Jane Ellen Wakefield, a 26-year-old teacher from Iowa City, Iowa, was last seen on September 6, 1975. After spending part of the day riding her bicycle with friends, Jane returned to her mobile home at the Bon-Aire Mobile Home Lodge. A neighbor spoke to her shortly after she returned and reported that Jane seemed normal. However, later that evening, a different neighbor heard someone yelling, though the source of the noise was never investigated.
Jane was reported missing two days later when she failed to show up for work at Penn Elementary School.
Jane was in the midst of a divorce from her husband, John Wakefield, at the time of her disappearance, and investigators quickly began to suspect foul play. Her bicycle was found locked to a yard lamp outside her home, and her Fiat was parked in its assigned space, with no signs of a struggle inside her residence. Authorities initially considered the possibility that she had joined a religious cult active in the area, but that theory was soon dismissed after no evidence supporting it was found.
Despite numerous searches and forensic investigations, including the collection of bone fragments and a tooth filling from an incinerator connected to her husband, no definitive evidence has ever been found linking anyone to her disappearance. The case grew cold, and Jane was declared legally dead seven years later, in 1982. Although a suspect was identified, there was never enough evidence to bring charges, and Jane's remains have never been recovered. Her case remains unsolved, and foul play is strongly suspected.Last Seen: Sep 5, 1975
