Crystal Ann Arensdorf
Missing Person
Age at Report: 20
DOB: February 1, 1981
Weight: 115 lbs.
Height: 5' 06"
Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Brown
Incident Type: Endangered / physical
Missing From: Dubuque, IA (Dubuque County)
Missing Since: July 4, 2001
Case summary by Jody Ewing
Crystal Arensdorf of Dubuque, Iowa, was last seen at approximately 2:00 a.m. on July 4, 2001 at Knicker's Saloon, 2186 Central Avenue in Dubuque. Arensdorf — a minor at the time of her visit to the bar — was there with friends and trying to get a ride to East Dubuque, Ill.
Steven and David Peacock — two former Dubuque brothers who resided in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin — were at the bar on July 4 and were questioned several times about Arensdorf's disappearance. The brothers agreed to polygraph exams in April 2002 and authorities also seized and searched one of their vehicles. The brothers have never been charged in connection with Arensdorf's case.
Robert F. Mootz, who was employed as a bartender at Knicker's Saloon in 2001, pled guilty to serving alcohol to a minor in May 2002. Mootz told authorities he and Arensdorf planned to share a cab to East Dubuque after her friends departed from the bar. The plans apparently changed during the evening and Arensdorf did not leave with Mootz. He has not been charged in connection with her disappearance.
Arensdorf's family members said it was uncharacteristic of Crystal to leave without warning, and offered a $2,500 reward for information leading to her whereabouts.
At the time of her disappearance, the 20-year-old was wearing blue-tinted soft contact lenses, a white polo shirt, tan shorts, sandals, a gold chain necklace with an opal pendant, an opal ring and a toe ring. She has a mole near her naval and her ears are double-pierced.
Authorities searched Leisure Lake in Jackson County, Iowa after a witness reported seeing a body floating in the water on July 16, 12 days after Arensdorf vanished. The sighting turned out to be a false alarm and no evidence was discovered at the scene.
Investigators also eliminated Arensdorf's boyfriend, Tim Gerlieb, as a possible suspect in her disappearance in October 2001, three months after she was reported missing.
Dubuque police followed more than 550 leads, but have made no arrests in what they still consider a missing person case with a "high suspicion" of being criminal in nature. They do not believe she left of her own accord.
Arensdorf's case remains unsolved.
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact the Dubuque Police Department at 319-589-4410.
Sources and References:
IDPS Missing Persons Clearinghouse
"Whispers echo in Arensdorf case," Dubuque Telegraph Herald, July 4, 2006
"Police wait for DNA results in Arensdorf case," Dubuque Telegraph Herald, March 17, 2003
"Reward Offered for Information on Missing Woman," Oelwein Daily Register, July 11, 2001
The Charley Project
Page last updated July 3, 2010
