Welcome to Iowa Cold Cases

Welcome to the Iowa Cold Cases (ICC) website, the U.S.’s first public database to document all known 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.

This project would not have been possible without the help of Capt. Lisa Claeys of the Sioux City Police Department and then-Weekender editor Thomas Ritchie, whose tremendous passion and commitment to telling these victims’ stories laid the groundwork to giving voice to those silenced.

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 Rewards page profiles cases where either law enforcement/Crime Stoppers and/or other agencies or individuals have offered cash rewards for information leading to an arrest or conviction.

In April 2010, ICC incorporated as an Iowa nonprofit organization, and though we are not affiliated with any local, state, or federal law enforcement agency, we do work as a liaison with all three agencies.

If you believe you have information that might help solve a case, we strongly urge you to contact the appropriate agency or investigator, which you’ll find listed on every victim’s case summary page.

Thank you for taking time from your day to visit our site.

We Remember: Upcoming Cold Case Anniversaries

Riccardo R. Bowers
Age at Report: 44
Missing From:
Des Moines, IA
Case # 2001-18805
May 15, 2001

Ronald F. Lipsius
30 YOA
812 South Summit St.
Iowa City, IA
Johnson County
May 16, 1966

Allen F. Shoemaker, 36
Chicago & Northwestern Police
Missouri Valley, IA
Harrison County
May 17, 1925

Helen J. Kelly, 83
Missing From:
3646 Court St.
Sioux City, IA
Case # SCPD 14-18463
May 18, 2005

Chad William White
21 YOA
Corning, IA
Adams County
May 21, 1993

Shawn Michael North
30 – 45 YOA
1200 Blk Doreen Ave.
Waterloo, IA
Died: Aug. 30, 2016
Crime May 21, 2001

Breiton Ackerman
4 YOA
Missing From:
Orange City, IA
Sioux County
May 22, 2005

Margaret Feige
88 YOA
4030 N.W. First St.
Saylor Township
Polk County, IA
May 22, 2008

Jackie Douthart
24 YOA
Old Highway 34
Mount Pleasant, IA
Henry County
May 22, 2011

Debra Barajas-Gutierrez
44 YOA
54300 blk of 195th St.
Pacific Junction, IA
Mills County
May 25, 2006

Steven M. Babka, 58
Missing From:
Marengo, IA
Iowa County
Case # 12-48283
May 25, 2012

Dennis Washburn
69 YOA
Edwards St.
Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
May 25, 2014