COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – On February 17, 2024, the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call reporting an unidentified deceased female body located in rural Fremont County, Iowa. The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office requested the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) to assist with the investigation.

The body was transported to the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner and later identified as Brianne McIntosh, 28, of Council Bluffs, Iowa. Autopsy results indicate that McIntosh sustained severe facial injury related to her death. McIntosh had been reported as a missing person to the Omaha Police Department on December 12, 2023, by a relative.

On October 14, 2024, DCI agents, the Council Bluffs Police Department, and the 4th Judicial Fugitive Investigation Unit arrested Justin Sickler, 45, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, on the following criminal charges related to McIntosh’s death:

Count 1: Murder in the First Degree (Class A Felony)

Count 2: Abuse of a Corpse (Class C Felony)

Count 3: Theft in the 3rd Degree (Aggravated Misdemeanor)

Sickler was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Pottawattamie County Jail.

Justin Sickler booking photo

(Radio Iowa) – University of Northern Iowa football fans are delighting in watching a new four-legged member of the Panther Marching Band take the field at halftime this season. Winnie, a golden retriever, is the service dog for sophomore student Gabi Riessen, who has a chronic condition called POTS, or postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome.

“My heart rate fluctuates more than other people,” Riessen says. “I can get dizzy just standing, and so Winnie will warn me before I pass out, or if my heart rate’s too high, so I can sit down.” Riessen transferred to the Cedar Falls campus when her old school didn’t allow her to join activities because she would need her service dog with her. U-N-I marching band director Justin Mertz says Riessen and Winnie are now local celebrities.

“When we first spoke on the phone, the plan was, you know, she was not really gonna really do any marching,” Mertz says, “But then we met her, we met Winnie, and we saw what they would both be capable of, and we agreed to give it a try. And the next thing, you know, there’s a dog on the field.”

Riessen plays cymbals and mallet percussion in the band’s stationary frontline ensemble. Winnie accompanies her human, dressed in full gear and attached to her by a leash around Riessen’s waist. You can watch Riessen and Winnie perform next at U-N-I’s Homecoming football game against Missouri State on October 26th.

(Radio Iowa) – The woman who founded a website about missing Iowans and unsolved Iowa murders says three years into the project, her stepfather died in an explosion. Jodi Ewing says her stepfather — Earl Thelander of Onawa — was renovating a home when it exploded and he died in 2007 from severe burns. Ewing says the explosion was caused by thieves who stole 20-dollars-worth of copper from propane gas lines in the home.

“Our family lost the patriarch due to a crime that has not yet been solved,” Ewing says. “We still believe that there’s hope, that eventually justice will be served.” This case is among over 400 so-called cold cases in Iowa. Ewing’s website — Iowa Cold Cases dot org (www.iowacoldcases.org) — tells the victims’ stories.

“Some people will say, ‘Well, it’s been 30 years. It’s never going to be solved,’ or something like that,” Ewing says, “but doesn’t matter if the perpetrator is dead or if they were executed in another state or what the circumstances are, just getting a name after years, decades it makes a huge difference for the families to know who is responsible for the death of their loved one.”

Ewing started the website 20 years ago while she was working for a newspaper in Sioux City and was getting calls from families asking her to write about their loved one’s case.

(Atlantic, Iowa)  Four drivers were recognized for going above and beyond at the Southwest Iowa Transit Agency’s (SWITA) fall driver meeting on Saturday, September 28th at the Atlantic Golf and Country Club.

Wray Ludington

SWITA Driver Wray Ludington was recognized for helping to discover that a regular rider needed help at his home. Wray knows his riders well and became concerned when a daily user of the Atlantic taxi service had not been seen for a couple of days. Wray contacted the Atlantic Police, and they conducted a wellness check. It turns out this client was in need of medical attention. Wray’s knowledge of his riders made a major difference in this person’s well-being.

Another health-related situation arose during a SWITA trip that was being driven by Pete Menke. A commotion started in the back of a work route bus overnight and Pete had the quick-thinking reaction to pull over and assess the situation. A rider was suffering a seizure and Pete immediately called 911 to get help. Medical responders met the bus on Interstate 80 and tended to the rider. Pete is a regular night driver for work routes from Omaha to Oakland.

Pete Menke

Officials say two drivers were also recognized for going above and beyond to make RAGBRAI transportation a success in Glenwood, Red Oak, and Atlantic this summer. Lynn Baumbach wasn’t initially sure about shuttling large groups around with so many bikes and people in town, but she dominated the challenge. She covered extra time as needed and handled changes to the routes. She said she enjoyed the experience.

Mike Ames was also a standout driver during RAGBRAI week. Mike helped fill backlogged stops in each town and was instrumental in adjusting the setup in Red Oak on the fly.  Many people have reached out to say how much they appreciated the SWITA shuttle service during the first three RAGBRAI overnight stops and commented how well it went compared to other locations.

Mike Ames

Lynn Baumbach

(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – A man from Nebraska died in a crash early this (Monday) morning, in Guthrie County. According to the sheriff’s office, Guthrie County dispatch received a 911 call at around 2:50-a.m. from a man who saw a vehicle in a field near Frontier Road, just north of White Pole Road. The caller said the vehicle’s airbags deployed, but he could not find anyone around the vehicle. Adair Fire and Rescue responded to the scene a short time later. When a deputy arrived on the scene at around 3:20-a.m., he was informed a person (presumably from the vehicle) was found deceased about 30-feet from the vehicle. The deceased was identified as 41-year-old Ross M. Ingalise, of Omaha. The man had been ejected from the vehicle, a KIA Optima. He was not wearing a seat belt.

An investigation determined the KIA was traveling north on White Pole Road when it left the roadway on a curve. The car entered a ditch and continued north through the ditch until it struck an embankment along the side of Frontier Road. The impact with the embankment caused the vehicle to go airborne for several yards before it struck the top half of a telephone pole, causing the pole to snap in-half. The vehicle continued airborne for several more yards until it landed in a fence row for a pasture.

The car continued through the fence at some point, ejecting Mr. Ingalise as the vehicle turned back to the southeast. His body was transported to the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Ankeny. The crash remains under investigation. Damage to the Guthrie County REC telephone pole was estimated at $1,500. The car was a total loss.