Welcome to Iowa Cold Cases

Welcome to the Iowa Cold Cases (ICC) website, the U.S.’s first public database to document unsolved murders and suspicious missing persons cases on a statewide basis.

Courtesy Weekender

A Weekender series on Sioux City’s unsolved murders and missing persons cases served as the genesis for the Iowa Cold Cases (ICC) website. The first in the series ran in May 2004, and the ICC website launched in December 2005.

The site includes victim case summaries cross-referenced by name, the victim’s city or county, the year the crime occurred or by decade. It also includes a list of cases solved since ICC launched in December 2005.

Our goal is to create public awareness about unsolved homicides and missing persons cases and present information that might help solve a crime.

ICC incorporated as an Iowa nonprofit organization in April 2010. Though we are not affiliated with any law enforcement agency, we may at times serve as a liaison between them and individuals who provide ICC with tips, leads, or other information.

All official investigations are conducted solely by law enforcement agencies that may include a combination of local, state, and/or federal authorities.

Somebody knows something in every cold case. If you believe you have information that might help solve a case, we strongly encourage you to contact the investigating agency/agencies listed on each victim’s case summary page.

Thank you for taking time to visit our site.

We Remember: Upcoming Cold Case Anniversaries

Listed below are upcoming cold case anniversaries and, where noted, birthdays the victims would have celebrated.
 

Joseph E. Payne
72 YOA
15th & Armory
Chariton, IA
Lucas County
October 17, 1945

Karen Streed
21 YOA
Amana, IA
Iowa County
Case # 71-00703
October 18, 1971

Douglas A. Nielsen, 17
1409 Elmhurst Ave.
Humboldt, IA
Humboldt County
Case # 74-00512
October 18, 1974

Rodney J. Olsen
Age at Report: 32
Missing From:
Mason City, IA
Case # 862302619
October 18, 1986

Melissa Dawn Hasley
Age at Report: 31
Missing From:
Des Moines, IA
Case # 2002-43573
October 18, 2002

Johnie Clinton
68 YOA
1525 Walker Street
Des Moines, IA
Case # 1978-41681
October 19, 1978

Jorge “Louie” Gutierrez
47 YOA
3400 Blk S. Concorde
Davenport, IA
Scott County
October 19, 2004

Brandy Ratliff, Jr.
31 YOA
1608 E. Capitol Ave
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
October 19, 2008

Marlon T. Barber, Jr.
15 YOA
2000 Blk Jackson St.
Dubuque, IA
October 20, 2012

Mary K. Senne
21 YOA
4119 E. University
Des Moines, IA
Case # 1973-51704
October 22, 1973

Double Homicide
Debbie Laubenthal
18 YOA
Roadway B-19 ditch
Palo Alto County
October 23, 1976

Double Homicide
Raymond Henkins
30 YOA
Roadway B-19 ditch
Palo Alto County
October 23, 1976