A cold case involving the death of an eastern Iowa man five decades ago is moving forward — as authorities say they’ve positively identified the victim. In 1988, an Iowa D-O-T worker discovered skeletal remains near Correctionville, off Highway 20, in northwest Iowa. Foul play was not suspected, the cause of death was ruled undetermined, and the case went cold. Captain Don Armstrong, of the Woodbury County Sheriff’s Department, started working the case in early 2025.
Agents with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation joined Armstrong on the case and used new technology to trace D-N-A from the remains. Earlier this year, they discovered the victim had a niece in Texas, which led them to positively identify the remains as Clarence Ames, originally from Dubuque. Ames would have been over 60 years old when he died. Armstrong says the case remains active because nobody knows how Ames ended up in Woodbury County, or his exact cause of death.
A funeral for Ames was held Tuesday in Dubuque. Prior to that service, Armstrong — who is now retired, says he took family members to Correctionville and the spot where the remains were discovered.
If anyone has information about Clarence Ames, or knew him in the late 1960s to early 1970s, contact the Woodbury County Sheriff’s office at 712-279-6010.
