An 83-year-old Wisconsin man has been charged with killing his former roommate, who disappeared more than 30 years ago and whose remains have never been found.

Jerome Baier had a $1 million cash bond set during a Monday, Sept. 21, court appearance after being charged with first-degree intentional homicide in connection with the death of James “Jim” Ruland, according to WBAY, WFRV and FOX 11 News.

Ruland, then 40, was last confirmed to have been seen on Oct. 24, 1995, in the North Fond du Lac area. A witness reported possibly seeing him hitchhiking two days later, and his vehicle was subsequently found at the Stretch Truck Stop in North Fond du Lac, the outlets reported.

Baier and Ruland shared a farmhouse at the time, according to the criminal complaint, as reported by WBAY. Investigators alleged that the two had argued over missing money and utility bills. Ruland had secured another place to live and was in the process of moving out when he vanished.

Ruland was legally declared ᴅᴇᴀᴅ in 1999, according to the complaint, though extensive searches have never uncovered his remains.

Investigators used human-remains detection dogs, ground-penetrating radar, aerial searches during the three-decade investigation, the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office said, according to the outlets. They also excavated potential burial sites, searched waterways with divers and examined a manure pit at a pig farm.

The criminal complaint alleges that two separate cadaver dogs alerted to the scent of human remains at Baier’s property on Cork Street Road in Ripon in late 2023, WBAY reported. No remains were recovered there.

In 2021, advances in forensic testing technology helped corroborate witness interviews and other evidence, according to the sheriff’s office.

Baier was previously accused of forging Ruland’s signature on two checks and cashing them following the disappearance. FOX 11 reported that Baier pleaded no contest in that case, while the criminal complaint says the case resulted in a 1997 theft conviction, according to WBAY.

The murder complaint also accuses Baier of repeatedly lying to investigators about his alibis, possible motives and Ruland’s whereabouts, according to WBAY. During a July 2026 coroner’s inquest, Baier allegedly admitted that he had lied to investigators, the station reported.