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The Disappearance of Kirsten Brueggeman

● Still Missing Foul Play Suspected Indianapolis, Indiana Missing Since 2021 Featured — ID Disappeared
Missing Person
Kirsten Suzanne Brueggeman
Age at Disappearance
26
Last Seen
January 2, 2021 — Approx. 2:00 a.m.
Last Known Location
YMCA Parking Lot — Shortridge Road, Indianapolis
Parents
Lisa and Rex Brueggeman
Reward
$10,000 — IMPD
Arrests Made
None
Case Status
Open — Active Investigation
Missing Person

Kirsten Suzanne Brueggeman

Kirsten Suzanne Brueggeman — Missing Since January 2, 2021
NameKirsten Suzanne Brueggeman
Date of BirthMay 10, 1994
Age Missing26
FromEast Side, Indianapolis, Indiana
Height / Weight5'2" / 115 lbs
Hair / EyesBrown / Brown
MarksRight index finger crooked — prior break
Last Seen WearingGray stocking cap; black waist-length coat; blue jeans; white backpack; black knee-high boots
ParentsLisa and Rex Brueggeman

Kirsten Suzanne Brueggeman was 26 years old and lived with her parents, Lisa and Rex Brueggeman, on the east side of Indianapolis, Indiana. She did not drive and relied on walking or public transit to get around. She was close with her family and was devoted to her dog, Tifa. Her parents have said repeatedly that Kirsten would never have left voluntarily — she would not have walked away from Tifa.

Kirsten's disappearance took place on the night of New Year's Eve going into January 2, 2021, as she was walking home after a night out with friends at Manley's Irish Mutt on East 10th Street. The last confirmed images of her were captured on surveillance footage at approximately 2:00 a.m. in the parking lot of the Harper J. Ransburg YMCA on Shortridge Road. After that, the footage cuts out. She was never seen again.

Her case was featured in the Season 10 premiere of Investigation Discovery's "Disappeared," titled "Vanished in the Night," which aired September 7, 2022. Lisa and Rex appeared in the episode to share their story and appeal for new information. As of the date of publication, Kirsten has been missing for more than four years. No arrests have been made.

Kirsten Brueggeman
01
Background

What We Know

On the evening of January 1, 2021, Kirsten Brueggeman contacted her mother Lisa to say she would not need a ride home from work that night — she was planning to meet up with friends at Manley's Irish Mutt, a local bar and pub on East 10th Street on the east side of Indianapolis. She spent the evening there with several friends. At some point during the night an argument broke out between Kirsten and members of her group. Around 12:15 a.m. on January 2, Kirsten left the bar. She told friends she wanted to go bowling.

Surveillance cameras in the area captured Kirsten walking south and then north on Shortridge Road in the early morning hours. At approximately 2:00 a.m., she was recorded on a camera at the parking lot of the Harper J. Ransburg YMCA on Shortridge Road. Those are the last confirmed images of Kirsten Brueggeman. The camera was faulty and the footage cuts in and out. IMPD Detective Nicole Bockting later stated: "If it hadn't done that, we wouldn't be sitting here wondering where she is." Investigators determined that from the area of the lot where Kirsten was headed, she would either have had to climb a fence or circle back around. Neither direction could be tracked due to the camera failure.

The temperature in Indianapolis that night was well below freezing. Kirsten did not drive and had no vehicle. She lived with her parents on the east side and would have been on foot or relying on transit to get home. She did not contact her family and did not return home. When her mother Lisa realized something was wrong, she said the realization was immediate. "She just vanished," Lisa told investigators. "That's the best way to describe what happened."

Her parents do not believe Kirsten left of her own accord. They have pointed to her devotion to her dog Tifa as evidence she would never have walked away from her life without contact. As of the date of publication, Kirsten Brueggeman has been missing for more than four years. No arrests have been made. No confirmed sightings have been established. Her whereabouts remain unknown.

02
Case Timeline

How It Unfolded

Evening — January 1, 2021
Kirsten Tells Her Mother She Is Going Out
Kirsten contacts her mother Lisa to say she will not need a ride home from work — she plans to meet friends at Manley's Irish Mutt on East 10th Street. She spends the evening there with a group of friends. At some point an argument breaks out between Kirsten and others in the group.
Approximately 12:15 a.m. — January 2, 2021
Kirsten Leaves the Irish Mutt — Says She Wants to Go Bowling
Kirsten leaves Manley's Irish Mutt with several friends. She expresses a desire to go bowling. Surveillance cameras in the area subsequently capture her walking south and then north on Shortridge Road in the hours that follow.
Approximately 2:00 a.m. — January 2, 2021
Last Known Images Captured at the YMCA Parking Lot
A surveillance camera at the Harper J. Ransburg YMCA on Shortridge Road records Kirsten walking through the parking lot. The camera is faulty and the footage cuts in and out. This is the last confirmed sighting of Kirsten Brueggeman. IMPD Detective Nicole Bockting later states that without the camera malfunction, investigators may have been able to track her next movements. Investigators determine she would have had to either climb a fence or circle back around from the area of the lot she was headed toward.
January 2021
IMPD Launches Missing Person Investigation
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department opens a missing persons investigation and reaches out to the community for tips. Searches by police turn up no trace of Kirsten. IMPD requests anyone who witnessed Kirsten's movements in the early morning hours of January 2 to come forward. The family is told that because Kirsten is an adult, she could have left voluntarily — a characterization her parents dispute.
March 2021
Family Retains Private Investigation Firm — $10,000 Reward Announced
After two months with no answers, Lisa and Rex Brueggeman retain Lauth Investigations International, a private investigation firm, to conduct an independent investigation. The family announces a $10,000 reward for information leading to Kirsten's safe return. A GoFundMe campaign is launched to fund the independent inquiry.
September 18, 2021
Community Vigil Held Near the YMCA
A vigil is held in honor of Kirsten at the intersection of Shortridge Road and 10th Street, near the YMCA where she was last seen, in the hope of generating new community tips and maintaining public awareness of her case.
March 2022
Possible Sighting in Franklin, Indiana — Not Confirmed
A tip is received suggesting someone resembling Kirsten was seen at a bar in Franklin, Indiana. Police are contacted. The sighting is investigated but not confirmed as Kirsten.
September 7, 2022
Case Featured on Investigation Discovery "Disappeared"
Kirsten's case is the subject of the Season 10 premiere of Investigation Discovery's "Disappeared," titled "Vanished in the Night." Lisa and Rex Brueggeman appear in the episode to share their story and appeal for new information from anyone who may know what happened to their daughter. As of the date of publication, the case remains open and unsolved.
03
Investigation

The Investigation

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department opened a missing persons investigation following Kirsten's disappearance in early January 2021. IMPD reached out to the community for any information about Kirsten's movements in the early morning hours of January 2 and canvassed the area around Shortridge Road and East Washington Street on the east side. Subsequent searches by police turned up nothing.

The most significant investigative obstacle was the failure of the surveillance camera at the YMCA parking lot where Kirsten was last seen. The footage, which captured her at approximately 2:00 a.m. walking through the lot, cuts in and out due to a malfunction. Detective Nicole Bockting confirmed that investigators were unable to determine which direction Kirsten traveled from that point. From the area of the lot where she was headed, she would have had to either climb a fence to continue in one direction or circle back toward Shortridge Road. Neither path could be confirmed.

After two months without a break in the case, Kirsten's family retained Lauth Investigations International to conduct an independent inquiry. That firm, staffed by former law enforcement and military personnel, launched its own search and established an anonymous tip line. The family offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to Kirsten's safe return. In September 2021, a community vigil was held near the YMCA in an attempt to generate new leads; attendance was limited and no actionable information emerged. A possible sighting in Franklin, Indiana in early 2022 was investigated but not confirmed.

No suspects have been identified. No physical evidence has been publicly reported. Kirsten's parents maintain that she would not have left voluntarily; they have noted her close bond with her dog Tifa as a key reason she would not have disappeared without contact. The case was classified by IMPD as "Unknown Missing." As of the date of publication, no new publicly confirmed leads have emerged and Kirsten's location remains unknown.

04
Help Find Kirsten

If You Have Information

Kirsten Brueggeman was last seen at approximately 2:00 a.m. on January 2, 2021, walking through the parking lot of the YMCA on Shortridge Road on the east side of Indianapolis. She had left Manley's Irish Mutt on East 10th Street after an argument with friends and told them she wanted to go bowling. She was 26 years old, 5'2", with brown hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a gray stocking cap, a black waist-length coat, blue jeans, a white backpack, and black knee-high boots. She has a crooked right index finger from a prior break. If you were in that area between midnight and 3:00 a.m. on January 2, 2021, or if you have any information about Kirsten's disappearance — no matter how small — investigators want to hear from you.

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police — Missing Persons
(317) 327-6160
Reference: Kirsten Suzanne Brueggeman — Missing January 2, 2021
Email: missingpersons@indy.gov
Lauth Investigations — Anonymous Tip Line
(317) 279-6082
Anonymous tips accepted — Reference: Kirsten Brueggeman — $10,000 reward offered by family
In Memoriam

She Is Not Forgotten

Kirsten Brueggeman was 26 years old. She lived with her parents on the east side of Indianapolis. She didn't drive. She had a dog named Tifa she loved. On the first night of 2021, she went out with friends and walked home alone through a cold Indianapolis night. The last camera that saw her cut out. After that, nothing.

Her mother Lisa said it immediately: "She just vanished. That's the best way to describe what happened." Her parents have spent more than four years holding on, hiring investigators, posting rewards, sitting in front of cameras for television programs, doing everything a family can do when the police have no answers and the trail has gone cold.

Somebody walked past her that night. Somebody drove past. Somebody knows something. Four years is a long time to keep a secret. Lisa and Rex Brueggeman are still waiting. Tifa is still waiting. Kirsten is not forgotten.

"She just vanished. That's the best way to describe what happened."
Lisa Brueggeman, Kirsten's mother
Sources
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department | Lauth Investigations International | Investigation Discovery — Disappeared Season 10 Episode 1 | FOX59 Indianapolis | IndyStar | WTHR | Indiana State Police Missing Persons Bulletin | NamUs MP77431 | Missing Persons Center | Disappeared Blog | Medium — Lawrence Lease | iHeart — The Paranoid Perspective
Kirsten Suzanne Brueggeman — Missing Since 2021
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