BENSON, Minn. 鈥� It鈥檚 been more than 43 years since a man from rural New London, Minnesota, disappeared, leaving behind only the wreckage of his car.
Most surviving family members of Ted Dengerud believe he is dead. Neither the family nor the officer who has been re-investigating the case believe the 30-year-old husband and father walked away on his own.
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Around 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 3, 1982, Ted Dengerud was apparently on his way from a supper club just outside Sunburg, Minnesota, to pick up his wife from her sister's house southwest of Sunburg.
His vehicle was eventually found, unoccupied, with a dented front end and smashed windshield on the driver side after it had apparently crashed into a small tree at the intersection of Swift County Roads 28 and 87 鈥� roughly 10 miles northwest of the city of Sunburg and six to seven miles from the home of his sister-in-law.
According to Chief Deputy Mike Hoffman, who is re-examining the case for the Swift County Sheriff's Office, the crash location 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 make any sense." Dengerud's sister-in-law lived south of Minnesota Highway 9, and his car was found at an intersection north of the highway.
Ted's wife, Denise, when interviewed by the West Central Tribune shortly after he disappeared, said he could have become lost on the way to her sister's home. She recalled instructing her husband over the phone that if he lost his way, he should go back to the supper club and call her, according to West Central Tribune archives.
Denise said her husband had not sounded angry or depressed on the phone when they talked that night. If anything, she said, he would have been in a good mood because he had gotten the job he had sought earlier that day in the Twin Cities, according to the West Central Tribune news article published April 8, 1982.
The known facts are familiar to anyone who has read the news accounts over the years. Ted Dengerud and his friend Robert Nelson left Ted's home on Norway Lake for the Twin Cities to inquire about potential construction work.
Ted's wife was home with the couple鈥檚 15-month-old daughter, Tenille, and later drove to her sister鈥檚 home.
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When Ted and Robert returned, they stopped at the supper club located at the intersection of Highway 9 and Highway 104. Ted called his wife and said he would come to pick her up. He eventually left the bar alone.
The last confirmed sighting of Ted Dengerud was when he stopped at a nearby farm along Highway 9, about 2.5 miles west of the supper club, to ask for directions.
Chief Deputy Hoffman, when interviewed June 12, said he has his own theories as to what happened, including the possibility that someone in another vehicle might have picked up Ted after the crash, but said, for investigative purposes, he obviously could not share much more publicly.
鈥淲hat I will say is that I don鈥檛 think he鈥檚 out there,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think his remains are around or anywhere near Camp Lake. 鈥� The place was searched very thoroughly 鈥� and a lot of people farm the area, hunt the area, walk the area, canoe the area, and just the fact nothing has been found since then, it鈥檚 hard to believe. If he鈥檚 not out there, he鈥檚 obviously somewhere.鈥�
A thick investigative file filled with old reports, hand-written radio logs and photos sat on Hoffman's desk when he spoke with the West Central Tribune earlier this month. He first began reviewing the case file in 2024.
He had seen a Facebook post made several years ago by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension on the anniversary of Dengerud鈥檚 disappearance, and he decided to do the same on the Sheriff's Office page on the 2024 anniversary.
He said all he did was essentially repost the short BCA summary of the case, knowing that most people within Swift County had at least some familiarity as Dengerud鈥檚 disappearance is 鈥渒ind of an urban legend.鈥�
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The post ended up garnering more attention than he expected. Hoffman said he initially just read the comments, but as he began cross-referencing some of the more detailed accounts with the original reports, he began to notice that some of those names were not anywhere in the original case files.
He began contacting people directly and asking for as many details as they could recall. Hoffman estimates he has talked to close to 50 people, including Ted's family and friends, the officers who were involved in the original investigation, even the patrons and staff members who were at the bar that night.
Becky Dean, Ted鈥檚 sister, was 17 at the time. She told the West Central Tribune in a phone interview on June 13 that one of her most vivid memories is when her family was notified.
鈥淭hey were supposed to come over on Sunday for dinner. They did that a lot at our house,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 can remember my dad sitting in this chair by the window that looks out to the driveway. He was just watching and sitting there all day waiting for him to pull into the driveway.鈥�
Dean said it鈥檚 been a painful and emotional journey ever since Chief Deputy Hoffman notified the family he was re-examining the case, second only to those handful of days 43 years ago.
Hoffman feels fortunate to also have interviewed all three of Ted's brothers: Larry, Glenn and Les. Les died earlier this year, on April 12 at age 83, according to his obituary.
鈥淲hen I first sat down with Becky and (Ted's) brothers, I told them that I鈥檓 not going to promise that I will solve this case," Hoffman said. " 鈥� But I can start the investigation from square one and fill as many blanks as I possibly can so that we have the most information possible that I can get from everyone still living.鈥�
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Dean and Hoffman remain in regular contact.
鈥淭he fact he picked (the case) up and decided to put time into it is huge,鈥� Dean said. 鈥淚t's sad for, you know, 40-some years with not a lot of action, so I鈥檓 very grateful to him for wanting to spend time on it.鈥�
Hoffman has been constrained not only by the passage of time but also the challenge of 鈥淣orwegian silence,鈥� a term he used to describe the Midwest mindset of minding one鈥檚 own business.
He pointed to the fact that Ted鈥檚 car is believed to have crashed around midnight, and the car remained planted against that tree, south of Camp Lake, for almost 18 hours. It was not until around 5 p.m. the next day on Sunday, April 4, 1982, that the vehicle was reported to law enforcement.
He was able to confirm that a lot of people passed by the crash scene throughout the day.
The likely assumption was "someone got drunk, (crashed) their car and then ran away because they didn鈥檛 want to get caught,鈥� he said.
The chief deputy said he has come across new information and talked to others who didn鈥檛 initially make any reports to police, but he鈥檚 still looking to form a clearer picture and timeline of events.
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Nothing promising or concrete ever came of the few tips from the public in the weeks immediately after Dengerud disappeared, according to Hoffman. But he believes he could be just one missing piece away from getting back onto the trail.
Whether it鈥檚 someone pointing him to another area he should look, a short exchange someone might have had with Ted or some other odd occurrence that could be relevant.
鈥淭he problem now is it鈥檚 been 40 years. And my own thought is I think that someone is sitting there who knows something and they鈥檙e probably thinking, 鈥業f I come out and say something now, I鈥檓 going to look (stupid or suspicious),鈥欌�� Hoffman said.
鈥淚 want to think that person exists and I want them to come talk to me. If it鈥檚 to the point where you think you could have charges on you, grab a lawyer and come talk to us. We鈥檒l figure it out,鈥� he said.
Hoffman, early in his investigation, ruled out the theory that Dengerud, after the crash, may have taken the opportunity to run away. The family does not believe that either.
Dean said Ted might have come off as a 鈥渨ild man鈥� to those who didn鈥檛 know him well but that simply isn鈥檛 the case. He was described as soft-spoken but a goofy guy who was great to be around.
鈥淗e just loved to have fun. Everybody loved him,鈥� she said.
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Hoffman said he dug to "to get the dirt. ... A cold case of 40-plus years, I want to know everything. Even the not-so-good stuff." Did he rub people the wrong way, was there any turmoil in his life or in his marriage 鈥� but nothing of the sort has ever come up.
By all accounts, Ted was extremely family-oriented. He adored his daughter, and he and his dad were practically buddies, according to Hoffman and Dean.
鈥淭he theory of him skipping town, bailing on his wife and young daughter, and his dad 鈥� it doesn鈥檛 hold water,鈥� Hoffman said.
Denise remarried a couple of years later and moved to Florida with her daughter. She now lives in Colorado, according to Dean.
Dean said she and Tenille, living in Florida with kids of her own, have been able to form a relationship.
鈥淚 talk to her on the phone often, and she comes home every year,鈥� Dean said.
That鈥檚 one of the many reasons both Chief Deputy Hoffman and Ted鈥檚 family are wishing something will turn up this time around. They all want closure.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what keeps me going. 鈥� That鈥檚 the reason I want to get people talking,鈥� Hoffman said.
The fact Tenille never knew her dad. Her kids never knew their grandfather. Hoffman said he hopes one day he'll at least have answers, good or bad, for Ted's family.
Dean told the West Central Tribune that most of the family at this point believes that Ted is no longer alive. She personally speculated that the crash was staged, and that he ran into trouble somewhere between the supper club and his sister-in-law's.
鈥淗e wouldn鈥檛 leave his family or friends. He had too many and they were too important,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the hard part. If someone did kill him, I don鈥檛 know who that could be because I don鈥檛 know who would ever be angry at him."
Like Hoffman, Dean is confident that at least one or possibly more than one person knows what happened to her brother that night.
鈥淚f anybody knows anything, I would just plead with them to talk to Mike Hoffman,鈥� she said, adding that after so much time, the family is no longer interested in 鈥渟eeking justice鈥� or putting someone behind bars.
鈥淲e just want to know where he is and what happened.鈥�
歪歪漫画
Click the image above to see a larger view of the April 8, 1982, clipping from the West Central Tribune.
歪歪漫画
Click the image above to see a larger view of the April 20, 1982, clipping from the West Central Tribune.
歪歪漫画
Click the image above to see a larger view of the June 14, 1983, clipping from the West Central Tribune.
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