October 4, 1978. Lyon County, Iowa. The decomposed body of a murdered young woman is discovered in a ditch next to a rural road, but since she carries no identification, she remains a Jane Doe for the next 27 years. The victim is eventually identified as 23-year old Wilma June Nissen, who originally hailed from California and lived a transient lifestyle prior to her death. Investigators discover that Wilma was involved with an escort service and two women she worked with may have been responsible for her death, but there is not enough evidence to charge anyone with the crime. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, at the personal request of her daughter, we will be exploring the tragic life of Wilma June Nissen and attempting to seek justice for her unsolved murder.

If you have any information about this case, please contact the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office at (712) 472-8300 or their anonymous tip hotline at (712) 472-8334. The case number is 78-06487.

This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Thanks, BetterHelp. Get 10% off your first month at betterhelp.com/trail

Additional Reading:

https://iowacoldcases.org/case-summaries/wilma-june-nissen/

https://www.nwestiowa.com/news/new-lead-for-lyon-county-cold-case/article_31e9c062-1961-11e6-a014-53443c67e206.html

https://kiwaradio.com/local-news/suspect-photo-released-in-1978-murder-case/

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2016/05/14/gone-cold-wilma-nissen-killed-1978/84379226/

https://www.dglobe.com/news/1363563-motions-filed-cold-case-perjury-charges

https://www.dglobe.com/news/1343416-foster-parents-sheriff-pay-respects-wilma-nissen

https://qconline.com/news/iowa/jane-doe-for-27-years-wilma-june-nissen-has-name-funeral/article_e9f7b862-0ef0-5147-8479-6c5d35d1c9c0.html

https://www.siouxlandproud.com/news/local-news/search-for-clues-in-the-murder-of-a-siouxland-prostitute-almost-40-years-ago-is-heating-up-again/

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“The Trail Went Cold” is going to be appearing on podcast row at  “Crimecon 2021: Austin” at the Fairmont Hotel in Austin, Texas on June  2-4, 2021, as well as “Crimecon UK” at the Leonardo Royal Hotel &  Spa in London on June 12-13, 2021. To get a 10 % discount on the  purchase of tickets to either event, please use our specialized promo  code, “COLD21”, by visiting https://www.crimecon.com/CC21 or https://www.crimecon.co.uk.

“The Trail Went Cold” is now doing a weekly livestream show on  GetVokl every Thursday from 7:00-8:00 PM ET as part of their “True  Crime Thursday” line-up. For more information, please visit their website.

The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.