Dawson, IA Area Cold Cases

Name

Alonzo Beghtel

Age

81

Cause of Death

Homicide

Info

Alonzo “lon” beghtel, an 81-year-old retired farmer, was found beaten to death near his guthrie center, iowa, home on wednesday, january 18, 1950.

Agency

Iowa

Name

Emma Lewis

Age

80

Cause of Death

Homicide

Info

Emma lewis was found dead in her waukee, iowa home on monday, september 13, 1976. The 80-year-old lewis had died from blows suffered during a severe beating.

Agency

Iowa

Name

Floyd Alborn

Age

76

Cause of Death

Shooting

Info

Floyd william alborn, a 76-year-old bachelor, was found shot to death in his rural panora, iowa, home on friday evening, november 8, 1974. Alborn lived alone at his farm on the guthrie and dallas county line one-fourth mile north of highway 44. His sister and brother-in-law, freda and lawrence mills, discovered his body, the guthrian reported on monday, november 25, 1974.

Agency

Iowa

Name

Gregg Nimmo

Age

44

Cause of Death

Homicide

Info

Gregg andrew nimmo, 44, of adel, iowa, was found with severe head injuries on a gravel road in dexter, iowa, on sunday, aug. 28, 2011. Nimmo lay bleeding from head wounds on a gravel road just outside beaver lake campground in dallas county. Several individuals allegedly witnessed the manner in which a known female killed nimmo. Tire tracks ran up and down both ditch sides as the driver attempted to throw nimmo from the truck and then deliberately ran him over.

Agency

Iowa

Name

Kathleen Holliday

Age

37

Cause of Death

Homicide

Info

Kathleen louise holliday, a rural grimes, iowa mail carrier, finished up her mail route on saturday, march 12, 1977, and then vanished without a trace. Her body was found two months later in the saylorville reservoir — just as a psychic had predicted

Agency

Iowa

Name

Myrtle Cumpston

Age

60

Cause of Death

Shooting

Info

Myrtle zelda cumpston, 60, was shot and killed in the display area of her rural dallas county business — c & k aqualand, incorporated — on tuesday, march 9, 1965. Cumpston co-owned the tropical fish aquarium near adel, iowa, with business partner and neighbor, mrs. Robert king.

Agency

Iowa

Name

Roscoe Harris

Age

46

Cause of Death

Shooting

Info

On july 6, 1963, 46-year-old roscoe donnel harris was shot in the left chest with a single shot .22 caliber rifle.When the iowa division of criminal investigation (dci) established a cold case unit in 2009, harris’ murder was one of approximately 150 cases listed on the cold case unit’s new website as those the dci hoped to solve using latest advancements in dna technology.Although federal grant funding for the dci cold case unit was exhausted in december 2011, the dci continues to assign agents to investigate cold cases as new leads develop or as technological advances allow for additional forensic testing of original evidence.The dci remains committed to resolving iowa’s cold cases and will continue to work diligently with local law enforcement partners to bring the perpetrators of these crimes to justice for the victims and their families.

Agency

Iowa

Name

Effie Bell

Age

46

Cause of Death

Homicide

Info

At the end of the day on friday, march 18, 1966, effie bell (known as “cupie” to her family) got off work from her job at mcray cosmetics factory in madrid, iowa, just as she’d done since 1958 when first hired by the cosmetics manufacturer. There was no telling what the weekend had in store for the wife and mother of three, or what her husband, frank bell, sr., 49, might have in mind. He’d just quit his job at the john deere des moines works plant the previous day.

Agency

Iowa

Name

Roger Brown

Age

55

Cause of Death

Shooting

Info

Roger alan brown, 55, was found dead inside his trailer in the 200 block of eighth street sw in dayton, iowa, on wednesday morning, september 30, 2015. A news release from the iowa department of public safety said the man appeared to have died from a gunshot wound, but did not initially classify his death as a homicide.The body was sent to the iowa office of the state medical examiner in ankeny that same day, and the iowa division of criminal investigation (dci) called in to assist in the investigation.

Agency

Iowa

Name

Virgil Untied

Age

33

Cause of Death

Shooting

Info

Town marshal virgil untied was shot five times thursday, july 23, 1931, by three assailants in minburn, iowa, who were looting a local grocery store.The 33-year-old marshal — married and a father of three daughters — was summoned to the gootschalk grocery around 3:30 a.M. When the thieves awakened miss lena west, a telephone operator, as they tried breaking into the safe.Untied and two other men located the trio in the shaw grocery store, but the robbers opened fire as the marshal crossed the railroad tracks. While his companions returned fire, untied crawled to the station platform where he collapsed, the the daily iowan reported on friday, july 24, 1931.More than 10 shots were exchanged in the gunfire, with five slugs hitting untied and one of the bullets piercing his eye and lodging in his brain.

Agency

Iowa