Welcome

Welcome to the Iowa Cold Cases website. Here you'll find lists of unsolved homicides, missing persons cases where foul play is suspected or the victim assumed deceased, photos and videos, and cases cross-referenced by city and county.

Case summaries and updates continue to be added daily.

Thank you for taking time to visit, and please feel free to leave comments or feedback on the blog.




Iowa Central Community College features Rebecca Russell, Iowa Cold Cases on Criminal Justice Program's home page

Rebecca RussellIowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge has featured our intern and co-administrator, Rebecca Russell, on the Criminal Justice Program's home page along with information about Iowa Cold Cases' mission. Rebecca earned her Criminal Justice Diploma from Iowa Central, and the program highlights student success stories on its departmental website.

Iowa Central Criminal Justice logoIowa Central's Criminal Justice program can be taken as a diploma program when 33 core semester hours are completed or as an Associate of Science or Arts track when certain core semester hours are completed in accordance with each degree's requirements. One of the program's strengths is the fact that many of the instructors are currently working or have worked in the Criminal Justice field. The ranks of its teaching staff have included a police chief, a chief deputy, a detective, criminal prosecutors, a former trooper, a correctional officer, and many other local criminal justice personnel.

In addition to program and course information, the website also features instructional videos, a photo slideshow of students participating in forensic science activities and a list of careers available in the criminal justice field.

For more information visit the Iowa Central Criminal Justice Program website.




Dr. Nancy Bowers joins ICC as co-administrator

I’m pleased to introduce Dr. Nancy Bowers, who joins the Iowa Cold Cases administrative team with an impressive background in writing and teaching, records research and criminal justice work. Nancy will help co-admins Jody and Rebecca with case summaries for the website, case updates to the blog and our Facebook group, and follow-up communications with law enforcement agencies, victims’ family members and other individuals involved with the respective cases.

Nancy received her Doctorate in English and Film Studies from Drake University. She earned an M.A. in 19th Century British Literature and an A.B. degree in English and History at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

She is the author of four published books: John Schlesinger: A Guide to References and Resources; The Hollywood Novel: 1912-1982; A Life in Time: Brown Munro, Sr. (1829-1909), and Lives to Share.

She has been a university teacher, editor, and Administrative Assistant in the Iowa General Assembly. She spent two years working in the Records Division of the Ames Police Department, where she currently volunteers, and two years assisting at the Adult Probation Office in Ames.

She is currently researching the January 1968 unsolved murder of Iowa State University student Sheila Jean Collins.

Nancy lives in Ames, Iowa, with her husband Neal and their six special needs cats.

Please join me in welcoming Nancy to the Iowa Cold Cases team!




We Remember: Cold Case Anniversaries

Upcoming cold case anniversaries are listed below and also include — where noted — birthdays the victims would have celebrated. If it has been some time since your local media provided an update on a case in your community, politely encourage them to check on its status and then communicate any recent developments to their viewers or readership. With Iowa's Cold Case Unit now well underway, there's no better time to spark renewed interest and, quite possibly, help generate fresh leads.

Upcoming Anniversaries

Steven Dick Kirchhoff
Steven Kirchhoff
Age at Report: 22
Missing from Waterloo
Missing Since:
February 5, 1978
No Photo Available
Darlene Fitchett
608 Pleasant View Dr.
Des Moines, IA
Case # 1960-1563
February 8, 1960
Francis Rafferty
Francis J. Rafferty
Dubuque, IA
Case # 6400326
February 8, 1964
No Photo Available
Gene Williamson
1311 21st
Des Moines, IA
Case # 1979-5278
February 9, 1979
John Steven Conaway
John Conaway
Age at Report: 36
Council Bluffs, IA
Missing Since:
February 9, 1998
Benjamin Roseland
Benjamin Roseland
Age at Report: 19
Missing from Clinton, IA
Missing Since:
February 9, 2008
Connie Ruddy
Connie Ruddy
21 YOA
Ida Grove, Iowa
Ida County
February 10, 1997
Robert Lee Kellar
Robert Lee Kellar
Age at Report: 20
Missing from Muscatine
Missing Since:
February 12, 1990
No Photo Available
Susan Hagen
600 Blk. Birdland Dr.
Des Moines, IA
Case # 1998-6532
February 12, 1998
Maurice Kneifl
Maurice Kneifl
58 YOA
Missing from Sioux City
Missing Since:
February 14, 1983
No Photo Available
KyVan Luong
6th & Birdland
Des Moines, IA
Case # 1998-6829
February 14, 1998
No Photo Available
Delores A. Hornung
Shot to death in home
Keokuk, IA
Lee County
Case # 9901605
February 14, 1999
Dennison Stookesberry
Dennison Stookesberry
56 YOA
Blakesburg, IA
Presumed Deceased
February 15, 1999
No Photo AvailableWilliam Freimuth, 71
Fort Dodge, IA
Webster County
Case # 6100355
February 16, 1962
No Photo Available
Gregory N. Dickey
Interstate 80
Altoona, IA
Polk County
Case # 7500248
February 18, 1975
No Photo Available
David Morris
SE 26th & Maury
Des Moines, IA
Case # 1973-12106
February 22, 1973
No Photo Available
Kathy Stilh
966 E. 6th
Des Moines, IA
Case # 1994-7200
February 24, 1994
Crystal Sue Hunt
Crystal Sue Hunt
Age at Report: 21
Corydon, IA
Wayne County
Case # 9803225
February 24, 1998
No Photo Available
Hulda Emma Fischer
84 YOA
Maquoketa, IA
Jackson County
Case # 7500175
February 25, 1975
William Francis Rogers
William Rogers, 46
Missing from North English, IA (Iowa and Keokuk Counties)
Missing Since:
February 25, 2001

Missing Photos

We're making every effort to include a headshot photo with each victim's profile, but many are still needed. If you have a photo you'd be willing to share, please e-mail to Jody. We continue to add pages and case summaries each day and appreciate any and all help in making this site as inclusive as possible.

 


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Sheila Jean Collins
Ride Home Takes Tragic Turn


Sheila Jean Collins

She'd only wanted to get home.

On Friday, January 26, 1968, Iowa State University freshman Sheila Jean Collins arranged for a ride to her Evanston, Illinois, home through a bulletin board in ISU's Memorial Union. She never made it out of Story County.

Two days later, a father and son out fox hunting discovered the petite teen lying face down in a ditch off a gravel road 20 miles east of Ames outside Nevada, Ia.

Described as the "quiet, studious type," Sheila had graduated from Evanston Township High School the previous June and was studying English and speech at ISU.

Forty-two years later, her case remains unsolved. Read More

 

Cold Cases in the News

NC: Murder charge dropped for now in NC cold case

Iowa man pleads guilty to falsifying report on missing man

CA: Police Re-Arrest Suspect

MS: After 9 years, police still seek victim's identity

GA: Warner Robins police crack cold case

Chicago Police to Probe 70-Year-Old Slaying

Cold Cases in Muscatine: Reader feedback sought

NH Vet Gets 20 Years in Maine Cold Case Killing

Iowa Man Sentenced in 20 Year Old Cold Case

Missing Girl's Case Ends After 25 Years

Cold Case: Shelby Police, SBI investigate mysterious deaths of “The Three Women” in 2003

Cold-case trial looms for ex-wife of slain Marine

DNA might help Iowa close criminal cases

30 years ago: Murder of teen haunts those who knew her

30 Years Later: Michelle Martinko Murder Still Unsolved

Perjury hearing in Lyon County cold case delayed

Investigators ID Bones As Iowa Man

Trial Set For Reservist Charged With Murder

Bones In Texas Could Be Missing Iowan

Unsolved: Trick or Treat Murder of 1982

DCI Launches New Sex Offender Registry Database and Web Site

Reward Offered in Sabula Woman's Death

Book closes on 1980 murder

Iowa Soldier Returns Home To Murder Charges

Time will tell

‘Coward’ thinks he got away with murder


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