Found Deceased IA - Bruce Vanmatre, 54, Mapleton, 12 Dec 2020

[PommyMommy]

Authorities in Mapleton, IA searching for missing 54-year-old (ktiv.com)

Authorities in Mapleton, Iowa are searching for 54-year-old Bruce Vanmatre.

• Authorities have covered about a two square mile area in search of Bruce.
• He does not have a car, so he would have either left with someone or on foot.
• Bruce is 5'10" tall, approx 200 lbs and has underlying medical conditions.
• He has brown hair and green eyes.
• He lives at the Sunrise Apartments in Mapleton near the nursing home.
• Bruce was reported missing Monday morning when a home health service showed up for their normal appointment. Last known contact with him was Saturday afternoon.
• Authorities say Vanmatre is not dangerous and does not pose a threat to anyone.

If you have any information please contact the Mapleton Police Department at 712-840-1804 or the Monona County Law Enforcement Center at 712-423-2525.

Mayor Brent Streck

• The mayor is asking residents to search their properties – sheds, garages, campers, etc.
• Bruce has a history of being homeless and is used to hiding to keep warm.
• Hunters should keep a lookout for him, or any tracks that may lead to him.
• The only lead they are pursuing (as of the morning of 12/16) is a report of a person on 6th street by the ring house walking at 3:00am Sunday night. The person was headed north, dressed in all black, and may or may not have been Bruce.
• Based on the info they have, Bruce would either be barefoot or wearing slippers.

 

[YaYa_521]

Where did Bruce go? Mayor Brent Streck was doing such a good job updating Bruce's case. I wish he'd give another update.
BBM
Mayor Brent Streck
19 Dec 2020
I just gave Siouxland News an update. We still have no trace of Bruce.
Those out hunting this weekend please be on the lookout and report anything suspicious you come across.

Mayor Brent Streck
16 Dec 2020
The search for Bruce Vanmatre continues. We have gone property to property searching for him. We have covered about a two square mile area. Bruce does not have a car so would have either left with someone or on foot.

Bruce is 54 years old with underlying medical conditions. He is 5'10" and approximately 200 pounds. He has brown hair and green eyes. He lives at the Sunrise Apartments in Mapleton near the nursing home.

Bruce was found missing Monday morning when a home health service showed up for their normal appointment. Last known contact with him was Saturday afternoon. Bruce is not a dangerous person and does not pose a threat to anyone.

At this point I am asking residents to search their properties more thoroughly. Bruce has a history of being homeless so he is very use to hiding in places to keep warm. Please look in sheds, garages, campers, boats or anywhere that a person could fit.

With hunting season being here as well, I ask that all hunters keep a lookout for him, or tracks that may lead to him.

Right now were have looked into every lead we had. The only information we are still going on is someone reported a person on 6th street by the Ring house walking at 3:00am Sunday night. They were heading north. The person was dressed in all black. This may or may not have been Bruce.

If you see strange footprints and do not feel comfortable checking, please call the Mapleton PD right away. Going on the information we have Bruce would either be barefoot or wearing slippers.
I will be putting out a press release to the media today.

If you have any information please contact the Mapleton PD at 712-840-1804 or the Monona County Law Enforcement Center at 712-423-2525. You can also message me on this page.

Keep your eyes open everyone and help us find Bruce.

Mayor Brent Streck
15 Dec 2020
We have not been able to locate Bruce Vanmatre since Saturday.
I wanted to make everyone aware that as of this afternoon I have called in for more resources. I have asked Mapleton Fire, Mapleton Ambulance, and Monona County Sheriff to assist. The sheriff's office will be flying a drone around the area. The other agencies will be walking and searching backyards and such.
They will be knocking on your door asking permission to walk around your property. If buildings have been locked since Saturday they will not need to look in them.
We appreciate your help with this.

Mayor Brent Streck
14 Dec 2020
If anyone knows the whereabouts of Bruce Vanmatre please let myself or Monona County Law Enforcement know right away. He is not in any trouble, we just want to make sure he is ok. He is 54 years old.

 

[YaYa_521]

Thanks for the update, Mayor Streck! I hope the upcoming search effort is successful.
Mayor Brent Streck
5 Jan 2021 - 14 hrs. ago

Bruce Vanmatre Update: BBM
The Mapleton Police Department has been working with Monona County Sheriffs Office, Iowa State Patrol and Iowa's Department of Criminal Investigations. The joint effort has been working together to locate Bruce and follow any and all leads that we are given. Today with the help of Iowa State Patrol an aerial search was made that covered about a 3 mile radius of Mapleton.

There are two more actions we would like to take.
1- Have residents between the Sunrise Apartments and Casey's search their properties again very well. Or let us know and we will aid in this.

2- We want to form a organized party to search two areas that include the Maple River and the area ravines. We are targeting Saturday as the best option to get a large organized group together to check the areas very thoroughly. We need to see how the weather treats us over the next few days. We are asking for volunteers to aid in this search.

I will post more details on the search party as we get closer to the weekend. We have heard the rumors going around town and have followed up on them. If you have information that you believe will aid us in closing this case please do not post it here in the comments. Call the Mapleton Police Department with the info at 712-840-1804. If you want to remain anonymous you can drop a note in the night deposit box at city hall.

 

[YaYa_521]

I'm impressed with the effort they're putting into finding Bruce!
Mayor Brent Streck
7 Jan 2021
Search for Bruce Vanmatre:
Volunteers Needed
We are still working on details behind the scenes, but Saturday (01-09-21) morning looks to be the best time to conduct the search. We will get a little melting tomorrow but the ground should be frozen again by Saturday morning.
We plan to meet Saturday morning at 9:30am at the Mapleton Community Center on main street. There everyone will be divided into teams and given instructions. Please bring a mask with you as this may be a large gathering. Each team will have a leader that will either be a Police Officer or a person from Fire or EMS. They will each carry a radio to communicate with other groups and home base. We will depart to start the search by 10:00am. Please arrive no later than 9:45am.

1- Do not go search on your own. We have a plan that needs to be followed including maps.
2- You must be at least 18 years old to volunteer. Sorry but this is not an event for younger kids.
3- You will need to sign a team form so we know who was in each group. We will need your contact information if there are questions that come up later. This will also included a waiver form.
4- We want to conduct this search mainly on foot. That way we make sure we cover every square inch. If you bring a side by side or 4 wheeler it may be use as a support vehicle.

Here are some things you may need to bring:
A- Walking stick. We will be in some very uneven areas. Also may help in tall grass.
B- Boots and warm clothes. We will be in thick grass, wooded areas along with being along the river. Dress accordingly.
C- Any protective gear you feel necessary. Safety glasses, gloves and such.
D- Bright clothing is best so you can been seen.
E- Beverage and snack. We hope to have enough people that we can cover the areas by noon.
F- Depending on how many volunteers we get we will try to keep the area that each group will cover to about a 1/2 mile or less.
G- Flashlights. It will be daylight but there are many converts and such that need to be looked into.

Just a few other things to note. Please be respectful of the properties we will be on. I have received consent from the area land owners and I want to make sure we respect their property.
While we still hold on to hope, if you volunteer to help search please be prepared for what you might find. If this is not something you can handle please do not but yourself in this situation.
Thanks in advance if you decide to help.

 

[Weeobanite]

Very impressive effort. I hope Brent is hiding somewhere safe and warm and can be found soon.

 

[YaYa_521]

Ohhh, I hope the items they found help lead them to Bruce!
9 Jan 2021 BBM
Mayor Brent Streck
A huge thank you to everyone that participated in the search today. Bruce’s family showed up in large numbers to help and brought some really great chili and rolls for everyone. Thanks to the ladies at Caseys for some amazing breakfast pizzas to start off our day.
I wish we had news to report but we were not able to find him today. We found a few items that we will follow up with.
We will report back to DCI and see how they want to proceed next.

 

[TLobo]

Sadly, Bruce has been found deceased.

 

[YaYa_521]

Sadly, Bruce has been found deceased.

Ty for the update!

Mayor Brent Streck
1 hour ago
About 4:00pm on January 13, 2021 we received a call from a Mapleton resident that they had found a body in their backyard. Police and Ambulance responded to the scene where they found a body still partially covered in a snow bank. After the arrival of DCI and the Monona County Medical Examiner the body was positively identified as Bruce Vanmatre. Bruce had been missing since early December. The warmer temperatures melted the snow enough to make him visible. Bruce was transported to the Iowa State Medical Office for an autopsy and the investigation is ongoing. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family during this difficult time.
#
This is so so sad. Rest in peace, Bruce. My condolences to his loved ones.
ETA - TY to Mayor Streck and Mapleton residents for their outstanding efforts to find Bruce.

 

[PommyMommy]

Rest peacefully, Bruce.