Case Details
- Photo URLs:
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- Missing Since:
- Missing Since 01/19/1960
- Missing From:
- Missing From Des Moines, Iowa
- Classification:
- Classification Endangered Missing
- Gender:
- Female
- Race:
- Race White
- Date of Birth:
- Date of Birth 03/29/1931 (93)
- Age:
- Age 28 years old
- Height and Weight:
- Height and Weight Unknown
- Clothing/Jewelry Description:
- Distinguishing Characteristics:
- Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Darleen’s maiden name is Boyd. Some agencies spell her first name “Darlene.” She is supposed to wear prescription eyeglasses, but these were left behind.
- Details of Disappearance:
- Darleen Fitchett disappeared from her Des Moines, Iowa home on January 19, 1960. Her children heard her arguing with her husband, Lance, in the basement. Her daughter heard banging and her mother yelling for help, followed by sounds like sawing or digging. Around midnight, Lance told the children their mother had gone to California.
Darleen vanished without a trace, leaving behind all her belongings except her bedroom bedding and curtains. Lance traded his truck the very next day and only after neighbors alerted the police did he claim Darleen had left him for another man.
Their marriage was troubled; both Darleen and Lance were having affairs. Darleen even had a joint bank account with her boyfriend, a sailor who was away at sea when she disappeared. Lance’s mistress, Colleen Seiberling, moved in soon after.
Darleen’s daughter, Heather, later revealed that her mother feared Lance would kill her. When Darleen’s mother questioned the family, Lance’s sister claimed Darleen had simply left.
Police suspect Lance murdered Darleen, though her body has never been found. In 2014, they searched the basement of the old house, finding evidence of a dug-out hole, but no remains. Lance died in 2005, but the case remains an unsolved homicide. Authorities hope to find Darleen’s remains to bring closure to her family.
- Agency:
- Des Moines Police Department 515-283-4864
- Source Links:
This person was missing Missing Since 01/19/1960