Columbus Junction, IA Area Cold Cases
Name
Amber HayesAge
712Cause of Death
HomicideInfo
Amber marie hayes, 7-1/2 months old, was reported missing by her mother, mary hayes, at 1:30 a.M. On thursday, june 9, 1988. Four days later, parts of the infant’s body, her pink diaper bag and a blanket were discovered in a remote area near lake odessa by two boys riding all-terrain vehicles.Agency
Iowa
Name
Brandy ShepherdAge
29Cause of Death
HomicideInfo
Brandy mae shepherd-margita, 29, of anamosa, iowa, was found dead in a henry county farm field west of wayland near highway 78 on friday, august 9, 2019. Wayland in henry county (wikipedia) the mother of four young children had been missing since august 2. The henry county sheriff’s office said a farmhand found her body around noon while checking on livestock and the property’s fence line.Agency
Iowa
Name
Charles NetherlandAge
25Cause of Death
ShootingInfo
Charles william “binx” netherland, 25, was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head at 801 mulberry ave. In muscatine, iowa, on saturday, august 18, 2012.Agency
Iowa
Name
Eugenio GarciaAge
36Cause of Death
HomicideInfo
The body of eugenio garcia, 36, was found near the dougherty bridge on county road f-70 about seven miles northwest of muscatine, iowa at 7 a.M. On father’s day, june 21, 1992. Sgt. Greg orr of the muscatine county sheriff’s department reported garcia had been strangled.Agency
Iowa
Name
Felicitas TerrillAge
73Cause of Death
ShootingInfo
Seventy-three-year-old felicitas terrill was found dead in her muscatine, iowa home monday morning, april 14, 1986, with four gunshot wounds to the head. Felicitas terrill article courtesy the cedar rapids gazette, tuesday, april 15, 1986 sharon renfro — the victim’s daughter — said when she tried to contact her mother and couldn’t reach her, she called police and asked them to do a welfare check.Agency
Iowa
Name
Isidro Gomez JrAge
27Cause of Death
HomicideInfo
Isidro gomez, jr., of muscatine, iowa, was reported missing to the muscatine police department on december 17, 2007, by jessica ridinger of muscatine, gomez’s girlfriend of eight years. Muscatine county in iowa muscatine county in iowa muscatine in muscatine countymuscatine in muscatine county ridinger said gomez left their muscatine home early that morning and promised to be back before breakfast. When he didn’t come home, ridinger said she knew something was wrong and alerted authorities.Agency
Iowa
Name
Jackie DouthartAge
24Cause of Death
MurderInfo
Jackie leigh douthart, the mother of a small child, was reported missing to the mount pleasant police department on may 22, 2011, when she didn’t return home after a night out with friends. When last seen, jackie was wearing a zebra-striped shirt, a black vest, blue jeans and flip flops. Douthart’s disappearance, along with that of elizabeth syperda — a 22-year-old mount pleasant woman who went missing july 17, 2000 — frustrated both investigators and residents of mount pleasant, a city of about 8,700 people in southeastern iowaAgency
Iowa
Name
Jacob NeibertAge
53Cause of Death
ShootingInfo
Muscatine police officer jacob neibert was shot on saturday, june 13, 1896, after arresting two hobos for vagrancy. The two men overpowered and shot him. Neibert was able to give other officers a description of the two men before succumbing to his wounds. Jacob neupert gravestone courtesy photo marcia fiedler, findagrave.Com jacob neupert is buried at the greenwood cemetery in muscatine two suspects were arrested but later released when officials determined they had nothing to do with the murder.Agency
Iowa
Name
Near ReservoirAge
27Cause of Death
FireInfo
On labor day, september 1, 1975, two young motorcyclists discovered the charred bodies of two persons inside a scorched pickup truck near the coralville reservoir in johnson county, iowa. The victims were later identified as karen ann christensen, 27, of cedar rapids, ia, and her cousin, larry gordon wells, 25, of marathon, iowa.Agency
Iowa
Name
Robert KellarAge
20Cause of Death
MissingInfo
Robert lee kellar, 20, was last seen on feb. 12, 1990 in muscatine, iowa, right before he left on a cross-country trip. His family assumed he would be back, but they never saw him again.At the time he went missing, robert was described as a 6-foot-1 white male with brown hair, brown eyes, and weighing about 135 pounds. He sometimes went by the name of rob heuton.Family members said he wasn’t acting like himself in the months prior to his disappearance and believe he may have been using drugs. They always assumed he’d be back, and didn’t report him missing until two years after he left on his last cross-country trip.The investigation concluded he left the area voluntarily because there was no indication of foul play in his disappearance when he left. Foul play is now considered a possibility because family members don’t believe kellar would have gone more than 25 years without contacting any family members.Robert has two small scars on his left cheek, a small scar below his right eye and a small scar on his right wrist.Agency
Iowa
Name
Roger HillAge
44Cause of Death
HomicideInfo
Vietnam veteran roger dean hill, a 44-year-old father of three, disappeared from davenport, iowa, in mid-1997. His remains, found wrapped in a plastic tarp, were discovered tuesday, oct. 12, 1999, outside davenport’s city limits.According to hill’s obituary, he died in muscatine in muscatine county.Hill had recently been released from the veteran’s hospital in knoxville, iowa, visited a daughter in maquoketa, and allegedly had been hitchhiking back to davenport when he went missing.Agency
Iowa
Name
Ronald LipsiusAge
30Cause of Death
ShootingInfo
Ronald f. Lipsius, a 30-year-old iowa city grocer, was shot to death on monday, may 16, 1966 as he chased a woman bandit who’d just scooped $35 from a cash register in his 812 south summit street store.According to published reports, a young woman entered the clover farm food market at about 8:30 a.M. And asked for some sliced ham. While lipsius began slicing the meat, the woman snatched the money from the cash register and then fled north on foot.Several people who’d witnessed the robbery-shooting described the female bandit as being in her early twenties, 5′ 09″ and weighing around 175 pounds. They said she wore jeans, a headscarf and horn-rimmed glasses. The woman and an unknown male got into a 1957 pontiac, white over black, shortly after the woman shot lipsius.Agency
Iowa
Name
Sarah OttensAge
20Cause of Death
HomicideInfo
Sarah ann ottens, a 20-year-old university of iowa student from morrison, illinois, was assaulted and suffocated in her rienow hall room in iowa city on tuesday, march 13, 1973.Student brenda simpson of waterloo discovered ottens’ body in room 429 just before midnight.Six months after the murder, university of iowa student and football player james wendall hall, 20, of toledo, ohio, was charged in ottens’ murder based on fingerprints and dna evidence found at the crime scene.In may 1974, he was found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to 50 years in prison at fort madison.The defense began a number of appeals, though the iowa supreme court upheld hall’s conviction and the u.S. Supreme court refused to hear the case.Agency
Iowa
Name
Scott TompkinsAge
23Cause of Death
ShootingInfo
Scott m. Tompkins, 23, was shot by an assailant(s) on november 29, 1995, while stopped to fix his windshield wipers at the intersection of park avenue and harrison street in muscatine, iowa.Tompkins, 23, was found wounded at 9:43 p.M. Only blocks from the hardee’s restaurant where he worked as the assistant manager. He was transported to muscatine general hospital, where he was able to make a statement to police before dying.Park said tompkins had worked at the restaurant for six years but did not work the day of his murder. He said tompkins had a real good future with the restaurant and “would do anything for anybody.”tompkins lived on the city’s south side. His car was found on grand avenue a block away from his body, and reports indicated a trail of blood led from the vehicle to where his body was found.Agency
Iowa