On August 6, 1972, 25-year-old Lynn Louise Schuller was last seen at her residence in the 3100 block of 30th Street Drive southeast in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. According to her husband, Keith Schuller, he and their three-year-old son departed from the house at 7:30 a.m. for a fishing trip, at which time Lynn was still asleep. Upon their return five hours later, they discovered that both Lynn and her bicycle were gone. Keith Schuller then left a note for his wife before taking their son out again.
An hour later, he came back to find Lynn's bicycle lying on its side in their front yard, a detail he found uncharacteristic as she was known to take good care of it; however, Lynn was still nowhere to be found. All of her personal belongings, including her purse and clothing, were left behind at the residence.
The investigation into Lynn Schuller's disappearance soon focused on her husband, Keith. He was arrested for refusing to aid an officer after he declined to participate in a search of the nearby woods, claiming he had already looked there. Although the charge was later dropped, authorities executed a search warrant on the Schuller home and confiscated several items, including a snow shovel, a machete, two knives, and a spade. Keith's cooperation with the investigation was short-lived, and he soon hired a lawyer. Lynn's parents, who resided in Minnesota, harbored suspicions that their son-in-law had murdered their daughter. It was revealed that the couple had been experiencing marital difficulties, with Keith having requested a divorce the year prior, which Lynn had refused. A few months before she vanished, Lynn confided in her mother in a letter that Keith had made threats against her life, though she did not believe he would act on them.
Further adding to the suspicious circumstances, it was known that Keith Schuller owned a six-foot alligator and several snakes in 1972, leading to rumors that he may have disposed of his wife's body by feeding her to his reptiles. However, police dismissed this theory, stating that the animals were too small to have consumed a human body. In the years following Lynn's disappearance, Keith made seven attempts to file for divorce, but each time he withdrew the petition when Lynn's parents intervened on her behalf. He was finally granted a divorce in 1976 by filing in a different county without his in-laws' knowledge. In 1978, he had Lynn declared legally dead, allowing their son to inherit her life insurance benefits. Keith Schuller has since remarried and divorced and now lives in another part of the country, maintaining his innocence in his wife's disappearance. Foul play is suspected in the case, which remains unsolved.Last Seen: Aug 6, 1972
