THE VANISHING WOMEN OF IOWA VII

Chapter Seven The Box in the Attic On the morning of May 18, 2003, David Donovan climbed into the attic of his late grandfather's home outside Cedar Rapids. The house was scheduled for sale. The family had spent weeks sorting through decades of accumulated belongings. Most of what remained appeared unremarkable. Old furniture. Holiday decorations. Boxes of newspapers. Dust-covered filing cabinets. Then David discovered a cardboard box marked in black marker: "IOWA WOMEN" Inside were more than two hundred pages of notes. Photographs. Interview transcripts. Maps. And a manila envelope sealed with masking tape. The materials belonged to his grandfather: Michael Donovan The same newspaper reporter who had investigated the disappearances in 1973. The same reporter who had spent years pursuing the story after official interest faded. The discovery would reignite public fascination with the case. It would also raise a disturbing possibility. That Donovan had learned something important shortly before his death. Something he never published. The Reporter Michael Donovan died in 1991. Friends described him as obsessed with the disappearances. His notebooks revealed years of independent investigation. He interviewed retired officers. Witnesses. Former coworkers. Former neighbors. Many conversations were never shared publicly. Interview Archive R David Donovan Recorded 2004 Q: Had your grandfather ever discussed the case? David: Constantly. Q: Did he think he knew who did it? David: Sometimes. Q: Sometimes? David: Every year it was somebody different. The Manila Envelope The sealed envelope contained twelve photographs. Most had never been seen by investigators. Several depicted women later identified as victims. Others showed unknown individuals. One image immediately drew attention. It appeared to show a woman standing beside a cream-colored Pontiac. The photograph was badly faded. The woman's face partially obscured by sunlight. Researchers spent years attempting to enhance the image. Results proved inconclusive. The Donovan Photograph (1970s) The most famous image recovered from Donovan's attic. The woman's identity remains disputed." The Map More intriguing was a folded Iowa highway map. Dozens of handwritten marks covered the surface. Some corresponded to known disappearances. Others did not. Several locations had never appeared in police files. One location, circled repeatedly in red ink, sat near a wooded area along the Mississippi River. Donovan had written only two words beside it: CHECK AGAIN No explanation accompanied the note. The Search In 2004, local authorities authorized a limited search of the marked area. Cadaver dogs were deployed. Ground-penetrating radar was used. Volunteers assisted. The search lasted four days. Nothing was discovered. No remains. No evidence. No explanation for Donovan's notation. Interview Archive S Search Coordinator Lt. Mark Hensley Q: Were you disappointed? Hensley: Of course. Q: Why? Hensley: Everybody wanted answers. Q: Did you expect to find something? Hensley: Honestly? Yes. The Unpublished Interview Among Donovan's papers was a transcript dated February 1974. The interviewee's name had been removed. Only initials remained. The unidentified witness claimed to know the woman investigators later called the Pontiac Woman. Interview Archive T Q: What was she like? Witness: Different depending on who was watching. Q: Explain. Witness: She became whoever people needed her to be. Q: Did she ever discuss her past? Witness: Never directly. Q: Did she mention family? Witness: Once. Q: What did she say? Witness: She said she wished she'd been born somebody else. Researchers would later call this statement one of the most revealing comments ever attributed to the suspect. If authentic. The Red Notebook Hidden beneath the photographs was a small red notebook. Inside were dozens of names. Most were crossed out. Several matched victims. Others belonged to women never connected to the investigation. The meaning remains unknown. Were they sources? Witnesses? Friends? Potential victims? No explanation was provided. The notebook discovered in Donovan's attic remains one of the most debated artifacts in the case. The Final Page The last page of the notebook contained only a single sentence. Written in hurried handwriting: "She stopped before she was caught." No date appeared. No context. No explanation. Investigators have spent years debating its meaning. Some view it as evidence the Pontiac Woman voluntarily ended her crimes. Others argue it reflects nothing more than Donovan's personal theory. A New Generation The attic discovery transformed the case. For the first time in decades, younger investigators became involved. Podcasters. Journalists. Cold-case researchers. Documentary filmmakers. Each hoped Donovan's forgotten materials would finally unlock the mystery. Instead, they produced even more questions. The Woman in the Photograph In 2007, forensic imaging specialists attempted a detailed reconstruction of the woman standing beside the Pontiac. The results divided experts. Some believed the image closely resembled the disputed Judith Mercer yearbook photograph. Others argued there was insufficient detail for comparison. The disagreement continues. Attempts to identify the woman in the Donovan photograph remain inconclusive. The Missing Tape One final mystery emerged. Several references within Donovan's notes mentioned an audio cassette. The tape supposedly contained an interview recorded in March 1974. The interview has never been located. No copies are known to exist. If genuine, it may have contained the closest thing investigators ever had to a firsthand account of the suspect. Or it may never have existed at all. End of Chapter Seven Next Chapter: "The Cassette Tape" In 2011, a former radio technician claims he once heard the missing recording. His recollections introduce the most chilling possibility yet—that the Pontiac Woman may have spoken openly about the disappearances years before vanishing herself.