Cold Cases in Webster County, IA

*Please Note: The cases listed below are within Webster County but may fall under a city police department's jurisdiction. They are included here for cross-reference purposes. More specific information may be found on each victim's individual page.

 

Homicide:
William Freimuth
71 YOA
Case # 6100355
Fort Dodge, Iowa (Webster County)
February 16, 1962

William Freimuth, a 71-year-old Fort Dodge service station attendant, was shot in the back of the head shortly after 8 p.m. on February 16, 1962, by a gunman who took $140 from the cash register.

 

Homicide
Douglas Alan Nielsen
Humboldt (Webster County)
Case # 7400512
October 17, 1974

On October 17, 1974, Douglas Nielsen was shot and killed during a house party in Humboldt, Iowa.

 

Homicide
Angela Marie Altman
22 YOA
Fort Dodge, Iowa (Webster County)
Case # 8100528
January 24, 1981

On January 24, 1981, Angela Marie Altman, 22, was found dead on the kitchen floor of her home by her sister. Angela had several stab wounds to the abdomen.

 

Homicide
Marvin C. Brandland
69 YOA
Ninth Ave. South
Fort Dodge, IA
Case # 8205814
October 30, 1982

On October 30, 1982, Marvin Brandland, 69, was confronted at his Fort Dodge, Iowa, home by a masked "trick-or-treater" brandishing a gun who said "Trick or treat. Give me your money or I'll shoot." Believing it was a Halloween prank, Brandland reached for the gun and was shot by the masked man.

 

Missing Person
Sandra S. Vanderhoef
Age at Report: 42
Missing From: Webster County, IA
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.

 

Homicide
Lisa Ann McCuddin
23 YOA
Fort Dodge, IA (Webster County)
October 2, 2004

On October 2, 2004, Lisa Ann McCuddin was shot and killed while riding as a passenger in a vehicle on its way to a Fort Dodge, Iowa, motel. Officials initially were called to Trinity Regional Medical Center in Fort Dodge where a man had gone after reporting being shot at the Holiday Inn. But when police got to the Holiday Inn to investigate the shooting, a car pulled into the parking lot driven by a man who said he and a female passenger had just been shot while driving to the hotel.

 

Missing Person
Gregory J. Howell
Age at Report: 44
Missing From: Fort Dodge, IA (Webster County)
Missing Since: January 1, 2005

Gregory Howell was reported missing to the Fort Dodge Police Department on January 1, 2005. Few details are available in his case.

 

 

If you have any information about any of these cases, please contact the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation at (515) 725-6010 or e-mail dciinfo@dps.state.ia.us.

Page last updated: April 5, 2010