by Michelle Sanderson

"If I’m you, I’d call me before I call you." These were the words expressed by Lyon County Sheriff Blythe Bloemendaal at the February 16th press conference, referring to the person or persons who murdered Wilma June Nissen almost 28 years ago.

Only known as Jane Doe for the last 28 years, Wilma June Nissen’s body was found on October 4, 1978 in a roadside ditch 1 mile south and 1 1/2 miles west of the West Lyon Community School. When then Lyon County Sheriff, Craig Vinson, now 87, stood over the face-down body, he had high hopes they would be able to identify the body once rolled over. However, the body was in advanced stages of decomposition, with no possibility of physical identification. White go-go boots, green khaki pants, underwear and an inexpensive gold friendship ring on the middle finger of her right hand were the only identifiable effects. The best chance the Sheriff’s department had of making a positive identification was to lift fingerprints off the body. Two fingerprints were lifted, but no match was ever made.

This all changed after Iowa recently went online with IAFIS, the federal fingerprint database. Three weeks ago, Jane Doe’s fingerprints were submitted to this database for analysis. Amazingly, there was an exact match to the body’s thumbprint. Wilma June Nissen, also known as Wilma Wellington, Boots Wellington and Wilma June Belt was the name that went with the body. Sheriff Bloemendaal says it’s "phenomenal" that a California agency submitted this 1978 print card from an arrest for prostitution in California. "The electronic fingerprint system aided tremendously" in identifying Jane Doe. If the fingerprint card hadn’t been submitted, this case would likely never have been solved.

Sheriff Bloemendaal, Detective Jerry Birkey and Division of Criminal Investigation Agent Dan Moser refused to give up on finding the identity of Jane Doe. Dan Moser said that he received Jane Doe’s case file in 1998 and since that time he never closed it. The three men would periodically visit about ideas and how to go about solving this case. Have the men found closure now that Jane Doe’s identity has been found? They say although they thought it would be a high level of excitement, that only lasted a couple of hours until they began trying to figure out what happened to this young woman. Sheriff Bloemendaal gives Detective Birkey and Agent Dan Moser 90% of the credit for finding the identification of Jane Doe, while giving 10% of the credit to the criminalist in Des Moines for making the fingerprint match.

Former Sheriff Vinson says he does have closure now. His goal was to solve this case before he left office. Unfortunately, that goal was not reached and he has never forgotten the case. When Sheriff Bloemendaal sat former Sheriff Vinson down to tell him of the findings, he saw relief in Craig Vinson’s eyes. Sheriff Vinson worked effortlessly in 1978 to solve this case. At the scene, he videotaped everything thoroughly. He scoured Sioux Falls for answers, with no luck. He screened the dirt where Wilma June Nissen lay. He hoped to find anything, but found nothing. There is evidence that he collected from the scene, but the Sheriff’s department is not willing to disclose it at this time.

Wilma June Nissen was born in San Francisco, CA on October 19, 1954 to Charles Clarence and June Eva. She appeared to have a troubled youth. A runaway having prostitution charges, she is believed to have been simply a girl on the street, trying to get by. Wilma has been known to be in Los Angeles, CA, San Diego, CA, Bakersfield, CA, Long Beach, CA, and Beverly Hills, CA. She was last seen alive in 1975 in Long Beach. Killed in 1978 at 23 years of age, there was a three year gap in Wilma’s life that the Sheriff’s department was desperate to know about. Still unknown why Wilma was in Iowa, they hope that a friend, relative or associate may be able to provide information in to what happened in this tragic situation. The Sheriff urged anyone knowing anything to call and talk informally.

The day after the press conference held by Sheriff Bloemendaal, a phone call was made to the department from a woman claiming to to be Nissen’s daughter. They have since verified most of the woman’s identification and believe she is Wilma Nissen’s daughter. They are now awaiting DNA test results to confirm this. No names or information have yet be released.

Wilma’s mother, June Eva Nissen, also went by the names June Simmons, June Bradford, Joan Cummings, Joan Anderson and Joan Long. In the 1970s, Wilma’s mother was known to be in the Salt Lake City, UT area. She passed away in 1984. With a missing person’s report never filed, Sheriff Bloemendaal would like information about Wilma’s relationship with her mother, such as, "What went wrong with their relationship? Did her family not miss her?" The Sheriff’s department believes that Wilma’s father, Charles, was a veteran of the U.S. Army, serving during the Korean Conflict. He passed away in 2003. Wilma possibly had a brother, who has also passed away.

Now begins the homicide investigation. Sheriff Bloemendaal believes that Wilma Nissen’s body was placed in the ditch after the murder, but stresses this is only his theory. Others believe she was murdered at that spot. There are some faint leads in the homicide investigation, but it seems every time they want to talk to someone, that person is deceased. Nonetheless, they run each lead in to the ground.

This isn’t the only case that the sheriff and his team would work so tirelessly on. He says he doesn’t care what the case is, the case will be worked on in Lyon County. Given the incredible determination that these men have shown finding Jane Doe’s identity, Lyon could should feel incredibly proud.