The state's three most notorious cold cases

The Hawkeye State is littered with a plethora of unsolved cases that unfortunately remain unsolved to this day. These are three of the most notorious in the state's history; Cases that not only play a major role in the state of Iowa, but are known throughout the United States and abroad.

The Villisca Ax Murders of 1912

On June 10, 1912, six members of the Moore family and two of their guests were found stabbed to death with an ax in their apartment. The horrific crime occurred in the small town of Villisca in southwest Iowa.

A lengthy investigation took place and several suspects were brought forward. However, the police focused on Reverand George Kelly, who vehemently protested his innocence. Two trials were held in this matter, the first ending in a hung jury and the second ending in an acquittal. The murders remain unsolved to this day.

The kidnapping of Johnny Gosch in 1982

On a seemingly normal September morning, Johnny Gosch rose at 5 a.m. to deliver the Sunday Des Moines Register newspaper to his eagerly awaiting customers.

Johnny took his trusty dog ​​with him and started hurling the papers from his red wagon onto every doorstep in the neighborhood, and again everything seemed completely normal, until it wasn't…

Witnesses reported that a blue Ford Fairmont was coming toward Johnny, but no one saw him being voluntarily or involuntarily placed into the vehicle.

When Johnny's parents (Noreen and John Sr.) realized he was missing, they immediately contacted the West Des Moines Police Department. A search party was put together later that afternoon, but unfortunately no trace of Johnny could be found.

In fact, no trace of Johnny was ever found.

A few years later, another Des Moines Metro paperboy went missing. 13-year-old Eugene Martin was also never found. He and Johnny were one of the first children featured on the back of Milk Cartons in the '80s.

In 2000, Noreen also wrote a book: ““Why Johnny can't come home” It details the aftermath of her son's disappearance and why she believes he will never come home.

In 2014, a documentary film was released called “Who kidnapped Johnny? was also released and continued to work on the case. You can find it on multiple streaming platforms.

For a current, in-depth look at the Johnny Gosch case 40 years later, watch the video below from KCCI.

The 2012 kidnapping and murder of Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook

In the summer of 2012, two young girls were riding bicycles in the eastern Iowa city of Evansdale. Unfortunately, both went missing near Myers Lake. Investigators searched the lake extensively and followed up on numerous leads over the next few months. Finally, in December 2012, the two bodies of Lyric and Elizabeth were found in a remote wildlife area in Bremer County, but no arrests were made in the case. Although no official suspect has been named, several theories are circulating on the World Wide Web.