KAYLA BERG - 15 yo (2009)- Wausau WI

Police in Langlade County have arrested the man who last saw an
Antigo teen before she disappeared more than two months ago in Wausau.



Kayla Berg, 16, was dropped off during the evening hours of Aug. 11 by her
friend, Kevin J. Kielcheski, 24, of Deerbrook at a vacant home near
Colonial Manor, 1010 E. Wausau Ave., where she planned to meet another
friend, according to police.Kielcheski said Berg called
and asked him to pick her up at her father’s Antigo home and drive her
to Wausau, according to a criminal complaint. Kielcheski told police
that the two smoked marijuana in the vehicle before he dropped Berg off
and drove away. Berg has not been seen since.Langlade
County District Attorney Ralph Uttke said the charges were filed
because Kielcheski admitted dropping off a young girl knowing she was
under the influence of a controlled substance. He said the
investigation into Berg’s disappearance is ongoing.Kielcheski
made an initial appearance Monday in Langlade County Circuit Court
where he was charged with second-degree reckless endangerment. Judge
Fred Kawalski ordered Kielcheski to not consume alcohol or have contact
with juvenile females. Kielcheski remains in the Langlade County Jail this morning on a $7,500 cash bond. His next court appearance is Nov. 2.

Police believe 24-year-old Kevin Kielcheski was the
last person to see 15-year-old Kayla Berg before she went missing over
two months ago. Now he's facing felony charges. Kielcheski is accused of second degree reckless endangerment because of his actions the night Kayla disappeared. Kayla's mom Hope Sprenger says, "It was difficult to take in. I can't really say how I felt. It's difficult." Difficult, because Kevin Kielcheski was friends with both Kayla and her older brother. Sprenger says, "Good kid, he stayed at our house a number of times." Sprenger
is upset, but not shocked, that Kielcheski told police he and Kayla
were smoking marijuana before he dropped her off at this house, not
watching to make sure the stoned teen got in safely. Sprenger
says, "I had some inclination. Kids are going to be kids, they're going
to experiment. But I'm not happy with that whole situation." Police
say they always knew they'd arrest Kielcheski for endangering Kayla's
safety, but decided to do it now because their leads aren't panning out
and new information is dwindling. Antigo Police Chief Eric
Roller says, "We're hoping with the arrest at this point people will
realize she's still out there, she's still missing, we're still doing
everything we can and maybe we can get some tips." The chief
says his department is actively searching for Kayla, but he never
imagined she'd still be missing after more than two months. "This
family is going through all they are and we just can't come up with
anything that can help them out and that's frustrating," Roller says. On
dealing with the whole situation, Sprenger says, "I don't know how I
keep making it through every day, I really don't... She's my
motivation. I guess, that's the only thing that keeps me going." Police don't plan on charging Kielcheski with any other crimes. But if convicted of reckless endangerment, he could face up to 10 years in prison. Since Kayla is still missing, anyone with information is asked to call the Antigo Police Department at 715-627-9411. Sprenger would also like to thank all of the people who have helped with Kayla's search.

ANTIGO, Wis. (WSAU) – A man accused of endangering the safety of a missing Antigo girl has been freed from jail.
A Langlade County judge lowered Kevin Kielcheski’s bond from $7,500 to $2,500 today. The 24-year-old Kielcheski must remain sober and cannot have any contact with young women he’s not related to.
Kielcheski must also cooperate with police as they continue to search for 16-year-old Kayla Berg.
Prosecutors charged the Deerbrook man this week with recklessly endangering Berg’s safety in August after he admitted using drugs with her and giving her a ride to a home in Wausau. Berg has not been since August 11th.
Kielcheski also waived his right to a preliminary hearing. A status update in his case is set for November 25th.

The family of a missing 16-year-old is still hoping that their
daughter might be found for the holidays. Kayla Mae Berg was last seen
in Wausau in August.
Her mother is hoping that anyone with information will call the Langlade County crimestoppers hotline, 715-627-6245.
On the night of August 11th, Kayla was dropped off by a family
friend at a vacant home near Colonial Manor in Wausau. That friend,
24-year-old Kevin Kielcheski, admitted to smoking pot with Kayla and
dropping her off at 11pm. He's been charged with reckless endangerment.
As part of the terms of his bond, he must cooperate with police while
awaiting trial. None of the leads have panned out.

Poster's note: The AMW article/synopsis of the case follows this local newspaper article

'Most Wanted' joins hunt for Antigo teen Dec. 23, 2009

“America’s
Most Wanted,” an Internet site that has been credited for finding
thousands of missing children, has put Antigo’s Kayla May Berg at the
lead of its website.

Berg was 15 on Aug. 11 when she rode with an Antigo man to Wausau and
was dropped off outside the home of a former boyfriend. And from that
point, she vanished.

The “Most Wanted” site explains that she had been with Kevin
Kielcheski, 24, for part of the afternoon on Aug. 11, and he gave her
the ride to the Wausau home before returning to Antigo. Kielcheski has
been charged with reckless endangerment in association with the
disappearance.

“Most Wanted” said Berg had “hung out” with Kielcheski on Aug. 11, and
they drove around the Antigo area into the evening hours, when he took
her to the home on Wausau’s east side.

Kielcheski said he didn’t see if she went into the dwelling, but did recall that it looked dark.

“Cops are truly stumped as to where she could be now, or who else may have seen here,” “Most Wanted“ said.

The crime-stopping organization also says that with every passing day, Antigo police fear the worst for Kayla Berg.

“Yet they hold out hope that they can bring her back to her family for a jubilant reunion,” “Most Wanted” said.

Berg has laparoscopic surgery scars on her abdomen, small chicken pox
scars on her right cheek and nose and has pierced ears and navel.

“Most Wanted” said at first it was thought that she may have run away,
but as days turned to weeks and then to months, they are forced to
consider the possibility that she might have met with foul play.

Many agencies including the police and Langlade County Sheriff’s
Department have worked copious hours on the case and have been
partnered with the Wausau Police Department and a number of state
agencies.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact local law enforcement agencies at 627-6411.






Wisconsin Teen Vanishes Into The Night

Kayla Berg, 15, was last seen on the night of August 11, 2009. A 24-year-old
man she'd been hanging out with dropped her off outside of an abandoned
home. She hasn't been seen since.

On August 11, 2009, Kayla Berg, 15, hung out with a friend who happened to be nearly nine years older than her.
Kevin Kielcheski, 24, drove around town with Kayla for a while that evening, until some time between 9 and 11 p.m.
At some point within that span, cops tell us Kielcheski dropped
Kayla off at her ex-boyfriend's home in Wausau, some 40 minutes away
from Kayla's home in Antigo.
As the two had reportedly been smoking pot on their joyride around
town, neither Kayla nor Kielcheski had been in an entirely lucid state
of mind.
According to police, Kielcheski never watched Kayla enter the home.
However, he did remember it being dark inside, and he saw no one else
around.
Nonetheless, Kielcheski told police he drove off, never seeing Kayla again.
Initially, police thought Kayla may have ran away -- but as days turned
into weeks and then months, they believe she might have met with foul
play.

-- Police have interviewed a man about the Antigo girl who has been missing since this August.
That's according to a police report.
The man, 18, was questioned by police at the Marathon County Jail.
Sources not identify the 18 year old since he is not
currently charged in connection to the case.
Captain Greg Hagenbucher from the Wausau Police Department, Thursday morning,
says the 18 year old male was picked up for underage drinking.
When investigators found out he was a friend of Kayla Berg, Hagenbucher says they questioned him.
However, he provided no new information.
Kayla Berg was 15 when she was last seen after being dropped of at a house on Wausau's east side.
Recently, her photo was posted on America's Most Wanted Web site.

Police say Kevin Kielcheski, 24, was the last known person to have
contact with Berg.
Kielcheski has since been charged in connection with
Berg's disappearance.

She hasn't been heard from since.
If you have any information on where Kayla Berg might be,
you're asked to call Antigo police: 715-627-6411

ANTIGO, Wis (WSAU) The disappearance of Kayla Berg is being profiled on Americas Most Wanted. The 15-year-old's picture is up on the show's web site, which gets millions of page-views each year. Family members are hoping it develops new leads in the case.
She was last seen on August 11th, when a family friend drove her to Wausau. He now admits they smoked pot together, and that she was dropped off around 11pm near a vacant house. Police charged 24-year-old Kevin Kielcheski of Deerbrook with reckless endangerment. But police say his arrest did not lead to any additional information.
Kayla is a white, 5-2, brown hair, brown eyes, with a small scar near her nose. Anyone with information should call Langlade County Crimestoppers at (715) 627-6245.

-- There's still no sign of Kayla Berg, but her disappearance is about to get some national attention. America's Most Wanted
will run a segment on the Antigo teen Saturday at 8 p.m. on Fox. Berg
disappeared August 11, 2009 after she was dropped off at her
ex-boyfriend's house in Wausau. The man who drove her, Kevin
Kielcheski, was arrested in connection to the case, but says he has no
idea where she is or if she made it into the house that night.
Kielcheski is back in court March 4, 2010, charged with recklessly
endangering safety. As for Kayla, her mother says friends and family
are still working tirelessly to find the 16-year-old.

The disappearance of a missing Antigo teen continues to baffle investigators even after the case gets national attention.
Kayla Berg was last seen August 11th after she was dropped off by a
friend near an abandoned house in Wausau. this past weekend Kayla's
story aired on America's Most Wanted. But, investigators are still
frustrated that nothing substantial has panned out.
The search for 16-year-old Kayla Berg still going strong. Signs
posted throughout the community, in gas stations and businesses. Large
banners line the main streets of Antigo but there's still no sign of
the teen missing now for nearly seven months.
Antigo Police Chief Eric Roller says, "We really don't have any
solid anything from day one. When we first started looking into this we
don't have a solid that something drastic happened, that something good
is okay with her we just don't have anything so we can't really focus
on one area or the other and say okay this is what we're going to do."
Their latest effort, putting her face and story on America's Most
Wanted. It was a short 10 second clip, but for Kayla's mom seeing her
daughter on national television is exactly what she was hoping for.
Kayla's mom Hope Sprenger says, "It's 5-8 seconds she probably would
have never had at any other point. To me it's very exciting. It brought
more hope into my feelings."
Since that aired, Police say they've gotten a few calls. The tips coming from all over the country.
Chief Roller says, "We're getting it from all corners of the United
States. We're getting it from one coast to the next, from the north to
the south, everywhere that we're getting the tips and a lot of them are
the sightings someone that looks similar to Kayla's picture was spotted
here or spotted there."
He says it's of course a good thing people are calling but it's
frustrating for police because they have nowhere to focus their search.
Kayla could still be anywhere.
Sprenger says, "I'm just hoping she's found. I don't really feel
she's in the area anymore where she could be? Who knows, but the more I
can get out the better in my point of view."
The man who drove Kayla to the home in Wausau is Kevin Kielcheski.
He was arrested in connection to the case, but says he has no idea
where she is or if she made it into the house that night. Kielcheski is
back in court March 4th, charged with recklessly endangering safety.
If anyone has any information about the disappearance of Kayla Berg call (715) 627-6411.

Kevin Kiecheski, 24, of Deerbrook pleaded not guilty Thursday afternoon
in Lincoln County Circuit Court to charges related to the disappearance
of missing Antigo teen Kayla Berg.
Kielcheski was charged with second degree recklessly endangering
safety after he told police he smoked marijuana with Berg, then 15, and
then dropped her off at a Wausau home Aug. 11.Berg’s case recently was featured on the television show “America’s Most Wanted” last month

http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewChildDetail&caseNum=1129610&orgPrefix=NCMC&seqNum=1&caseLang=en_US&searchLang=en_US

kayla berg is still listed as missing at NCMEC

http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewChildDetail&caseNum=1129610&orgPrefix=NCMC&seqNum=1&caseLang=en_US&searchLang=en_US

endangered runaway kayla berg - still missing

The next court appearance for the Langlade County man accused of recklessly
endangering a missing teen is postponed.
24-year old Kevin Kielcheski is the last person known to have been with Kayla Berg of Antigo.
She has been missing for nearly 9 months.
The Antigo Police Chief says his court date has been postponed because they still have more leads to
investigate first.
"We've found some leads that took us out of state and were following up on that," said Chief Eric Roller.
Police say Kielcheski drove Kayla from Antigo to Wausau on August 11, 2009, when she was 15-years old. He
dropped her off near Colonial Manor, and she hasn't been seen since.
Kayla has brown eyes and brown hair is five feet two inches tall, and weighs about 110 pounds. If you
have any information, call 715-627-6411.

All that one Antigo mother wants this holiday, is for her daughter to come home safe.

15-year-old Kayla Berg has been missing for nearly 9 months.

Her mother is ordering bracelets, so no one forgets she still needs to be found.
"They're just going to be black and the writing on it will say Kayla May Berg missing since August 11th
2009, and we put that in a hot pink color cause those are some of her
favorite colors," says Hope Sprenger, Kayla's mom.
The money raised will go to Kayla's reward fund, and the family
should get the first order of bracelets in about two weeks.
She hopes to sell them at local businesses.

Hundreds gathered on the steps of the state Capitol to honor the
missing and their families. Kayla Berg of Antigo, one of those honored.
She has been missing since August of 2009. Her mother, Hope, making
the trip to Madison, lighting a candle in honor of Kayla.
It has been more than nine months since Antigo teen Kayla Berg went
missing. Her mother still searching, still hoping, never giving up. Now,
selling these bracelets so she can raise the reward. They say, Kayla
May Berg Missing 8-11-09.
Sprenger says, "I will never quit. Never. I will continue to do
whatever I can. Whether it be upping her reward, whatever, I will
continue to do whatever, absolutely whatever I need to do to find her."
Every year family and friends of the missing gather for Wisconsin's
missing children and adults awareness ceremony held on the steps of the
state Capitol. It's a day to pay tribute, recognizing the strength and
perseverance of all who keep the memory of the missing alive.
Hope lighting a candle next to Kayla's poster. Sprenger says, "It's
hard to explain your heart drops to your feet when you see your
daughter's picture up there. It's hard to explain, just a sick feeling.
My heart just dropped, it's very sickening."
On her way back from Madison, she stops along the way, dropping off
posters at gas stations. Knowing someone out there knows something,
knowing in her heart Kayla is out there somewhere.
Sprenger says, "I'm a mom. I know it's here, I know 100%. Every day
goes by and it gets longer and longer and longer and I just I can't
imagine that she's not out there somewhere. Somebody has to know
something in my point of view. Somebody has to know something."
The bracelets are $2.00 a piece and again will go toward raising the
reward. You can pick up bracelets throughout the Antigo community
including the Police Department and Fantastic Sams.
Kayla's mom will also be selling bracelets at the races this weekend
at the Langlade County fair grounds.
Next Tuesday, May 25th, is National Missing Children's Day. You're
asked to take 25 minutes that day to talk with your kids about child
safety.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, nearly 800,000 children
were reported missing in a one-year period. That averages out to more
than 2,000 missing children a day.