IA BARBARA LEALYN LENZ: Missing from Woodbine, IA - 6 May 1989 - Age 31 *ARREST 2025*

[Romulus]

The Doe Network:
Case File 54DFIA

Barbara Lealyn Lenz
Missing since May 6, 1989 from Woodbine, Harrison County, Iowa
Classification: Involuntary

Vital Statistics

Date Of Birth: August 30, 1957
Age at Time of Disappearance: 31 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'7; 130 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; blue eyes.
Marks, Scars: She has a purple colored scar 2 inches below the elbow on her left forearm and a scar near her left eye.
DNA: Available

Circumstances of Disappearance
Lenz was last seen in Harrison County, Iowa on May 6, 1989.
Barbara lived about 17 miles northeast of Missouri Valley in Woodbine. Barbara, the mother of a 3 year old daughter, had been visiting her mother every day in the Missouri Valley Hospital. When she didn't show up for two days her mother became worried and sent the family to check on her. When her family checked on her apartment, they found the coffee pot was on and half full. Barbara's purse, car and keys were there and the laundry was half folded.

Investigators
If you have any information on the Lenz's case, please contact:
Harrison County Sheriff's Office
712-644-2244
OR
Iowa Missing Persons' Clearinghouse
800-346-5507
Email

All information may be submitted on an anonymous basis.

NCIC Number: M-360981053
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source Information: Iowa Missing Persons' Clearinghouse
NamUs

54DFIA - Barbara Lealyn Lenz

edited by staff to add media com link

BARBARA LEALYN LENZ has been missing from Woodbine, #IOWA since 6 May 1989. It's believed she left against her will.

Lenz was last seen in Harrison County, Iowa on May 6, 1989. Barbara, the mother of a 3 yr old daughter, had been visiting her mother every day in the Hospital. When she didn't show up for two days her mother sent the family to check on her. They...

www.crimewatchers.net

*CLICK THE REPORT BUTTON IF YOU'D LIKE THIS CASE MOVED TO THE GENERAL DISCUSSION AREA TO BE OPENED FOR COMMENTING.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

https://ottumwaradio.com/2025/07/council-bluffs-man-charged-in-1989-cold-case-disappearance-of-barbara-lenz/

Council Bluffs Man Charged in 1989 Cold Case Disappearance of Barbara Lenz​

A Council Bluffs man has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection to the 1989 disappearance of Barbara Lenz — a case that remained unsolved for 35 years.

Robert Davis, now 61, was Lenz’s boyfriend at the time she vanished. He was the last known person to see her after dropping her off at her apartment in Woodbine, Iowa. She was supposed to meet her ex-boyfriend in Omaha later that day but never arrived. Despite suspicions that she had been taken against her will, Lenz was never found and the case went cold.

The recent arrest comes after the Iowa Attorney General’s Office re-established its Cold Case Unit, which reopened the investigation. By revisiting past interviews, gathering new witness statements, and re-examining evidence, investigators were able to build a case against Davis.

Court records outline a history of domestic violence, including documented assaults on Lenz and her young daughter. In the days leading up to her disappearance, Lenz had reportedly shared fears about Davis and expressed a desire to leave him. Witnesses reported seeing the couple argue the morning she disappeared, and one later claimed to have seen Davis injure Lenz before they left his residence.

That same evening, Davis told someone he was looking for her but couldn’t find her. Another witness came forward alleging Davis and his brother had buried something in a rural area shortly after Lenz went missing.

Davis stopped cooperating with law enforcement shortly after the disappearance and remained off investigators’ radar until now. Years later, he was convicted in an unrelated kidnapping and sexual abuse case involving another woman.

Lenz’s daughter, who was just three when her mother disappeared, is now an adult with children of her own. The arrest marks a major step toward long-awaited answers for her and others who have lived with decades of uncertainty.

The case will be prosecuted in Harrison County and remains under active investigation.https://simhcottumwa.org/