The Girl in the River: Iowa’s Oldest Unidentified Mystery

 In the Spring of 1975, the Mississippi River was beginning to thaw, but it held a dark secret along the northern boundary of Clinton County. What began as a routine day for local fishermen turned into a decades-long search for the truth—a search that continues to this day.

In 2015, I was in the process of graduating with my bachelor’s degree when a friend sent me a link to the Iowa Cold Case website. This website, established by Jody Ewing, compiles all the unsolved, cold cases in the state of Iowa. While browsing the database for cold cases in my local area I came across the write up of an unidentified Jane Doe, instantly my heart broke for her and her loved ones. I simply could not imagine not knowing what happened to your loved one, and having your identity stripped away from you. 

Throughout the following years, this case was always at the back of my mind, and I returned to it often. Then in 2020, while stuck home during quarantine, listening to true crime podcasts, specifically an episode about Jane and John Does, I began to formulate a plan (that at the time I did not know was a plan) to help move this case along.  

For over 50 years, a young woman has rested in an unmarked grave, known only as "Clinton County Jane Doe." Her story is one of the most haunting cold cases in Iowa’s history, and it is a mystery that continues to plague investigators and armchair sleuths, like myself. 

After more than 5 years of ask questions, completing FOIA requests, and researching this case, I am writing this in hopes that it will reach the right person, the right agency, the right anything that will lead to the discovery of who this victim was, how she ended up in the Mississippi River all these years ago, and hopefully who is responsible for putting her there. 

A Grisly Discovery

On April 11, 1975, a fisherman spotted something caught on a mud bar in the river. Initially thinking it was a dead animal, he didn't investigate further until discussing it with his neighbor, Raymond Woodhurst. Raymond and his teenaged son Lloyd Woodhurst took their boat out for a closer look and realized the tragic reality: it was the body of a young Black woman.

When authorities arrived, they discovered a scene that offered more questions than answers. The victim was nude, carrying no identification, and wearing no jewelry. The autopsy revealed a brutal truth: she had been killed by a gunshot wound to the head behind her right ear.

Perhaps most tragic of all, the examination found that she was approximately 10 weeks pregnant.

Who Was She?

The details we have are heartbreakingly sparse:

• Race: Black/African American

• Age: Estimated between 12 and 23 years old

• Height/Weight: 5’2” to 5’4”, weighing around 100–120 lbs

• Physical Features: Black hair and a medium build

Investigators believe she was killed in early 1975 and had been in the water for several months. Despite following leads that stretched to Chicago and Milwaukee—with investigators wondering if she was a victim of domestic violence—every trail eventually went cold.

Eventually, her body was interred into an unmarked, mass grave located in Springdale Cemetery in the city of Clinton Iowa. This is where she remains to this day. I have visited the site, located in a lower section of the over 100-acre cemetery. While it is truly ‘unmarked’ the cemetery staff were helpful in my search for this burial site. Not much is known as far as how many other decedents share this mass grave, how the remains are organized within the grave, or the condition of any of the remains buried there. This opens up a lot of questions about the process of handling unidentified human remains, especially those of decedents who have possibly met with foul play. 

Why This Case Matters Now

For decades, Clinton County Jane Doe was Iowa’s oldest unidentified body, but the tide may be turning. This case is currently being handled by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations, specifically Special Agent Melissa Mussmann. I reached out to her for any updates or new information on this case and was told there has been movement within the case recently, but no new details are available to the public at this time. 

While the report of movement in the case is promising, I believe the goal remains the same: to give this young woman her name back. Someone, somewhere, may still remember a daughter, a sister, or a friend who went missing in late 1974 or early 1975. She was more than a statistic; she was a girl with a future that was stolen from her and her unborn child.

How You Can Help

The passage of time can often be the enemy of justice, but in cold cases, it can also be a tool. Family secrets come to light, and technology advances.

If you have any information regarding this case, or if you remember a young woman matching this description who disappeared in the mid-70s, please reach out to the Iowa Department of Public Safety or the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office.

Every tip, no matter how small, could be the key to finally bringing her home.

I will continue to update on this story as more information is released.

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For more information on this and other Iowa cold cases, visit Iowa Cold Cases.