Pottawattamie County in Iowa
Council Bluffs in Pottawattamie County
*Please Note: Some of the cases listed below may fall under the county sheriff’s jurisdiction, but are included here for cross-reference and research purposes. Investigating agency information may be found on each victim’s individual case summary page.
City Bakery Building in Council Bluffs
Homicide
James Clark Nicoll
52 YOA
Council Bluffs, IA
Pottawattamie County
March 17, 1885
James Clark Nicoll, a 52-year-old baker from Perth, Scotland, who emigrated to Council Bluffs, Iowa with his wife and five children in 1871, was found dead Tuesday morning, March 17, 1885, lying frozen in about 15 inches of water in a Tenth Avenue Council Bluffs ditch that led into Indian Creek.
George MassourisHomicide
George James Massouris
30 YOA
Orchard Road & Highway 6
Council Bluffs, IA
Pottawattamie County
November 18, 1950
On Saturday night, November 18, 1950, part-time taxicab driver George Massouris, 30, was shot three times at the base of his skull with a .22 caliber automatic pistol and then dumped in a ditch off the old Orchard Road two miles east of Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Gloria SlumpHomicide
Gloria Fay Slump
24 YOA
Council Bluffs, IA
Pottawattamie County
Case # 67-00368
March 3, 1967
On March 6, 1967, the body of Gloria Fay Slump was found under a railroad trestle located three miles south of Council Bluffs, Iowa. The deeply religious Omaha, Neb., brokerage house worker had been beaten, stabbed 14 times in the throat with a dull knife or an instrument similar to a beer can opener, and left under the trestle to bleed to death.
Homicide
Joe Junior Floyd
42 YOA
Council Bluffs, IA
Pottawattamie County
Case # D67-18
July 1, 1967
On July 1, 1967, Council Bluffs Police were called to 10th Street and 10th Avenue to investigate a report of a man lying in the water. There, they discovered Joe Junior Floyd, 42, who had been shot by a small caliber handgun.
John L. Stephens
Paul J. RayerDouble Homicide
Officer John L. Stephens, 32, and
Paul J. Rayer, 51
Case Number: 67-01188
Council Bluffs, Iowa
Pottawattamie County
December 5, 1967
Officer John L. Stephens and Paul J. Rayer were shot and killed on Tuesday, December 5, 1967, during a robbery of a local restaurant where Officer Stephens moonlighted as a security guard. Officer Stephens was accompanying the manager (Rayer) as he counted the day’s receipts in preparation for a night deposit.
Judith PleasHomicide
Judith Kaylene Pleas
17 YOA
Council Bluffs, IA
Pottawattamie County
Case Number: MP-73-226
August 10, 1973
Judith Kaylene Pleas, 17, disappeared from Council Bluffs, Iowa, on August 10, 1973. On October 14, 1973, a farmer discovered her remains near his cornfield outside Council Bluffs’ city limits. An investigation concluded the teen had been strangled.
Homicide
Edward Leroy Hickson
32 YOA
Case # B78-1173
1500 block of So. 6th St.
Council Bluffs, IA
Pottawattamie County
February 15, 1978
On February 15, 1978 at 4:14 a.m., Council Bluffs Police Department officers responded to a fire call in the 1500 block of South 6th Street, where the fire department advised them there was an unresponsive male inside the Rock Island Bunkhouse #27. The victim was taken by ambulance to Mercy Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival and identified as Edward Leroy Hickson.
Linda MayfieldHomicide
Linda Mayfield
21 YOA
3320 West Broadway
Council Bluffs, IA
Pottawattamie County
Case Number: D82-0713
April 9, 1982
On April 9, 1982 at 2:18 a.m., officers were called to the Starlite Motel at 3320 West Broadway in Council Bluffs, Iowa, regarding a disturbance involving a man with a knife. When officers arrived at the scene, Linda Mayfield, 21, was found lying face down by the north office door. The responding officer said the victim had several stab wounds to her face, chest, stomach, hand and foot.
Homicide
John P. Adams, Jr.
23 YOA
Case # G82-1088
2400 block of West Broadway
Council Bluffs, IA
Pottawattamie County
July 11, 1982
On July 11, 1982, John P. Adams, Jr., 23, was found lying on the road in the 2400 block of West Broadway Street in Council Bluffs, Iowa. He had been shot one time in the face by a man on a Kawasaki KZ900 motorcycle.
Missing Person
Bernadene Ann Sealine
Age at Report: 67
DOB: April 24, 1926
Weight: 170 lbs.
Height: 5’09″
Race: White
Hair: Grey
Eyes: Blue
Sex: Female
Incident Type: Missing after a catastrophe
Missing From: Pottawattamie County
PCSO Case File Number S21-002322
Council Bluffs, IA
Missing Since: July 10, 1993
Bernadene Sealine, 67, of Dexter, Iowa, was reported missing to the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on July 10, 1993 after the vehicle that she was in was swept away by flood waters. She is presumed to have died, but her body has never been recovered.
John ConawayMissing Person
John Steven Conaway
Age at Report: 36
Date of Birth: Sept. 15, 1961
Case # 98-008374
Missing From: Council Bluffs, IA
Pottawattamie County
Missing Since: February 9, 1998
John Steven Conaway was reported missing to the Council Bluffs Police Department on February 9, 1998. He was last seen between 10 and 10:30 p.m. at Buffalo Joe’s Food & Spirits located near Rosenblatt Stadium in downtown Omaha, Nebraska.
Paul M. BruleHomicide
Paul Michael Brule
30 YOA
2118 Sixth Avenue
Council Bluffs, IA
Pottawattamie County
July 25, 1998
Paul Michael Brule, a 30-year-old Council Bluffs, Iowa man who received $10,000 weekly payouts from lottery winnings, was slain in his Sixth Avenue home in the early morning hours on Saturday, July 25, 1998, and his death poorly staged to mimic a suicide.
Kimberly RatliffHomicide — Arrest made Oct. 16, 2020
Kimberly Ratliff
22 YOA
1414 West Broadway
Council Bluffs, IA
Pottawattamie County
January 12, 1999
On January 12, 1999, Kimberly Ratliff, 22, was found in a car left in the parking lot of People’s Natural Gas at 1414 West Broadway in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Her throat had been slashed. An employee clearing snow from the sidewalk found Ratliff inside her white 1988 Plymouth Sundance at about 10:40 a.m.
On Friday, Council Bluffs police detectives requested and were granted an arrest warrant for Matt W. Kennedy, accusing him of first-degree murder. Detectives allege that Kennedy was involved in the brutal murder of his stepsister, Kimberly M. Ratliff, the Council Bluffs Police Department said in a press release.
Dennis AddlesbergerMissing Person
Dennis R. Addlesberger
Age at Disappearance: 46
DOB: March 8, 1953
Missing From: Council Bluffs, IA
Pottawattamie County
PCSO Case File Number S15-003324
Missing Since: March 16, 1999
Dennis Addlesberger, a 46-year-old white male, was reported missing to the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office in Council Bluffs on March 16, 1999.
Mohama BabaMissing Person
Mohama Samsoudina Baba
Case # 05-055443
Date of Birth: September 19, 1983
Age at Report: 22
Missing From: Council Bluffs, IA
Pottawattamie County
Date Missing: December 3, 2005
Mohama Baba, 22, was reported missing to the Council Bluffs Police Department on December 3, 2005. If you have any information concerning this case, please contact Det. Brandon Danielson at the Council Bluffs Police Department at 712-326-2508.
Linn SnyderMissing Person
Linn Allen Snyder
Age at Report: 44
Date of Birth: 1962
Missing From: Council Bluffs, IA
Pottawattamie County
Date Last Seen: September 3, 2006
Linn Snyder was reported missing to the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on September 9, 2006. Snyder was last seen on his Harley Davidson motorcycle on September 3, and has not answered his cell phone. His wallet and medications were found in his home.
Bob HatcherHomicide
Robert Scott Hatcher
38 YOA
Iowa Riverfront Trail
Beneath Interstate 480 Bridge
Council Bluffs, IA
Pottawattamie County
March 8, 2007
On March 8, 2007, Robert Scott Hatcher, 38, was shot seven times as he stood on the Iowa Riverfront Trail beneath the Interstate 480 Bridge on the western edge of Council Bluffs, Iowa.
