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(Trends Wide) — A western Iowa sheriff says local, state and federal authorities are “actively investigating” in a rural area where a woman claimed her late father disposed of dozens of bodies of people he killed decades ago.
“We’re actively looking into this, and who wouldn’t?” Fremont County Sheriff Kevin Aitrope told Trends Wide affiliate KETV.
“We have a scene, but we don’t know if it’s a crime scene,” the sheriff told KETV. “We have no victims, no bodies. Nothing.”
The search comes after a Newsweek article quoted Lucy Studey, who claimed that her father, Donald Studey, killed “50 to 70” people years ago, and that she helped dispose of the bodies in a well on his property near Thurman, Iowa.
Susan Studey, the older sister of Lucy Studey, later told Newsweek that her sister’s claims were not true. “My father was not the man she makes out. He was strict, but he was a protective father who loved his children… Strict fathers do not become serial killers… I am two years older than Lucy. I think I would know if my father murdered,” he told Newsweek.
Trends Wide has contacted Lucy Studey for comment.
“All we have is that a woman came forward and told us a story about bodies in a well,” Aistrope said. “We brought a couple of body-sniffing dogs. The body-detecting dogs searched there or searched the area, and they did indicate the area. I’m not going to say it was right over the well, but they did indicate the area.”
Donald Studey died in 2013, according to KETV.
“We’re going to do everything we can to prove or disprove that there may be a crime scene,” Aistrope said.
Local, state and federal agencies are involved, including the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) and the FBI, Aitrope told KETV. The Iowa DCI brings knowledge, resources and experience to these investigations, especially when the requesting agency is a smaller police department, said Mitch Mortvedt, DCI deputy director.
“They asked us to help in the investigation, as well as the FBI, and we’re happy to do that, you know, and try to provide manpower and resources,” the deputy director of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation told KETV.
DCI investigators met with the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI in a joint effort to search for leads on the possible serial killer.
Mortvedt told Trends Wide that the investigation is still in its “infancy” and there is no timeline for when it will progress, but it will be “months in the making.” Mortvedt said that since the alleged suspect passed away in 2013, law enforcement will take the necessary time to conduct this investigation.
At this stage, investigators are checking the validity of Lucy Studey’s claims before authorities consider digging in an area where body-sniffing dogs indicated possible human remains, according to Mortvedt. She adds that corpse-sniffing dogs aren’t always reliable as the sole source, so law enforcement will rely on other investigative measures before considering digging.
Trends Wide has contacted the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office for more details.
