On a cold fall morning in October 1978, near Rock Rapids, Iowa, a crew burying telephone cables made the grim discovery of a young woman's body hidden in an overgrown ditch off Highway 182.
With no identification found at the scene, the woman was immediately classified as a Jane Doe.
For 27 years, Jane Doe lay beneath a gravestone reading "Unknown Female" before she finally reclaimed her name: Wilma June Nissen.
Now, investigators and Wilma's daughter, Krissi, a daughter she never met, are trying to piece together Wilma's final...
On a cold fall morning in October 1978, near Rock Rapids, Iowa, a crew burying telephone cables made the grim discovery of a young woman's body hidden in an overgrown ditch off Highway 182.
With no identification found at the scene, the woman was immediately classified as a Jane Doe.
For 27 years, Jane Doe lay beneath a gravestone reading "Unknown Female" before she finally reclaimed her name: Wilma June Nissen.
Now, investigators and Wilma's daughter, Krissi, a daughter she never met, are trying to piece together Wilma's final years and finally solve her brutal murder.
If you have any information about Wilma’s murder, "Sugar" or "Peaches," please reach out to one of the following links:
Crime Stoppers: 800-222-TIPS
Cold Case Coalition Tip Line (385) 258-3313
Lyon County Sheriff’s Office: 712-472-8300
And the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office email: sheriff@lyoncountyia.com
The Iowa Attorney General’s Cold Case Unit 1-800-242-5100 and their email: coldcase@ag.iowa.gov
Links to Krissi’s social media and GoFundMe:
Email: Justice4Wilma@aol.com
Instagram: @wilma_june_nissen_cold_case
Reddit: Wilma June Nissen cold case discussion page: r/WilmaJuneNissen
TikTok- Krissi_1977
X- @MyMomsMurder
And Krissi’s Go Fund Me: https://gofund.me/663f6d31
If you have any information about Wilma’s murder, here are the following links:
Lyon County Sheriff’s Office: 712-472-8300
And the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office email: sheriff@lyoncountyia.com
Crime Stoppers: 800-222-TIPS
Cold Case Coalition Tip Line (385) 258-3313
The Iowa Attorney General’s Cold Case Unit 1-800-242-5100 and their email: coldcase@ag.iowa.gov
Current Sheriffs of Lyon County: Sheriff Brian Hilt: (712) 472-8310
Amy Stoner (712) 472-8326
A huge thank you goes to Charity Dodd for sharing her research with us. You rock!!
As always, thank you to our team.
Listener Discretion by Edward October
Research & Writing by Lauretta Allen
Executive Producers Nico & Jesse of The Inky Pawprint
https://theinkypawprint.com
Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_zhYznrqiQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZKyyLs2Kx4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk-_5Hfsk20
https://seasonofjustice.org/featured/wilma-june-nissen/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/131684186/?match=1&terms=dead%20body%20found%20Rock%20Rapids
https://www.newspapers.com/image/358217961/?match=1&terms=dead%20body%20found%20Rock%20Rapids
https://www.newspapers.com/image/336088160/?match=1&terms=dead%20body%20found%20Rock%20Rapids
https://www.newspapers.com/image/337648775/?match=1&terms=Wilma%20June%20Nissen
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/193751059/june_eva-nissen (Wilma's mother's Findagrave entry)
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19379833/wilma-june-nissen
https://www.nwestiowa.com/news/new-lead-for-lyon-county-cold-case/article_31e9c062-1961-11e6-a014-53443c67e206.html
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/74110707/charles_clarence-nissen
https://www.the-sun.com/news/14825036/wilma-nissen-cold-case-mom-murdered-krissi-atkisson-iowa/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/1174347428/?terms=%22June%20Eva%20Nissen%22
https://www.newspapers.com/image/1174347457/?match=1&terms=%22June%20Eva%20Nissen%22
.https://www.jurrensfuneralhome.com/obituaries/4722694 Det Craig Vinson obituary
https://projectcoldcase.org/2025/05/12/wilma-nissen/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/335769175/?match=1&terms=%22John%20Van%20Gammeren%22
https://www.dglobe.com/news/perjury-charges-dismissed-in-cold-case-murder
Petition: https://c.org/wPThnwH2LC
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