Colleen Simpson

Colleen Simpson (Courtesy Iowa Department of Public Safety)

Colleen Vanita Simpson

Missing Person

Colleen Vanita Simpson
Age at Report: 14
DOB: December 5, 1960
Sex: Female
Race: White
Weight: 90 lbs.
Height: 5′ 7″
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Hazel
Missing From: Clearfield, IA
Reported Missing to Taylor County Sheriff’s Office in Bedford, IA
Case Number: 75-34
NCIC Number: M184789907
NCMEC #: 601905
NamUs MP #: 6654
Incident Type: Endangered/physical
Date Reported Missing: Oct. 5, 1975

 

Colleen Simpson, age progressed to 46 years

Colleen Simpson, age progressed to 46 years

Colleen Simpson, 14, of Clearfield, Iowa, was reported missing to the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office in Bedford, Iowa, on October 5, 1975.

She was last seen at her Clearfield home where she disappeared sometime during the night.

Colleen was born December 5, 1960, and has a scar on her right forearm.

Colleen Simpson age progressed to 52 years. Courtesy National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

Colleen Simpson age progressed to 52 years. Courtesy National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

Her physical description — described as a 5-foot-7 white female weighing 90 pounds — is from 1975. Colleen has black hair and hazel eyes.

Her incident type is classified as Endangered/Physical, meaning a person who is missing under circumstances indicating that his/her physical safety is in danger.

A Family Reference Sample (FRS) of DNA has been submitted and is available in this case.

Clearfield in Taylor County, Iowa

Information Needed

If you have any information regarding Colleen Simpson’s unsolved disappearance, please contact Taylor County Sheriff Josh Weed at (712) 523-2153.

Sources:

28 Responses to Colleen Simpson

  1. Amber says:

    If any of the family of Colleen reads this you may want to follow the Donal Studey investigation in Thurman Iowa. Lucy Studey Mckiddy his daughter claims he killed multiple people and was witness to it. One of the people she claims was a 15 year old which is close to Colleen’s age. You may want to follow this case if they are able to excavate and find remains.

  2. Amber says:

    Long shot but Donald Studey investigation in Thurman Iowa. Lucy Studey McKiddy claims one of the murdered victims was 15 and Colleen was 14. I just felt like I should mention this in case they find remains. I’ve continuously thought of this girl since I moved to Bedford. In case someone is reading this who’s family you may want to follow that case.

  3. Patrick Kerrigan says:

    Mr. Brown, I was reading up on Ted Bundy, last night. It appears most of his victims were in major cities. He fled east and was Ann Arbor, Michigan. He stole a car there and drove to Atlanta. Georgia. In Atlanta, he took a bus to Florida. He grabbed a 12 year old, and killed her.

    He entered a Florida State Iniversity dorm and atrackedcseveral victims there. I did not see material that he spent any time in Iowa. I was looking at some cases to see if there was any other cases around the country involving a red on color Volkwagen. There were five girls who were abducted in Jacksonville. Florida over a three month period, in 1974. In one case there was a reference to Ted Bundy and a Volkswagen, however his was either tan or brown.

    I also came across a case out of Springfield, Missouri. A young girl disappeared and may have been seen by a blue in color Chevrolet. I seem to remember another case involving that color vehicle.

    Maybe the new comments by Amanda., can provide some details that she may know.

  4. Patrick Kerrigan says:

    I wonder what was going on in the family that may have led her to run away from home. This might provide an investigative lead of sorts. What were her interests at the time. Also, what modes of travel into and out of Clearfield.

    • Patrick Kerrigan says:

      As a follow-up, it would be nice if Social Security could check their records and see if they issued a SSN to a female with that date of birth, or within a few days before or after.

      Also under her original name. I wonder if she might have a boyfriend, who happened to be 18 or older. He leaves and she decides that he is the love of her life. It only an idea.

      I find it interesting that her best friend is out of the loop on her disappearance, except that she ran away. She figured that Colleen would have gave her a head’s up. Maybe, it was a spur of the moment thing.

      She mentions a family function outside of town, where Colleen took of from. Her brother said she ran away from home in the middle of the night. So what is the truth.

      • T says:

        I agree, confusing, brother says she ran away from home. Her friend says she was with family at a function and disappeared from there. Not much to go off of, someone hiding the true facts of where she really was that evening.

        • Amana says:

          This is my Aunt. My uncle is Mike. Our family misses her and we wonder where she is.

        • Amanda Howard says:

          Hi my name is Amanda Howard. My uncle is Mike and my Dad is Kelly. I’ll be contacting you. Thank you so much for this message.

          • Audrey H. says:

            Has there been a Facebook Page set up to try and find leads or information about Colleen Simpson’s disappearance? It has 46+ years since she disappeared. It sure seems to be a good way to try and find leads.

  5. Larry Brown says:

    At the time of her disappearance, Colleen was much younger than most, if not all, of Ted Bundy’s victims but I am wondering if the sheriff or anyone involved with her case, ever tried to track the time of her disappearance with Bundy’s travels. The number of Bundy’s victims is staggering and the total may never be known. (A friend of mine’s daughter disappeared from Grand Junction, Colorado, around the mid to late 1970s and to my knowledge, her body was never found. The parents, both of whom have since died of natural causes, believed Bundy was responsible.)

  6. Diana Wilson says:

    God, please keep her safe. Bring her home safely.

  7. Thank you, Audrey Haverkamp, for clarifying that Colleen was from Clearfield. Her home city is now referenced on Colleen’s case summary page and she’s also listed on the Clearfield, Iowa page. After 39 years, our hopes are that someone will finally step forward with what he/she knows. Colleen’s family deserves answers, and somebody always knows something. All the best to you.

  8. It’s time to solve this case. Colleen Simpson was from Clearfield, Iowa, not Bedford…both towns are in Taylor County. If you know anything, contact the Taylor County Sheriff’s office at Bedford, Iowa.

  9. Cindy Mattson says:

    I knew Colleen’s sister Kathy. She was my best friend during that time. I am wondering why Colleen is listed as missing from Bedford Iowa. The family lived in Clearfield Iowa when Colleen went missing.

    • Linda says:

      I grew up in So. California so I didn’t have the opportunity to spend much time with that side of my mom’s family. My mom and Colleen’s mom were sisters. I know that at the time she disappeared, her father, my uncle Jerry Simpson, was a small town sherriff. Wish I had more information.

    • Stephy says:

      Bedford is the count seat for Taylor County and since Clearfield is in Taylor county, this could be the reason. I would think they’d put Clearfield though.

      • Jody Ewing says:

        Thank you to everyone who clarified that Colleen lived in Clearfield. I’ve since included that info in her case summary. Bedford was listed because the Iowa Dept. of Public Safety Missing Person Information Clearinghouse listed Colleen as being reported missing to the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office in Bedford. Colleen’s information is now also included on ICC’s “Clearfield” page.

  10. Linda Hunger says:

    Colleen Simpson is my first cousin. I have always wondered what happened to her. I have been searching the web and talking with local authorities in Iowa to see if there has been any progress on her case. God bless her mother, my aunt. She wore a necklace with a school photo of Colleen at the age of 14 around her neck until the day she died, never finding out what happened to her daughter.

  11. Ben Johnson says:

    I have been following this case for a few years. I grew up in a small town not far from Bedford and first discovered this case on the internet. Every piece of info I’ve seen so far states that she disappeared in the night. It doesn’t say if they think she ran away from home, or someone broke in and kidnapped her. Did she have a history of running away from home? Even though I don’t know her family, I just think it’s crappy that after so many years they don’t know what happened to her.

    • Diana Fisher says:

      From what I understand, she had no history of running away. There are several “town” rumors such as she is in the bottom of a well or she is living out of state. I don’t know how someone could simply disappear off the face of the earth???

      • If they believe she’s in bottom of well then why haven’t they been checked and In Clearfield if that’s where she’s actually lived all info in these cases is critical

    • laurenda mifflin says:

      colleen was my best friend, she didn’t disappear from home, the family went to a function out of town and disappeared from that function, and they were living outside of grant, iowa at that time. I believe if she could have she would have contacted me. I miss her still.

      • Michael Simpson says:

        This is her older brother, Michael & to set the record straight–she ran away from home in the middle of the night in Clearfield, while Dad was on patrol as a deputy sherriff. she wasn’t missed until next morning & since then we’ve been searching where ever to find her!!

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