Still Missing IA - Christian Daniel Balke-Thompson, 26, Rockwell City, Calhoun Cty, 3 May 2020 *arrest 2026*

[imstilla.grandma]

Christian Daniel Balke-Thompson, 26, is a white male, 6 feet, 1 inch tall, 180 pounds, with light brown hair, hazel eyes and wears eye glasses. Balke-Thompson has several tattoos, including bats on his right arm, a bullet on the side of his neck and his mother Michelle’s name on his left forearm. He also goes by “B-T.”

Balke-Thompson is currently listed as a missing person and law enforcement is actively working the case, Special Agent Ray Fiedler, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said.

“We’re just continuing running down leads and really don’t know if he left on his own,” he said. “I can’t say there was foul play, I can’t say he left on his own, I just don’t know.”

Fiedler said the DCI can’t give out much information on whether Balke-Thompson is believed to have any personal items or a vehicle with him, as it could hinder the investigation.

“There are certain things that we’re looking at, but I don’t want to give that out because only certain people would know that,” he said.

Michelle Balke, Balke-Thompson’s mother, said she last saw her son on April 29 for his son’s birthday party. Balke-Thompson has two young sons at home.

“He wanted to talk to me, we didn’t get to talk that night,” she said. “Then on Saturday, when I tried to call and text him, his phone was off, so I just thought it was off or dead and didn’t think much of it.”

“I just think somebody had to have seen something and if they’re his so-called friends, I don’t know why they wouldn’t help,” she said. “Why wouldn’t you help somebody come home to their children and their mother, whether it gets you in trouble or not? It’s just unbelievable.”

“We all want him to come home no matter what, it doesn’t matter what happened,” she said. “We just want him to come home. His boys miss him, his whole family misses him, everybody.”

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Balke-Thompson is asked to call the Calhoun County Law Enforcement Center at 712-297-7583, or the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office at 712-792-4393.
Rockwell City man missing | News, Sports, Jobs - Messenger News

Missing Persons

If you have information regarding the disappearance of this individual, please contact: the Missing Person Information Clearinghouse Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation 1-800-346-5507.

If you recognize this missing person, DO NOT TAKE ANY ACTION YOURSELF.
Get as much information as you can (e.g. license number of a vehicle, exact location of sighting, activities individual involved in) and then call the number(s) listed above.

<modsnip>

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Balke-Thompson pleads guilty to willful injury in Lake City knife case | The Graphic-Advocate

Man enters not guilty plea on attempted murder charge | The Graphic-Advocate

 

[WeAreWatching]

This sounds like family and LE already know who they are looking at if foul play is suspected...
This feels like a murder, not a runaway, accident, suicide. Feels like LE knows violence was at play.
What a cold cruel world it can be. Wishing for a positive outcome for the sake of those little children, but my intuition says he is no longer with us.


imo

 

[GraceG]

The attempted murder was not his first arrest. Balke-thompson, Christian Daniel Mugshot | 2017-09-18 Webster County, Iowa Arrest

 

[Darling136]

Still listed missing

Missing Persons

 

[mlhenn]

Missing man’s car found in shed fire near Carroll

Law-enforcement officers recovered what they believe to be “debris” of the car that was owned by Christian Balke-Thompson, 26, who was reported missing to the Rockwell City Police Department on May 3.


Further information about the incident is being withheld until an investigation is complete.

Balke-Thompson is still listed as a missing person by the Iowa Department of Public Safety.

 

[YaYa_521]

Missing Persons

Name: Christian D Balke-thompson
Age At Report: 26
Age Now: 26
Weight: 240 lbs.
Height: 6'01"
Race: White
Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Hazel
Sex: Male
Incident Type: Other adult missing

Christian Balke-thompson was reported missing to the Rockwell City PD, in Rockell City on May 03, 2020.

If you have information regarding the disappearance of this individual, please contact: the Missing Person Information Clearinghouse Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation 1-800-346-5507.

If you recognize this missing person, DO NOT TAKE ANY ACTION YOURSELF.
Get as much information as you can (e.g. license number of a vehicle, exact location of sighting, activities individual involved in) and then call the number(s) listed above.

 

[YaYa_521]

IDPS Is Looking for Missing Persons
November 14, 2020
Snipped

The Iowa Department of Public Safety needs your help in locating these missing individuals. This is not an Amber Alert, but merely the most recent cases of missing persons reported to the department.

Christian Balke-Thompson was reported missing to the Rockwell City PD, in Rockell City on May 03, 2020.

 

[YaYa_521]

‘Someone knows something’
MAY 15, 2021
SBM

It’s been an entire year since M. B. has heard her oldest son’s voice, but every day still feels like that first day she reported him missing to the Rockwell City Police Department. [snip] DCI has been keeping in touch with the family over the past year, but they haven’t received any new information either. [snip] Anyone with information about Balke-Thompson’s whereabouts are encouraged to call the Missing Person Information Clearinghouse of the Iowa DCI at 1-800-346-5507.

 

[lindamichelle1]

Still missing

 

[mlhenn]

Christian Daniel Balke-Thompson – The Charley Project

February 16, 2022; casefile added.

Christian Daniel Balke-Thompson

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Balke-Thompson, circa 2020; Balke-Thompson's tattoo


Details of Disappearance
Balke-Thompson was last seen in Rockwell, Iowa on May 3, 2020. The woman he was dating drove from his Rockwell home to a farm in Carroll, Iowa. He has never been heard from again. Shortly after 9:00 p.m. the next day, his vehicle was found abandoned and burned in a shed in the 22300 block of 150th Street, about five miles north of Carroll.

Balke-Thompson left behind two young sons. Few details are available in his case.

 

[Blonded]

Christian Daniel Balke-Thompson – The Charley Project

February 16, 2022; casefile added.

Christian Daniel Balke-Thompson

• 

• 
• 
• 

Balke-Thompson, circa 2020; Balke-Thompson's tattoo


Details of Disappearance
Balke-Thompson was last seen in Rockwell, Iowa on May 3, 2020. The woman he was dating drove from his Rockwell home to a farm in Carroll, Iowa. He has never been heard from again. Shortly after 9:00 p.m. the next day, his vehicle was found abandoned and burned in a shed in the 22300 block of 150th Street, about five miles north of Carroll.

Balke-Thompson left behind two young sons. Few details are available in his case.

Odd that he is listed at 6'1 240 here but 6'1 180 elsewhere. Big difference between those two weights.

 

[dotr]

Arrest!

Carroll County man arrested for first-degree murder in 2020 missing person cold case

Christian Balke-Thompson has not been found.

www.weareiowa.com

January 22, 2026 rbbm
''CARROLL COUNTY, IOWA, Iowa — Law enforcement arrested a Carroll County man for first-degree murder in connection with the 2020 disappearance of Christian Balke-Thompson.

''33-year-old Albert John Wolfe of Lanesboro was taken into custody Thursday regarding Balke-Thompson's disappearance, which was reported on May 2, 2020, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) said.''
Balke-Thompson still has not been found.''

Carroll County man accused of murdering 26 year old missing since 2020 - Radio Iowa

A Carroll County man has been arrested in connection with the disappearance of a man whose body has never been found. Twenty-six-year-old Christian Balke-Thompson of Carroll was reported missing in May of 2020. Yesterday, authorities arrested 33-year-old Albert John Wolfe of Lanesboro and...

www.radioiowa.com

Albert Wolfe of Lanesboro is being held in the Carroll County Jail. (Booking photo provided by Iowa Dept. of Public Safety)
''A Carroll County man has been arrested in connection with the disappearance of a man whose body has never been found.
Twenty-six-year-old Christian Balke-Thompson of Carroll was reported missing in May of 2020. Yesterday, authorities arrested 33-year-old Albert John Wolfe of Lanesboro and charged him with first degree murder.

Court documents indicate Wolfe’s former girlfriend told authorities she was driving Balke-Thompson’s car and he was sleeping when they reached Wolfe’s farm early on a Saturday morning. The woman says Wolfe had her to park the car in a shed, she went inside the house, heard a gunshot, ran back out and saw Balke-Thompson had been shot. She indicated he was wrapped in a tarp and his body was set on fire.''

 

[dotr]

Attorney General Bird’s Iowa Cold Case Unit Announces Murder Charge for the 2020 Disappearance of Ch

Iowa Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General news releases.

www.iowaattorneygeneral.gov

''January 22, 2026​

Attorney General Bird’s Iowa Cold Case Unit Announces Murder Charge for the 2020 Disappearance of Christian Balke-Thompson​

DES MOINES—Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird today announced an arrest for the murder of Christian Balke-Thompson who disappeared in 2020. The Iowa Cold Case unit helped investigate the case. Attorney General Bird launched the statewide unit in July 2024.

Christian Balke-Thompson, 26, of Carroll, Iowa, was last seen in the early morning hours of May 2, 2020. On the evening of May 4, 2020, a vehicle believed to be his was found burned in a shed in the 22300 block of 150th Street, about five miles north of Carroll.

His disappearance was reported to the Rockwell City Police Department. Over the years, investigators pursued numerous leads and conducted searches, but Balke-Thompson was never found. The Iowa Cold Case unit was able to assist with a focused team to meet with witnesses and pursue leads in the case.

“This arrest is a milestone in securing justice for Christian Balke-Thompson and his family,” said Attorney General Bird. “No one should get away with murder, and no family should have to wait for answers. I’m deeply grateful for the hard work of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department, the Carroll County Attorney’s Office, and our Cold Case Unit that led to this arrest.”

Albert John Wolfe, a 33-year-old man from Lanesboro, Iowa, was arrested on January 22, 2026. He is charged with First Degree Murder.

The investigating agencies were assisted by the Rockwell City Police Department, Iowa State Patrol, Webster County Attorney’s Office, and Iowa Search and Rescue K9.

A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

The Iowa Attorney General’s Office and Carroll County Attorney’s Office will prosecute the case in Carroll County. The investigation into Christian Balke-Thompson's case is still active.''

Jan 23, 2026
Albert Wolfe of Lanesboro has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the 2020 disappearance of Christian Balke-Thompson.

 

[mlhenn]

Christian Daniel Balke-Thompson – The Charley Project

Updated

Details of Disappearance​

Balke-Thompson was last seen in Rockwell, Iowa on May 3, 2020. The woman he was dating drove from his Rockwell home to a farm in Carroll, Iowa. He has never been heard from again. Shortly after 9:00 p.m. the next day, his four-door 1997 Toyota Corolla was found abandoned and burned in a shed in the 22300 block of 150th Street, about five miles north of Carroll.

In January 2026, Albert John Wolfe was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in Balke-Thompson's case. A photo of him is posted with this case summary. Wolfe's former girlfriend told police that she and Balke-Thompson had gone to Wolfe's farm early in the morning. She parked the car in a shed and went inside, then she heard a gunshot and ran outside and saw that Balke-Thompson had been shot. She said his body was wrapped in a tarp and set alight.

Two days after ths incident, Wolfe's neighbors reported a fire on his property and the police found Balke-Thompson's burned car in the shed. A day after that, after learning Balke-Thompson was missing, the police returned to the shed and discovered his car had been buried under dirt, manure and debris. Wolfe said he had dismantled the car after it caught fire and that he knew nothing of Balke-Thompson's disappearance.

Wolfe is awaiting trial. Balke-Thompson has not been located. He left behind two young sons. Foul play is suspected in his case due to the circumstances involved.