Harold Orville Doerring
Age at Report: 66
DOB: March 14, 1930
Weight: 200 lbs.
Height: 5’11″
Race: White
Hair: Brown/gray balding
Eyes: Blue
Incident Type: Disability – physical / mental
RootsWeb ID: I037422
Reported Missing in Decorah, IA, Winneshiek County
Death Listed in Henry County, south of Mount Pleasant
Missing Since: February 16, 1997
Sixty-six-year-old Harold Doerring was reported missing to the Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office in Decorah, Iowa, on February 16, 1997.
Authorities found Harold Doerring’s truck abandoned on Highway 218 south of Mount Pleasant in Henry County on February 23, 1997. When they tried to contact him about the vehicle but could not find him, they discovered no one had seen Doerring since February 16 in Cedar Falls.
Courtesy photo Wikipedia CommonsDoerring, family members told officials, had recently been depressed. They described him as wearing eyeglasses and possibly clothed in a red or blue stocking cap, jeans and black high-top shoes, and a black jacket.
RootsWeb’s WorldConnect Project states that Doerring is “presumed dead,” with date of death listed as FEB 1997 in Henry County, Iowa.
Though Harold Doerring would have to endure the grief of losing and burying one of his three sons, he would already have gone missing before a second son would be murdered while traveling out of state for his job.
Son Peter Frederick Doerring would be killed at age 20 during a tragic hunting accident on November 23, 1980, in Pony Hollow near Elkader.
Seven years after Doerring disappeared, another son, 43-year-old Martin Harold Doerring of Luana, Iowa, tried to stop a robbery in progress in his Spokane, Washington hotel room on Tuesday, October 19, 2004, and was shot and killed when he tried to wrestle the gun away from the robber.
Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier staff writer Jeff Reinitz described the murder in an article published Thursday, October 21, 2004:
Doerring was an independent contractor who worked with R&M Metals of Hudson and traveled the nation on assignments. He carried all of his belonging with him and didn’t have a wife or children, [Doerring's sister Julia] Elder said.
He liked being on the road, said Roger Tompkins, who operates the salvage company.
Tompkins said Doerring was working with a crew of R&M employees at the time of the crime. They were hired to retrieve scrap metal from the abandoned Kaiser Aluminum plant in Mead, Wash.
Spokane police said Doerring was staying at the Apple Tree Motel with two employees.
The three had gone to a nearby tavern earlier in the night, but the two roommates returned at about 11:45 p.m., leaving Doerring behind.
About 45 minutes later, there was a knock on the motel room door, and the roommates assumed it was Doerring, Spokane police said.
When they opened the door they found a young man pointing a handgun. The intruder entered the room and demanded their money, but the two said they had no money, police said.
Doerring apparently walked into the room while the gunman was still there, police said.
Doerring grabbed the gun, and the robber fired one shot, according to police. The victim collapsed to the floor, and the shooter ran from the motel.
The WCF Courier reported that a police dog tracked the suspect across the motel property and over a cyclone fence, but lost the scent in an adjacent parking lot.
Courtesy photo Spokane.comThe Spokane Police Department flooded the case with detectives and issued a sketch based on descriptions from the other two robbery victims. By Friday morning, October 22, detectives already had developed strong leads and spent the entire afternoon following the suspect in six different vehicles.
Spokane Police spokesman Dick Cottam also announced that an organization of Spokane-area business owners — called “Secret Witness” — had put up a few thousand dollars as a reward for information about the gunman.
That same night, the detectives’ hard work paid off; they arrested 27-year-old Devenniyon Marquise Courtney of Spokane and charged him with first-degree murder in Martin Doerring’s death.
According to Cottam, Courtney had four convictions in Spokane: one each for harassment, first-degree burglary, child molestation and first-degree theft. When investigators searched Courtney’s house and an acquaintance’s home and found the revolver used in Doerring’s slaying, a serial offender’s life of crime was about to come to an abrupt end.
Martin Doerring’s funeral was held in Postville, Iowa, and included a special memorial for his father, whose body has never been recovered.
Harold Doerring remains listed as a missing person on the Iowa Dept. of Public Safety’s Missing Person Information Clearinghouse and with the Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office.
Harold Orville Doerring was born March 14, 1930, to Lorenz August Doerring and Beatrice Carolyn (Palas) Doerring. He married Elvera Mae Jensen on August 26, 1956, in the Luther Valley Lutheran Church in Beloit, Wisconsin.
The couple had five children: two daughters, Angela and Julia; and three sons, Peter, Martin, and Andy.
Doerring’s wife Elvera Mae died from cancer on Oct. 6, 1970 at University hospitals in Iowa City.
If you have any information regarding Harold Doerring’s disappearance or death, please contact the Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office at 563-382-4268 or the Missing Person Information Clearinghouse at 1-800-346-5507. You may also send information to Iowa Cold Cases via our Contact form or the Anonymous Tip Form.
Decorah in Winneshiek County
Winneshiek County in Iowa
Missing Person, Declared Dead
Harold Orville Doerring
Age at Report: 66
DOB: March 14, 1930
Weight: 200 lbs.
Height: 5’11″
Race: White
Hair: Brown/gray balding
Eyes: Blue
Incident Type: Disability – physical / mental
RootsWeb ID: I037422
Reported Missing in Decorah, IA, Winneshiek County
Death Listed in Henry County, south of Mount Pleasant
Missing Since: February 16, 1997
Sixty-six-year-old Harold Doerring was reported missing to the Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office in Decorah, Iowa, on February 16, 1997.
Authorities found Harold Doerring’s truck abandoned on Highway 218 south of Mount Pleasant in Henry County on February 23, 1997. When they tried to contact him about the vehicle but could not find him, they discovered no one had seen Doerring since February 16 in Cedar Falls.
Sandra Vanderhoef
Sandra S. Vanderhoef
Age at Report: 42
DOB: June 10, 1944
Weight: 210 lbs.
Height: 5′ 07″
Race: American Indian or Alaskan Native
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Incident Type: Endangered / physical
Missing From: Webster County, IA
NCIC Number: M275344759
Missing Since: September 22, 1986
Sandra Vanderhoef was reported missing to the Webster County Sheriff’s Office in Fort Dodge, Iowa, on September 22, 1986.
She wears glasses, has a scar on her abdomen, scars on both knees and a mole on her back.
If you have any information concerning Vanderhoef’s whereabouts please contact the Webster County Sheriff’s Office at 515-573-1410 or Iowa Cold Cases via our Contact form or Anonymous Tip Form.
Pottawattamie County in Iowa
Council Bluffs in Pottawattamie County
George Massouris
Homicide
George James Massouris
30 YOA
Orchard Road & Highway 6
Council Bluffs, IA
Pottawattamie County
November 18, 1950
On November 18, 1950, George Massouris, 30, was shot in the taxi he drove part-time. His body was dumped in a ditch on Orchard Road near Highway 6 two miles east of Council Bluffs.
Gloria Slump
Homicide
Gloria Fay Slump
24 YOA
Council Bluffs, IA
Pottawattamie County
Case # 67-00368
March 3, 1967
On March 6, 1967, the body of Gloria Fay Slump was found under a railroad trestle located three miles south of Council Bluffs, Iowa. The deeply religious Omaha, Neb., brokerage house worker had been beaten, stabbed 14 times in the throat with a dull knife or an instrument similar to a beer can opener, and left under the trestle to bleed to death.
Homicide
Joe Junior Floyd
42 YOA
Council Bluffs, IA
Pottawattamie County
Case # D67-18
July 1, 1967
On July 1, 1967, Council Bluffs Police were called to 10th Street and 10th Avenue to investigate a report of a man lying in the water. There, they discovered Joe Junior Floyd, 42, who had been shot by a small caliber handgun.
John Stephens
Paul Rayer
Double Homicide:
Officer John L. Stephens, 32, and
Paul J. Rayer, 51
Case Number: 67-01188
Council Bluffs, Iowa
Pottawattamie County
December 5, 1967
Officer John L. Stephens and Paul J. Rayer were shot and killed on Tuesday, December 5, 1967, during a robbery of a local restaurant where Officer Stephens moonlighted as a security guard. Officer Stephens was accompanying the manager (Rayer) as he counted the day’s receipts in preparation for a night deposit.
Judith Pleas
Homicide
Judith Kaylene Pleas
17 YOA
Council Bluffs, IA
Pottawattamie County
Case Number: MP-73-226
August 10, 1973
Judith Kaylene Pleas, 17, disappeared from Council Bluffs, Iowa, on August 10, 1973. On October 14, 1973, a farmer discovered her remains near his cornfield outside Council Bluffs’ city limits. An investigation concluded the teen had been strangled.
Homicide
Edward Leroy Hickson
32 YOA
Case # B78-1173
1500 block of So. 6th St.
Council Bluffs, IA
Pottawattamie County
February 15, 1978
On February 15, 1978 at 4:14 a.m., Council Bluffs Police Department officers responded to a fire call in the 1500 block of South 6th Street, where the fire department advised them there was an unresponsive male inside the Rock Island Bunkhouse #27. The victim was taken by ambulance to Mercy Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival and identified as Edward Leroy Hickson.
Linda Mayfield
Homicide
Linda Mayfield
21 YOA
3320 West Broadway
Council Bluffs, IA
Pottawattamie County
Case Number: D82-0713
April 9, 1982
On April 9, 1982 at 2:18 a.m., officers were called to the Starlite Motel at 3320 West Broadway in Council Bluffs, Iowa, regarding a disturbance involving a man with a knife. When officers arrived at the scene, Linda Mayfield, 21, was found lying face down by the north office door. The responding officer said the victim had several stab wounds to her face, chest, stomach, hand and foot.
Lee Rotatori
Homicide
Lee Rotatori
32 YOA
Best Western Motel
2216 27th Avenue, Rm #106
Council Bluffs, IA
Pottawattamie County
Case Number: F82-2558
June 25, 1982
On June 25, 1982 at 12:27 p.m., Council Bluffs Police officers were sent to investigate a death at the Best Western Motel at 2216 27th Avenue in Council Bluffs. There, they discovered Lee Rotatori, 32, who had died from a stab wound to the chest.
Homicide
John P. Adams, Jr.
23 YOA
Case # G82-1088
2400 block of West Broadway
Council Bluffs, IA
Pottawattamie County
July 11, 1982
On July 11, 1982, John P. Adams, Jr., 23, was found lying on the road in the 2400 block of West Broadway Street in Council Bluffs, Iowa. He had been shot one time in the face by a man on a Kawasaki KZ900 motorcycle.
Missing Person
Bernadene Ann Sealine
Age at Report: 67
DOB: April 24, 1926
Weight: 170 lbs.
Height: 5’09″
Race: White
Hair: Grey
Eyes: Blue
Sex: Female
Incident Type: Missing after a catastrophe
Missing From: Pottawattamie County
Council Bluffs, IA
Missing Since: July 10, 1993
Bernadene Sealine, 67, of Dexter, Iowa, was reported missing to the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on July 10, 1993 after the vehicle that she was in was swept away by flood waters. She is presumed to have died, but her body has never been recovered.
John Conaway
Missing Person:
John Steven Conaway
Age at Report: 36
Case # 98-008374
Missing From: Council Bluffs, IA
Pottawattamie County
Missing Since: February 9, 1998
John Steven Conaway was reported missing to the Council Bluffs Police Department on February 9, 1998.
Kimberly Ratliff
Homicide:
Kimberly Ratliff
22 YOA
1414 West Broadway
Council Bluffs, IA
Pottawattamie County
January 12, 1999
On January 12, 1999, Kimberly Ratliff, 22, was found in a car left in the parking lot of People’s Natural Gas at 1414 West Broadway in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Her throat had been slashed. An employee clearing snow from the sidewalk found Ratliff inside her white 1988 Plymouth Sundance at about 10:40 a.m.
Dennis Addlesberger
Missing Person:
Dennis R. Addlesberger
Age at Disappearance: 46
DOB: March 8, 1953
Missing From: Council Bluffs, IA
Pottawattamie County
Missing Since: March 16, 1999
Dennis Addlesberger was reported missing to the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office in Council Bluffs on March 16, 1999.
Nelson “Selena” Alvarez-Hernandez
Homicide
Nelson “Selena” Alvarez-Hernandez
33 YOA
1613 South 13th St., Apt. 1
Council Bluffs, IA
Pottawattamie County
Case # 03-004354
July 31, 2003
In the early morning hours on July 31, 2003, Nelson “Selena” Alvarez-Hernandez, 33, was stabbed to death in front of an apartment building located at 1613 So. 13th St. in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Mohama Baba
Missing Person:
Mohama Samsoudina Baba
Case # 05-055443
Date of Birth: September 19, 1983
Age at Report: 22
Missing From: Council Bluffs, IA
Pottawattamie County
Date Missing: December 3, 2005
Mohama Baba, 22, was reported missing to the Council Bluffs Police Department on December 3, 2005. If you have any information concerning this case, please contact Det. Brandon Danielson at the Council Bluffs Police Department at 712-326-2508.
Linn Snyder
Missing Person
Linn Allen Snyder
Age at Report: 44
Date of Birth: 1962
Missing From: Council Bluffs, IA
Pottawattamie County
Date Missing: September 9, 2006
Linn Snyder was reported missing to the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on September 9, 2006. Snyder was last seen on his Harley Davidson motorcycle on September 3, and has not answered his cell phone. His wallet and medications were found in his home.
Bob Hatcher
Homicide
Robert Scott Hatcher
38 YOA
Iowa Riverfront Trail
Beneath Interstate 480 Bridge
Council Bluffs, IA
Pottawattamie County
March 8, 2007
On March 8, 2007, Robert Scott Hatcher, 38, was shot seven times as he stood on the Iowa Riverfront Trail beneath the Interstate 480 Bridge on the western edge of Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Larry Murillo
Missing Person:
Larry Ely Murillo-Moncada
Case # 09-039818
Aka: Marlon Murillo
Age at Report: 25 YOA
Missing From: Council Bluffs, IA
Pottawattamie County
Date Missing: November 28, 2009
Larry Murillo, 25, was reported missing to the Council Bluffs Police Department on November 30, 2009. If you have any information concerning this case, please contact Det. Brandon Danielson at the Council Bluffs Police Department at 712-326-2508.
Missing Person
Bridgette Destiny Bowman
Age at Report: 16
DOB: July 11, 1996
Weight: 110 lbs.
Height: 5’05″
Race: White
Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Blue
Sex: Female
Incident Type: Juvenile
Case # 12-031486
Missing From: Council Bluffs, IA
Pottawattamie County
Missing Since: August 14, 2012
Bridgette Bowman was reported missing to the Council Bluffs Police Department in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on August 14, 2012.
Missing Person
Danielle B. Galica
Age at Report: 16
DOB: October 20, 1996
Weight: 109 lbs.
Height: 5’05″
Race: White
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Sex: Female
Incident Type: Juvenile
Missing From: Council Bluffs, Iowa
Pottawattamie County
Case Number: 13-004642
Missing Since: January 29, 2013
Danielle Galica was reported missing to the Council Bluffs Police Department in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on January 29, 2013. She is considered a continuous runaway.
Please Note: This list is ongoing and not inclusive of all Iowa missing persons cases. Though we have no fixed “time passed since missing” criteria for adding names, the individuals listed here reflect persons who have gone missing under suspicious circumstances where foul play is suspected or where the victim is assumed deceased.
The cases are listed in chronological order. Click on any hyperlink below to view a victim’s case summary page and to access additional information and/or feature stories related to that case.
Also See: Unsolved Homicides or Case Summaries
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