WINDSOR, Wis.— A 23-year-old Wisconsin man reported his parents were missing on July 7. Now, he is being charged with homicide, hiding a corpse, mutilating a corpse and providing false information on a missing person. 

What You Need To Know

  • Chandler Halderson, 23, reported his mom and dad, Bart and Krista Halderson, missing on July 7

  • The next day, investigators found partial remains of Bart Halderson in the woods belonging to the family home of Chandler Halderson’s girlfriend

  • On July 14, additional human remains, which have not yet been identified, were found on DNR land near Sauk City

  • Krista Halderson has not yet been found

The homicide investigation started as a missing person’s case last Wednesday when Chandler Halderson went to Dane County Sheriff’s Deputies to say he had not seen his parents, Bart and Krista Halderson, since July 2. 

Partial remains of Bart Halderson’s torso were found in the woods behind Chandler Halderson’s girlfriend’s family home. 

Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett announced Thursday more remains were found Wednesday on land owned by the Department of Natural Resources near Sauk City, Wis. 

“At this moment, the medical examiner’s office is in the process of identifying those remains,” Barrett told reporters Thursday. 

Barrett said deputies began searching that DNR land because of a tip saying Chandler Halderson was seen in the area. 

“We actually obtained a photo of Chandler being in that general area, which has led to us being in that area,” Barrett said. 

He could not say whether those remains were male or female, despite Krista Halderson not yet being accounted for. 

“At this moment, we are optimistic Krista is still alive and well, and we will let the evidence from our investigation tell us otherwise,” Barrett said. 

The Halderson’s neighbors are optimistic, but they said they are shaken. Spectrum News 1’s Andrew Havranek spoke with several people who declined to talk on camera. One neighbor said Chandler Halderson stopped over at their house last Thursday to ask if they had security cameras. 

At the time, that neighbor said she didn’t but has since installed them after learning what happened. 

Neighbors also said they realized something was wrong when the Halderson’s lawn hadn’t been mowed. They said they were always on top of their landscaping. 

Deputies have been at the house around the clock for the past week. Barrett said they are still investigating and canvassing their home for additional leads. 

“It takes a very long time. It takes details, it takes a lot of detective work, it takes a lot of crime scene investigators to be there in order for us to process every inch of that residence again to provide peace and closure to the Halderson family,” Barrett said.

Barrett is urging anyone who might have information that could help the investigation to call their tip line at 608-284-6900.