Ada Jo Vangrinsven was 32 when she was last seen on August 5, 2021, at the Isanti VFW where she worked. She was off duty that night and had been drinking with Richard Melvin Peterson II, the VFW’s vice commander. Though a patron offered to drive her home, Peterson insisted he would take her and instead drove her to the Dugout Bar and Grill in Bethel. Surveillance at the VFW showed them appearing affectionate, which concerned some observers because Peterson was married.

Vangrinsven failed to appear for her shift the next day, August 6, and her car remained parked at the VFW. Searches by law enforcement and volunteers followed. On August 10 investigators found her body buried on a rural property in Athens Township belonging to Peterson; recovery required a backhoe. An autopsy determined she died from a single gunshot wound to the back of the head.

The investigation focused on Peterson after his wife reported seeing him use a tractor to dig holes on their property on the morning of August 6, and cell records placed both Peterson and Vangrinsven on his property the night she disappeared. If anyone has information about Ada Jo Vangrinsven, her movements that night, or activity at the Athens Township property, please come forward.