IA IA - Mattie Lou Zabel, 45, Cedar Falls, 21 March 1978

[MadMcGoo]

Missing Person / NamUs #MP17179
Mattie Lou Zabel, Female, White / Caucasian
​

Date of Last Contact: March 21, 1978
Missing From: Cedar Falls, Black Hawk County, Iowa
First Name: Mattie
Middle Name: Lou
Last Name: (Garner) Zabel
Date of Birth: March 7, 1933
Missing Age: 45 Years
Height: 5' 2" (62 Inches)
Weight: 118 lbs
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Medical Conditions: Zabel was suffering from depression at the time of her disappearance.

Details of Disappearance: Zabel was last seen by her family in her hometown of Cedar Falls, Iowa on March 21, 1978. After she disappeared, a frozen chicken was found thawing in her kitchen sink; it was meant to be for her family's dinner. Zabel has never been heard from again. The day after she was last seen, her vehicle was found at Black Hawk Park with her purse inside. She enjoyed taking walks in the park. An extensive search by Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Deputies, search dogs, divers and a National Guard helicopter turned up no trace of Mattie.

Authorities theorized Zabel either fell into the Cedar River by accident, or intentionally drowned herself. She had been under treatment for depression, but her psychiatrist told authorities she had shown marked improvement in the months prior to her disappearance.

There is no evidence that Zabel left of her own accord. Her credit cards were never used after she disappeared, and she did not have sufficient assets to sustain herself for very long. Zabel worked as a teacher's aide at River Hills School in 1978. She left behind a husband and three children. She was declared legally dead seven years after her disappearance. Her case remains unsolved.

Investigating Agencies:
-Cedar Falls Police Department
Mike Hayes, Captain: (319) 268-5139
Dennis O'Neill, Law Enforcement
NCIC Number: M-090776663
Agency Case Number: 78-459
-UNT Center for Human Identification: (855) 626-7600
Melissa Gregory, NamUs Staff: (817) 304-0893

Sources:
NamUs
The Charley Project
The Doe Network
Iowa Cold Cases

Exclusions:
UP6249 11/14/1980 Rockingham VA
UP6629 02/03/1991 Frederick VA
UP8493 12/06/1993 Fairfax VA
UP6279 12/18/1996 Fairfax VA
UP6249 11/14/1980 Rockingham VA
UP6279 12/18/1996 Fairfax VA
UP6661 02/03/1991 Stafford VA
UP12683 06/06/2014 Newport News VA

 

[glamourkitty1922]

Poor lady. I can't find much on her other than what's in the post there.

 

[spartanx]

Poor lady. I can't find much on her other than what's in the post there.

I also did not find much information about her apart from what appears in the charley project and in the doe network in the latter they say that there is the possibility that she escaped of her own free will and in the charley project they say that she did not leave of her own free will ... in any case, I have the impression that she was accosted as she got out of her vehicle and taken away...
rest in peace