Court documents show why police think missing couple’s son lied

MADISON, Wis. — Documents filed after the arrest of 23-year-old Chandler Halderson for providing false information to authorities detail why they think the son of Krista and Bart Halderson lied to them about his parents’ whereabouts.

Halderson was arrested on July 8th, one day after he reported his parents missing to the Dane County Sheriff’s Office.

In a probable cause statement filed July 9th, the Sheriff’s Office says Halderson told them his parents were picked up by an unknown aquaintance early in the morning on July 1st. In a conversation with News 3 Now, Halderson said his parents were picked up by a couple that he didn’t know, but knew they were leaving to go to their cabin in Langlade County and left early that morning to beat the holiday weekend traffic.

Halderson told News 3 Now and investigators that he received a text message from his mother on July 4th saying they had arrived in White Lake, Wisconsin. Halderson allegedly told the Sheriff’s Office his mom said they planned to go to a parade that day, but their investigation found there was no parade in White Lake that day, and that Krista and Bart Halderson were never at their cabin in White Lake.

The Sheriff’s Office says local law enforcement checked the cabin and interviewed the cabin’s neighbors, and found no sign anybody had recently been to the Halderson’s cabin or on that property.

According to the probable cause statement, further investigation found that Chandler Halderson was seen at a known acquaintance’s home in the Town of Cottage Grove in rural Dane County, driving his vehicle in reverse with the rear hatch open in a field near the woods.

Authorities searched the area and found remains later identified as a human torso a short distance from where Chandler Halderson’s vehicle was seen. The remains were sent in for identification, and on Monday, the Dane County Medical Examiner’s office identified the torso as belonging to Bart Halderson. The medical examiner ruled he died as a result of a homicide and had been shot.

Krista Halderson remains missing, and the Dane County Sheriff’s Office asked for the public’s help in collecting any information on her whereabouts while also saying they were investigating Bart Halderson’s death as a homicide.

Chandler Halderson has not yet been formally charged with any crime, but is being held in the Dane County Jail on a $10,000 cash bond after prosecutors had argued for a $1 million bond. A Dane County court commissioner ruled for the smaller amount because Halderson had not been charged yet, although prosecutors say that could happen as soon as Thursday.

If Halderson posts bond, he would be required to wear a GPS monitoring device and would not be allowed to leave Dane County.

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