Lac du Flambeau tribal woman missing since March 17

by Frank Zufall, Wisconsin Examiner
March 25, 2025

On Sunday, March 23, the Lac du Flambeau (LDF) Tribal Police Department in Vilas County reported an LDF tribal member, Melissa Beson, 37, has been missing since Monday, March 17.

The LDF Police Department said Beson’s family reported her missing.

A preliminary investigation revealed that Beson was last seen late Monday, March 17, walking on Village Road near Wayman Lane toward state Highway 47 on the Lac du Flambeau Reservation in Vilas County.

Beson was last seen wearing red sweatpants, a black sleeveless shirt and a gray sweatshirt.

Beson is a Native American female, 5’7”, with a medium build, brown hair, and brown eyes. She has numerous tattoos, including on her neck, arms and legs. Melissa Beson – PD Poster (1)

The LDF Police Department reports that Beson’s family is extremely worried about her and joins the LDF Tribal Police Department in seeking the public’s help in locating her.

The Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa — Waaswaaganing in the Ojibwe language — is a federally recognized Ojibwe Native American tribe.

Anyone with any information regarding Beson’s whereabouts should call the  Lac du Flambeau Tribal Police Department at (715) 588-7717 or the Vilas County Sheriff’s Office at (715) 479-4441.

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Frank Zufall is a veteran reporter who has covered general news, features, government, education and other topics and has won several Wisconsin Newspaper Association awards. He is a fellow with the Examiner’s Criminal Justice Reporting Project, with support from the Public Welfare Foundation.