Iowa Missing Men – Connection or Coincidence?
Since the disappearance of Jonathan Lacina in January, many people have emailed me and written on this site about other mysterious cases in Iowa. The interest in this topic has been so high, I thought you’d like a little more information about the incidents.
Jacob Hobson, 27, was found in College Creek on the campus of Iowa State University in Ames on July 19, 2005. Officials concluded that Hobson, who was visually impaired, drowned in a few inches of water after he accidentally fell from a creek bridge onto a concrete culvert. An autopsy showed Hobson died as a result of drowning and blunt force trauma to the head. Police investigators found no sign of foul play and no evidence Jacob’s body was moved.
Abel Bolanos disappeared after leaving a party on March 31, 2007. The 19-year-old freshman planned to walk from a party on South Hyland to his dorm, Wallace Hall, on the campus of Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. At about 4 am, officials say Abel unsuccessfully tried to enter his dorm building. He was spotted in the area by several witnesses and his debit card and credit cards were found along Hayward Avenue. On April 3, Abel’s body was recovered in the southeast corner of Lake LaVerne on the ISU campus. His death was ruled an “accidental drowning.” Click here to read more.
Paul Shuman-Moore disappeared on September 25, 2006. When the family and friends of the Grinnell College student discovered a suicide note, they were shocked. They say he was happy, healthy and making plans with his band. His body was discovered 7 months later under a tarp covering a nearby country club pool. There are reports his hands were tied. Police ruled his death a suicide and his family is trying to raise awareness about undiagnosed depression in young people. Click here to see the website created in memory of Paul.




Kristi,
Several years ago, also at Iowa State University, a young blind college man was discovered in a creek less then a block south of campus. His death was ruled accidental. They decided he was drinking and walked off of the sidewalk and fell headfirst into the rocks below along the creek. Since then, graffiti has appeared on the wall within feet of where the body was discovered. In the graffiti there appears to be an indication of a smiley face. Also the date 2005 is a part of the drawing (the year of the death). Might be worth looking into.
thats sum messzed up shiz yo. i hope dey find deez “killaz” and show dem some American Juztice. FO SHO! I GOT YO BACK ISU!
Doug thank you for bringing that up. I have for years now have thought that his death was a part of this deal. I am his fiance the young blind man they discovered
his name was Jacob Hobson. We meaning none of us who have had this happend to us our families, friends, and people close to these children will rest until something is found or someone comes to justice for this reoocruance.
Jacobs’ death was within a month of Joshua Haight’s disappearance in Montana. Also I believe about 3 minutes into a youtube video on Paul Shuman Moore his friend thinks the note they found was interpreted as a suicide note but he did not think that was the case. I know sometimes parents or family don’t want to think about something so horrifying. People in Law enforcement will say sometimes people don’t want to consider suicide but sometimes they don’t want to consider another alternative either.LE needs to look at the bigger picture and not just emphasize the dangers of drinking but of them being vulnerable to other dangers besides accidental deaths. They are being too political in my opinion because they don’t want their cities and Universities to have a reputation for having stalkers and murderers.
@ sarasampson – I’m so sorry for your loss. Thank you for posting on this site. My heart goes out to you and Jacob’s family and friends.
Thanks to Sara & other people who posted and emailed me – I tracked down some more info. about Jacob Hobson’s 2005 disappearance. It’s now posted in the “Iowa Missing Men – Connection or Coincidence” article on the front page of the site.
@ sara – one more thing – if you have a picture of Jacob, I’d like to post it. Email me at kristi@sfkillers.com. Thanks
Here is a picture of Jacob Hobson (scroll down):
http://www.linnsfuneralhome.com/currentobits.asp?offset=339
@ TJ – thanks – it’s posted now
The weird thing about Abel’s is that he dropped some of his cards on Hayward on the way to Towers. His key card was then used twice around 3:23am to attempt entry to Wilson Hall(which he didn’t have access too). Wallace, where he lived, was only a 1 minute walk away (if that). Having lived in the Wallace/Wilson building in the past I know that if you’re cold you might try to enter the building from the other side and then just walk through the commons area to the other side. He might have been trying to do that, but why would he walk all the way back to Campustown and then to Lake Laverne when all he had to do was walk less than a minute to the Wallace entrance? From what I have read he was found in the lake with his keycard on him, so it wasn’t taken from him or anything.
Lets look at some possibilities:
* He drove his car to the party and parked along Lincoln Way. When he left the party he must have either realized he was too affected by drugs or alcohol to drive, or just plan forgot.
* If alcohol or drugs were to blame it could explain why he dropped some of his cards and didn’t notice, but who hasn’t dropped something and not notice even while sober?
* It was a really cold night, so that could explain why he tried to get access to Wilson in order to walk through the building to the Wallace side.
* If it wasn’t because of the cold he might have tried to enter Wilson simply because of being disoriented by drugs or alcohol.
* Around 4:30am, an hour after he attempted to enter Wilson hall, he was spotted in Campustown by at least one person who gave a very good description of him. They say shortly after that he drowned in the lake.
* All the bars in Campustown close at 2am and the streets are pretty much empty around 4:30 for the most part, except for the occasional people walking home.
* He was found in the lake with his keycard on him.
* They said the cause of death was accidental drowning caused by alcohol. Abel was only 19 and they know what party he was at and who was hosting it. They never went after the people who supplied him with alcohol. Why would they not do that if that really was the case?
@Adam
I think who ever used the card at Wilson hall did it because they wanted it to be reported. Sloan Wilson wrote ICE Brothers.Sloan is in the name Bolanos. A similar pattern also repeated with October 31st victims.It is the killers leaving clues. The book is about a character named Paul Shumann.
Some “alchemy of names” it would seem. Somehow the victims have to be linked by patterns/symbols to create a ritual that is dear to some sickos practicing black magic to pursue an even sicker goal. Feel free to speculate…who can be behind this and for what purpose?
@Toriop
You know, I think these are ritualic ceremonies, these killings…done by a wealthy elite group…who uses groups/fronts for money…
Their believes goes back to ancient Babylon and so on, number 11, 777, 13 and so on…are very satanic..Its a wealthy elite group ..
All the numbers like 11, thats a very satanic number and whatnot…
Ok, just to let me know you what I mean ,Toriop – I think you would like this link.., but its just a scratch on the surface..http://www.kentroversypapers.blogspot.com/2006/03/eyes-wide-shut-occult-symbolism.html
– [
this is how and why the truth escapes to be known.., because an everyday citizen would never by that theory…or motive, sure it sounds crazy…
I mean…using vigilant groups/idiots to do their dirty job is the oldest trick in the book…
Satanism in lower levels are a form of mind controll. Or nazism. The real Nazi´s are lawyers, judges…not skinheads, – skinheads are usefull idiots…
The everyday people as much as the Luciferians or the satanists, nazis – they come from every walk of life…and what about the New Born Christians…pheeew…they got some shady shit going on with the scientologies…and on we go…
my rant is over, heheee..
ok…
ok, just to clear it out – i didnt mean all the judges, lawyers are, cops or whatever…but hope you got my point.
I did find information on the Iowa State Police News Blotter that Jacob Hobson was arrested for public intox sometime in April before his death in July. Could there be a link between the victims being arrested or cited for something and their names ending up in the paper for it. If these people are preying on young men that are known to have a few drinks maybe they are finding this info from something like that. I don’t know, just a thought I had…
I live close to Ames and attended ISU when both Hobson and Bolanos were found…It’s so disturbing to me. I am interested in this sfk theory even though I get nightmares from it. I call my b/f every couple hours or so just to make sure he’s okay. I hope whoever’s doing this is stopped.
There are several cases where a victim has been in contact with a cop. I found one case in Florida where a suspect had a brother that was a cop.
http://www.americaiswatching.org/Joshua_Whittier.html
Possible near miss in Ames, IA??
http://amestrib.com/articles/2010/02/09/ames_tribune/news/on_the_record/doc4b7191f299e76086697285.txt
Scroll about 1/3 way down the page, under “Reports,” “Ames Police Departnment,” “Feb. 7.”
Should a young man in Ames Iowa feel safe right now? I am not so sure even with the on-going investigation into Jon Lacina’s disappearance
I am a current chemical engineering student at Iowa State University but I am away this semester…However I still receive emails from the CHE department…The other day I received this mass e-mail from one of the ChE professors. It read..
“To cheme-ugradlist, cheme-grad
IMPORTANT SAFETY MESSAGE:
I learned Friday that one of our TA’s was approached by someone outside of Sweeney, offering him a ride home. He was quite uncomfortable by this stranger approaching him, and fortunately another grad student came out of the building, which caused the individual to jump in his car and speed away.
I just want to encourage you all to be aware of your surroundings, and be careful. This has been reported to the ISU police and I encourage all of you to report any strange incidents to them as well. Please be on the lookout for each other too, and walk with a friend if possible.
Stay safe and have a good weekend”
This is really strange and sent tingles down my spine when I read this…
1…This “strange” incident occurred 1 day before the man in La Crosse WI went missing…similar situation with a young man stuck in a situation where they are going to return home for the night.
2…Eerily similar to a possible scenario with the other three dead/missing young men on ISU campus…Jon Lacina had to go 2 1/2 blocks from a party to home…maybe he was walking and some stranger offered him a ride in a similar way but there was nobody to step in with better judgment. I was a freshman when Abel Balamos was found dead in Lake Laverne on campus…At first I thought this was just another idiot that could not hold his alcohol and did something stupid…but following the possible trends on this website and with the Jon Lacina story…I am not so sure? I am away, but I always pray that NOBODY else goes missing…especially family and friends…Stay safe and alert of your surroundings at all times people.
Couple that letter above with what George Lane of Ames has chronicled here regarding being a potential target of a coworker (“Feb. 7: A harassment call was received at 1:46 a.m. from Mary Greeley Medical Center, 1111 Duff Ave., Ames. A patient at the ER said they thought someone had tried to spike their drink and was going to kill them.”) and now suffering odd debilitating health problems (like testicular pain, nausea and vomiting), I am feeling an overall sense of dread and fear for the midwest folks as well (and Jon LaCina in particular). Truly horrifying stuff.
I dont know much about these, but thought that i would post them, maybe someone on here can find more info. or even find out if they could be somehow related to sfk
http://www.omaha.com/article/20090622/NEWS01/906229975/1009- Council Bluffs, Iowa man found in the Missouri river in June.
http://www.kcci.com/news/21549605/detail.html Happened in Des Moines following a Halloween party. Found in Des Moines river.
http://www.kwwl.com/global/story.asp?s=11322982 pulled from the Cedar River in Iowa, his dad is from Rochester Minn. and he attended Iowa State.
As of today, Jon is still missing. The snow is nearly all melted here but apparently there are still no clues. There just seems to be too many similarities here to dismiss the possibility of a connection with all these cases. Thank you for all the work you’ve done Kristi. I only hope someone will finally listen and look at the facts.