ST. CLOUD, Minn — In the summer of 1998, friends and family members of Roseanna Forcum and April Geyer began to fear the worst.
The two had a history of going unaccounted for, but only in brief stints — this time was different.
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Forcum, 15 years old at the time, was last seen by family members on Aug. 10, 1998, according to the St. Cloud Police Department. Four days later, Forcum and Geyer were reported missing.
The last known movements of Forcum and Geyer can be traced to a mid-August party in St. Paul, according to the state's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Eight years after vanishing without warning, investigators received a tip that could have filled in the rest of the timeline.
An anonymous caller told the St. Paul Police Department that the two girls were strangled at an apartment in St. Paul in August 1998, and later taken and buried near a stream on farmland on farmland in Wadena County, Minn.
The caller didn't provide the name of the alleged killer, but said he helped transport and bury the girl and young woman.
Areas of land that fit the description given by the anonymous caller were excavated by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Cadaver dogs were taken out, too.
Despite the extensive efforts, the two girls were never found.
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Wadena County is located roughly 175 miles from St. Paul, where they were last seen. The county, made up of mostly rural land, spans 543 square miles.
The BCA would not tell Forum News Service if another search is planned for the area.
“While I can’t provide specifics, I can tell you that this is very much an active and ongoing investigation,” BCA Public Information Officer Jill Oliveria told Forum News Service.
Family members and friends of Forcum and Geyer aren’t giving up hope.
A missing persons billboard featuring Forcum was recently put up in St. Cloud, and is generating a renewed sense of interest in the case.
Since the billboard has gone up, the Facebook Group dedicated to Forcum and Geyer's case has seen an uptick in member requests.
Finding closure
Jamie Lee Forcum was 12 years old when her older sister Roseanna didn’t come home. She’s spent the rest of her life holding onto memories — and searching for answers.
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She and her sister were close. Growing up in St. Cloud, the two spent their summers like most kids. They played outside, biked and sang together. They played Nintendo. And, maybe most importantly, they had fun through it all.
Jamie Lee Forcum thinks about what could have been had her sister not gone missing in the summer of 1998. From where she sits now, she believes they’d still be close.
“I think we would be best friends,” she said.
While her sister has been missing for more than two decades, the two still share a common bond. Inspired by her sister, Jamie Lee Forcum began playing the guitar — just like her sister.
“Someday, we’ll be together again, and I’ll show her what I’ve learned.”
For Jamie Lee Forcum and her family, real closure won't come until her sister is found.
“I don’t see closure happening any other way,” she told Forum News Service. “Our family needs to grieve her loss.”
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She believes the key to this case will include someone coming forward.
“Someone knows what happened to her,” she said.
Investigators agree.
“Even if you don’t know everything, a tidbit of information can be the missing piece that helps us get to the answers we need for these families,” Oliveria said.
The BCA continues to urge anyone with information to contact the BCA tip line at 877-996-6222.
Callers can provide information anonymously.
The Trust Project
