We asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us about unsolved mysteries, little-known true crime stories, and other deeply upsetting tales, and it turns out MANY of them were stories from the Midwest. Here's what they shared:
Warning: Graphic and disturbing content ahead including mentions of assault, rape, and murder.
1. Ohio: The harrowing abductions, and eventual rescue, of Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight.
What happened:
Between 2002 to 2004, Michelle Knight (21), Amanda Berry (16), then Gina DeJesus (14), were kidnapped by a man named Ariel Castro who went on to restrain, abuse, and sexually assault the three women and girls "over and over."
After roughly 10 years, in May 2013, Castro left his house one day and also left the door unlocked. Neighbors Charles Ramsey and Angel Cordero heard Amanda scream for help and kicked the door in, freeing her and her then-6-year-old daughter. Amanda called 911, and responding officers freed Michelle and Gina.
Castro died by suicide in December 2013.
2. Ohio: The disappearance of Brian Shaffer who was last seen on CCTV.
What happened:
Medical student Brian Shaffer was last seen in Ohio, on CCTV, going up an escalator to a popular campus bar. But the video never showed him leaving. Foul play has still not been ruled out.
3. Iowa: The absolutely horrifying Villisca axe murders that were so shocking they inspired many movies.
What happened:
Sometime between June 9 and 10, 1912, the Moore family — parents Josiah and Sarah, and their four children — and two guests (also children), were bludgeoned to death in the night at the Moores' home in Villisca, Iowa. The eight victims were killed with an axe that the killer(s) had found in the backyard. According to reports, the killer(s) had searched the house for pieces of clothing to cover the mirrors in the house and glass in the doors. Authorities also found a slab of bacon next to the axe, a plate of uneaten food, and a bowl of bloody water in the kitchen. Several leads were followed over the years, but it remains a cold case.
4. Iowa: The disappearance of Jodi Huisentruit who was believed to have been ambushed.
What happened:
Huisentruit was a news anchor in Mason City, Iowa who disappeared on June 27, 1995, on the way to work. There were apparently signs of a struggle outside of her apartment, so it was presumed she was abducted. Although there were thousands of tips and interviews conducted, Huisentruit was not found and was declared legally dead in 2001.
5. Illinois: The Chicago Tylenol Murders, which killed seven people and led to reforms in packaging for over-the-counter drugs.
What happened:
The "Tylenol murders" were a series of poisonings that killed seven people in the Chicago area in 1982. The Tylenol capsules the victims had taken had been laced with potassium cyanide. No suspect has ever been found or convicted. The crime is the reason there is now tamper-proof packaging on many over-the-counter drugs and also food.
6. Ohio: The anonymous Circleville letter writer who terrorized people in the community.
What happened:
From the late '70s up until the '90s, an unknown person began writing creepy letters to people throughout the town of Circleville. These letters contained things like information about affairs, threats, and other eerie personal details.
7. Nebraska: Michael Ryan and the extremely brutal “Church of Yahweh” cult murders.
What happened:
Ryan, who died in prison in 2015, spent three decades on death row for the extremely brutal 1985 cult killings of two people, including a 5-year-old boy. The older victim was 26-year-old James Thimm, who was subjected to torture over three days including being partially skinned and having his fingertips "shot off." Ryan, who told his followers that he "heard the voice of God," was convicted alongside his son, Dennis, and another cult member Timothy Haverkamp.
8. Missouri: The case of the missing "Springfield Three," which has little to no leads to this day.
What happened:
Streeter and McCall, who had graduated the day before, went missing along with Suzanne's mother, on June 6, 1992, in the Ozarks area of Springfield, Missouri. The two teenagers had been out celebrating, attending different house parties, but by the next morning, June 7, they were nowhere to be found. It is believed they ended the night arriving at Suzanne's house, as their vehicles were found parked outside, and their personal belongings and clothes were found inside the house. The one strange thing was that the front porch light had been broken. There have been many theories as to what happened over the last several decades, but the case remains unsolved.
9. Wisconsin: The horrifying discovery of the Vernon County Jane Doe.
What happened:
On May 4, 1984, the body of an older woman was discovered outside Westby, Wisconsin. However, the victim was unable to be identified because her hands had been cut off. Additionally, the woman's head had been extensively "damaged," leaving her face unrecognizable. In 2018, new evidence emerged suggesting she may have come from Arizona or New Mexico; however, her identity still remains unknown.
10. Indiana: The murder of 12-year-old Shanda Sharer by four teenage girls.
What happened:
On Jan. 10, 1992, Toni Lawrence (15), Hope Rippey (15,) Laurie Tackett (17), and Melinda Loveless (17) lured Shanda to their vehicle and proceeded to spend the night beating and torturing her before killing her early in the morning of January 11. Allegedly, the only connection between Shanda and the girls was that she and Loveless had both dated the same person.
Lawrence was paroled in 2000, Rippey in 2006, and then Tackett and Loveless were released in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
11. Minnesota: The mysterious and bizarre disappearance of Brandon Swanson.
What happened:
Swanson was a 19-year-old college student in Marshall, Minnesota last seen leaving a friend’s house on May 14, 2008. After apparently driving into a ditch, he called his parents to pick him up. However, even after talking to him several times on the way, they were never able to find him. His car was later found abandoned in a ditch with the car doors open and keys missing, roughly 25 miles from where he had said he was.
12. Missouri: The eerie abduction of Angela Hammond, who was several months pregnant.
What happened:
In April 1991, recent high school graduate Angela Hammond went missing in Clinton, Missouri. She was also four months pregnant and engaged to a man named Rob Shafer. After dropping Shafer off at his parents' house one night, Hammond later called him from a pay phone. She seemed like she might be in trouble. Shafer drove out to help Hammond, and on the way saw her being driven away in a green Ford truck. Although there are still active leads in the case, Hammond has not been found to this day.
13. Michigan: The disappearance of Paige Renkoski who was allegedly last seen talking to an unknown man by the side of the highway.
What happened:
Renkoski, a substitute teacher living in Okemos, Michigan, was reportedly last seen by witnesses on May 24, 1990, by the side of the highway (I-96) talking to a man in a maroon minivan. Although she'd been out and about, driving earlier in the day, her vehicle was later found stopped and running by the side of I-96 not far from the next exit. Renkoski was never located.
14. Illinois: The violent Hendricks family murders, which remains frustratingly unsolved, despite suspicious discoveries.
What happened:
David Hendricks had been out of town when he called the police back home in Bloomington, Illinois to check in on his family. When police and neighbors arrived, they discovered his family brutally "hacked to death" by an ax and butcher knife. However, many believed the crime to be suspicious as there was not much sign of a struggle, the murder weapons had been cleaned and seemingly "neatly left" near the bodies, and Hendrick's own alibi did not line up with evidence.
15. Wisconsin: The grim murder of college freshman Christine Rothschild.
What happened:
On May 26, 1968, Christine Rothschild, an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Wisconsin, was found stabbed to death outside one of the college's central buildings. Allegedly, due to mishandling and accidental destruction of evidence by authorities, the case was terribly fumbled from the get-go. The crime remains unsolved.
16. Ohio: The kidnapping and murder of Amy Mihaljevic in Bay Village that was featured on the TV show America's Most Wanted.
What happened:
Amy Mihaljevic was 10 years old when she was taken from a shopping plaza in 1989. According to witnesses, two classmates, a white male in his 30s was seen approaching Amy before leading her through the parking lot. Four months later, on Feb. 8, 1990, her body was found in a field off of a rural county road. Authorities said she died from a stab wound to the side of her neck. The case remains unsolved.
17. Illinois: The Brown's Chicken murders that were actually solved thanks to one of the killer's ex-girlfriends.
What happened:
The technology to match the criminals' DNA to the crime scene did not exist in 1993, so when the break happened nine years later, in 2002, it was a big deal (and lucky they had preserved the chicken that had the DNA on it).
Luna and Degorski are currently serving life sentences with no possibility for parole.
18. Illinois: The inexplicable disappearance of Veronica Blumhorst who just vanished one day without a trace.
What happened:
Blumhorst was 21 years old when she disappeared from Mendota, Illinois in September 1990. She was last seen by a coworker leaving work around 1 a.m. However, her blue Chevrolet Corsica was found later that day in her family's garage. None of her personal belongings or clothing from that day were ever found. Although her father believes "something bad" happened to Veronica, no suspects or persons of interest have been named in the case as of 2022.
19. Michigan: The infamous disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa, who had a long history of being tied to organized crime.
What happened:
Hoffa, who had a history of being involved with organized crime, was a labor union leader and former president of the Teamsters union who disappeared on July 30, 1975. Hoffa left his home that day in Lake Orion, Michigan and allegedly met with reputed mob figures Anthony "Tony Jack" Giacalone and Anthony "Tony Pro" Provenzano. Although Hoffa called his wife from a payphone that afternoon, he was never seen or heard from again after that. The FBI soon got involved with the search for Hoffa, but he was never found and declared legally dead in 1982.
20. Illinois: The Lane Bryant shooting, an unsolved mass murder and armed robbery that occurred at the retailer's location in Tinley Park.
What happened:
On Feb. 2, 2008, five women — four customers and the store manager — were shot and killed at the Lane Bryant store in a popular strip mall. A part-time employee was also shot but survived. Although police released a sketch of the suspect and have since received dozens of leads, the shooter remains unknown.
21. Finally, Kansas: The crimes of serial killer Dennis Rader, who gave himself the nickname "BTK" — an acronym for "bind, torture, kill."
What happened:
"BTK" — an acronym for "bind, torture, kill" — was the method in which Dennis Rader killed his victims. Rader was responsible for a series of murders that took place over a long period of time from 1974–1991. However, Rader was not caught until three decades later in 2005. In total, he killed 10 people and was known for dressing up as his victims and taking photographs of himself that way. Rader is currently serving 10 consecutive life sentences in a maximum security prison in Kansas.
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
If you or anyone you know has information on a missing person case, call local law enforcement first. You can also contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678 (THE-LOST) or visit the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System site for regional case assistance.