Leah Rowlands, a 41-year-old mother of two who had recently moved to Cozad, Nebraska, was killed on March 10, 1997, during her first shift as manager of the local Amoco gas station off Interstate 80. Shortly before 10:30 a.m., a man in a leather bomber-style jacket, dark sweatpants, a hooded sweatshirt and no shoes entered, waited for a mother and daughter to leave, then demanded money. After Leah handed over about $150, he forced her to lie on the floor behind the counter and fatally shot her three times with a 9mm pistol. The suspect took the cash, a soda, cigarettes and a lighter, left in a red Pontiac Grand Am (1992–1995 model), and was captured on the store’s surveillance camera.

Investigators recovered fingerprints and pursued leads after the case aired on America’s Most Wanted, but no arrest has ever been made and the case remains open with the Cozad Police Department, Dawson County Sheriff’s Office and Nebraska State Patrol. Some in the family suspect Leah’s abusive ex-husband may have been involved, while law enforcement has considered a random robbery by a transient. Who knew Leah, saw that Pontiac near Cozad that morning, or has information that could finally identify the barefoot man seen on the tape?