Paula Oberbroeckling
Paula Jean Oberbroeckling
18 YOA
Cedar Rapids, IA
Linn County
July 11, 1970
In the summer of 1970, Cedar Rapids resident Paula Jean Oberbroeckling was 18 years old. A beautiful girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes, she taught developmentally disabled children and worked at Younker’s Department Store in Lindale Plaza.
Paula and her friend Debbie Kellogg shared a residence at 116 Tenth Street NW.
Linn County in Iowa
Debbie Kellogg said that Paula went on a date Saturday night, July 11, 1970.
About 1:00 a.m. — after she had come home — Paula asked to borrow Debbie’s car keys. Dressed in a powder blue bra dress — a very fashionable style of the time — she walked out the door and said, “I’ll be right back.” But Paula didn’t come home.
On Sunday, Debbie Kellogg’s car was found near the Eagle Food Store on Fourteenth Street SE, two miles east of where she and Paula lived.
Paula’s family was desperate for answers. Her grandmother, Vera Oberbroeckling, went door-to-door questioning residents in the neighborhood where the car was located.
Despite great publicity and extensive searches for her, Paula was not located. Cedar Rapids Police said, however, they had no evidence any harm had come to her.
Three days after Thanksgiving, on Sunday, November 29, 1970, George Juntilla and his two sons, Dale, 14, and Dave, 11, discovered a body in a ravine near the Cedar River along Otis Road in southeast Cedar Rapids six miles from Paula’s and Debbie’s apartment.
When police responded, they found decomposed remains draped around a steel pin in the ground. The body — hands and feet bound with clothesline rope — was clad in a light blue dress. A piece of rope lay on the ground nearby.
Two rings and the dress were identified by Paula’s mother as belonging to her daughter.
The cause of death could not be determined because of decomposition, although Cedar Rapids Police Chief George Matias told the press, “We believe foul play was involved.”
The Head of the University of Iowa Oral Surgery Department, Dr. Merle Hale, compared Paula’s dental records to the remains and officially identified the body as hers.
On Saturday, December 5, fifteen members of the Cedar Rapids Police Department Explorer Scout Post searched the area where the body was found but failed to locate any personal items belonging to Paula.
Courtesy photo Carl Franks, Cedar Rapids GazettePaula Jean Oberbroeckling was born in Cedar Rapids on February 25, 1952 to Carol Burks and James Joseph Oberbroeckling. She had four siblings — sister Lynn Marie Oberbroeckling Greve and three brothers, Todd Patrick, Christopher James, and Timothy Oberbroeckling.
Paula and all her siblings wore a linen gown at their christenings made about 1900 by their great-grandmother Mary Oberbroeckling for their grandfather Patrick Oberbroeckling. It had also been worn by their father James and his brother Robert.
In January of 1958, Paula was struck by a car that failed to stop for a school signal while she was crossing First Avenue at Twenty-Fourth Street E. Six-year-old Paula recovered fully from her injuries, but her father won a judgment against the driver.
She graduated from Washington High School in 1970.
Services for Paula were held at 11:00 a.m. Monday, December 6 at St. Matthew’s Church in Cedar Rapids, and she was buried in Mt. Calvary Cemetery.
Courtesy photo Gail Wenhardt Questions and information about the unsolved 1970 homicide of Paula Oberbroeckling should be directed to the Cedar Rapids Police Department at 319-286-5375, the Linn County Crime Stoppers Anonymous Tip Line at 1-800-CR-CRIME, or Iowa Cold Cases through the Contact form.
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Thank you for listing my sister on this website. My family has always been frustrated by the fact that every single time “cold cases” are talked about in the media my sister’s case is never mentioned. NEVER!! I did not expect it to be listed on this website. The police told us in 1970 that her case would always be considered an open case but I doubted that. I doubt the new cold case squad will look into this case but I would love to find out what happened to her. If you have any information regarding her case, I would love to hear from you.
Thank you!
Lynn, we will not forget Paula. She deserves to find justice. I’ve sent you a personal email. Nancy Bowers
Lyn, Don’t know if you remember me (you once chewed me out for smoking my tires at washington parking lot) I went out with Paula a couple times and thought a lot of her. Never got the chance to tell you and your family how sorry I felt when her body was found so I’m taking the time to let you know now. I hope who ever did this is brought to justice or is all ready dead and rotting in hell. Best regards Larry
Lynn,
As a matter of fact there is a writer, Susan Chehak, who has been investigating this case for many years. Susan grew up in Cedar Rapids and is quite serious in her investigation. She has interviewed police officers assigned to the case, reviewed case files, interviewed neighbors and possible witnesses and has developed interesting theories. Feel free to contact me at daddyofduke@aol.com and I will get you in contact with her.
Was Paula simply going out to retrieve something from the car, or would she have gone to a store in her nightgown? I think someone in the general area of the apartment complex may have kidnapped her.
Paula was not wearing a nightgown. That is something the police first stated and the media ran with it. She had on a powder blue “bra dress”. It was a short dress with a built in bra. They had just become fashionable. I had worn that dress myself as we always shared out clothes.
Thank you, Lynn, for making that correction. I’ll change the Case Summary to reflect that detail.
Nancy
Just for the record they were renting a house.
Thanks, Larry!
This case was so horrifying and sad. My brother was a friend of hers and we were very distraught when we found out she was dead. Though I moved away from Cedar Rapids 35 years ago, I’ve never forgotten. I assumed that all leads had been investigated, but seems I was told details that were never known. The source of the info was not always reliable but what she told me may be very relevant indeed. My best friend’s sister told me she knew the name of the murderer and the name of at least one guy who helped assault her. I never forgot those names. It seems people who were questioned, including this person, and Ms Kellogg did not reveal everything they knew. I am hoping my info may lead to some resolution. I hope so.
Since we went public with the website about Paula Oberbroeckling (www.whathappenedtopaula.com), a lot of people have been asking us about Lonnie Bell. We have not been able to talk to him and have lost contact information for him. We have tracked him to a woman who seems to be (or have been) his wife. Her maiden name was Beverly Jean Fishel. We gather that she grew up in Marion and it looks like she was Miss Cedar Rapids in 1963 (she was called Jeanie Fishel then). In 1966 she married Ronald Albert Sheperd.
Lonnie is sometimes referred to as Lonnie A. Fishel. He and Beverly were married in 1981.
If you know Lonnie, or know how we can reach him, please let us know! We’d love to talk to him and get his version of what happened to Paula.