Valerie Peterson

Today marks the anniversaries of two Iowa cold cases — that of eight-year-old Elna Maria “Valerie” Peterson in 1971 and 31-year-old Barbara Lealyn Lenz in 1989.

Valerie Peterson of Manson, IA, was killed by a hit-and-run driver while riding her bicycle along the road at the Manson Lutheran Church. One other girl riding ahead of Valerie saw a green/blue truck with two or three men inside traveling north at a high rate of speed. The girl said they appeared to have long hair, and she believed the truck had some sort of equipment in the flatbed.

Based on the girl’s detailed description, the FBI and CBI suspected one family in particular — those owning the green/blue truck — and visited their home immediately following Valerie’s death. There, they gathered paint chippings from the truck. Within the week, the family sold the truck to Ross Motor in Manson.

Initial evidence taken and sent to Washington, D.C., was damaged through testing procedures, and Valerie’s case remains open.

Barbara Lenz

Barbara Lenz of Woodbine, IA, was last seen in Harrison County, IA, on May 6, 1989, and reported missing to the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office in Logan, IA. At the time of Barbara’s disappearance, her mother was hospitalized in Missouri Valley with pneumonia and Barbara visited her every day. When Barbara did not visit her mother for two days in a row, her mother sent relatives to check her daughter’s residence. Inside the home, they found Barbara’s coffee pot half-full and switched on, her laundry half-folded and Barbara’s keys and purse.

Barbara left behind a three-year-old daughter and has never been heard from again. Investigators believe she was taken against her will.

If you have any information regarding the Valerie Peterson case please call the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Department at 712-297-7583.

If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Barbara Lenz, please contact the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office at 712-644-2244.