Her case was entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System in December 2025, bringing renewed attention to a disappearance that has gone unsolved for nearly 30 years.
WHAT LED UP TO HER DISAPPEARANCE
In 1997, Davidson, Jean's boyfriend at the time, was being sought by U.S. Marshals in Milwaukee on charges of sexually assaulting two young children. Jean was a relative of one of those children. When Fond du Lac County law enforcement asked Davidson to come in for questioning, he fled the state. Approximately one month later, Jean disappeared.
Before vanishing, Jean had been living in the Fond du Lac area for a brief period. She left her children with her mother before she was last seen in Manitowoc on November 7, 1997.
Jean M. Jape is a white woman who was 38 years old when she was last seen, dark brown hair, blue eyes, 5'2", and 165 pounds. She was known to wear a gold opal necklace, and had three piercings in her right ear and two in her left. She may be using the name Jean Schleis or Jean Janowski. At the time of her disappearance, she was believed to be driving a gray 1985 Dodge Omni, a four-door hatchback with rust on the doors. Today, Jean would be 66 years old. If you recognize her, or believe you have seen her, please come forward.
Detective Eric Schultz (lead investigator, Manitowoc PD) — (920) 686-3599
Captain Cooper R. Schmidt (Manitowoc PD) — (920) 686-6585
Crime Stoppers (anonymous tips): (920) 683-4466
Anonymous tips via app: P3 Tips
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