Elizabeth Forshee-Syperda, 22, of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, was last seen the evening of July 16, 2000. Her roommate saw her about 10:30 p.m. before leaving for work; by early morning Elizabeth was gone. Her personal items, including her last paycheck, were left behind and her apartment door was locked from the outside. She did not have access to a vehicle, and there was no bank activity after she disappeared, prompting concern she had not left voluntarily.

Elizabeth had been estranged from her husband, Michael Syperda; their relationship involved documented domestic abuse and, a month before she vanished, Michael was involved in a violent altercation with Elizabeth and her roommate and later pleaded guilty to assault. No immediate evidence linked him to her disappearance and he moved to Colorado.

Despite the lack of a body, investigators pursued the case for years while Elizabeth’s family kept her name in the public eye with annual events and billboards.