Man’s chilling $6500 shopping list after estranged wife mysteriously disappears

The estranged husband of a missing Wisconsin woman was arrested this week — three weeks after her family last heard from her.

Zachariah Rasch, 42, is accused of identity theft after he used his missing wife’s credit cards earlier this month to buy a variety of cleaning supplies, including gloves, stain remover, and carpet and drain cleaners.

In each of the charges against Rasch, he is accused of using Crystal Rasch’s debit card multiple times. Surveillance footage shows him connected to the purchases.

Dodge County police said the purchases totaled more than $6,500, all made at different stores miles apart.

Authorities sent out the update Friday, adding that they tracked Crystal’s cellphone to nearby Adams County, where Rasch’s family owns property. A subsequent search turned up his car, which they said has significant evidentiary value.

Each of the charges against Rasch accuses him of using Crystal Rasch’s debit card multiple times, with surveillance video linking him to the purchases. The missing woman can be seen here

The car is being processed at the state crime lab in Madison as police say they are still treating the case as that of a missing person.

“The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office remains committed to the investigation into the disappearance of Crystal Rasch and has used all available resources to locate her,” their statement said.

As part of the investigation, detectives were able to review Crystal’s finances earlier this week.

“We discovered that numerous transactions had taken place using her financial accounts,” the office revealed.

A criminal complaint filed that morning explained how Crystal’s estranged husband, a man currently living in the rural village of Clyman, was responsible for the transactions.

“They were processed without permission,” police said.

Security footage obtained by detectives further shows that Rasch was alone when he made the purchases — all using Crystal’s credit cards.

All were made after her family said they last saw her on June 11, along with multiple cash withdrawals, according to a criminal complaint.

The search takes place in the rural town of Clyman, where police say Rasch made a flurry of suspicious purchases using his husband’s credit cards before she was reported missing. A Douglas County deputy is seen here searching the town

She was reported missing by her stepmother, who called police on June 23 after finding her car at the aforementioned residence, without her suspicious son providing any explanation.

She told officers she could not reach Crystal by phone, prompting a weeklong search for the woman’s whereabouts.

Family members have since come forward that they received suspicious messages from the woman’s Facebook account, which, based on the language and tone used, did not appear to be hers.

That development was detailed in the criminal complaint filed against Rasch. In it, he is portrayed as an estranged husband with a history of harassing his wife.

Upon hearing this, authorities wrote about how they questioned Rasch about her disappearance and whether he had had recent contact with Crystal.

He denied seeing her, the complaint said.

Investigators later discovered the financial records that showed the suspicious transactions, which were then confirmed by surveillance footage.

They were all transferred using Crystal’s credit and debit cards in the days after she was last seen.

Despite still treating the investigation as a missing persons case, officers said they are also treating it “as a case in which a serious crime is likely committed.” Crystal has not yet been found

After being pressed about the purchases, Rasch eventually confessed to lying, police said, admitting to making numerous unauthorized purchases from her account.

A subsequent search warrant at Rasch’s home turned up $1,800 in cash from a dresser drawer and $1,345 from a wallet, police said in the criminal complaint filed in Dodge County Circuit Court.

Agents added how they were able to ping and trace two of Crystal’s phone numbers, with the last known location for one tracked on June 8 near Juneau, in Dodge County.

The other phone pinged on June 17 near Adams, where Rasch’s family lives, indicating a call from that same area on June 10.

Although they are still treating the investigation as a missing person case, officers say they are also treating it “as a case where a serious crime is likely to have been committed.”

Crystal, meanwhile, has not yet been found. As for Rasch, he is being held in the Dodge County Jail on a $250,000 bond.