SIDNEY, Iowa. (KMTV) — Could a serial killer have been murdering women in southwest Iowa? A woman from Fremont County claims her father, Donald Studey, murdered dozens of young women and buried them in a well.
For a year, authorities have been investigating claims that human remains are buried outside Thurman on Green Hollow Road.
Deputy Michael Wake has lived in Tabor his whole life and had several dealings with Donald. He says something seemed off about the man.
"One time he held himself hostage with a gun, was threatening to do self-harm. We talked him out of that," Wake said.
About a year ago, Donald's daughter Lucy contacted the deputy claiming her father would bring women home and kill them, burying them in a well that's 90 feet deep.
"Growing up, in the area, we'd hear stories about bodies in a well and stuff. Didn't have names associated with it and that sort of stuff, but I just thought it was worth looking into," Wake said.
Green Hollow Road is where Donald lived and the well is up in the hills.
"We found the well and people that she has said might know something. We've contacted them and got their statements. We here in the last week or so, we did take a couple of cadaver dogs up there and yes, they indicate it," Fremont County Sheriff Kevin Aistrope said.
There's still not enough evidence that there are bodies there. The sheriff says agencies like the FBI and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation are providing support.
Aistrope says there are different possible approaches to looking for human remains.
"If we core drilled some 4-inch holes around there and there was that many bodies, we would probably come up with a bone, I would think," Aistrope said.
The sheriff is getting estimates on how much that would cost, but first, he'll bring back cadaver dogs, bring in metal detectors and perhaps use ground penetrating radar to see what's there. He warns the public that the investigation will be slow, but he also makes a promise.
"We're gonna follow through. We're gonna finish this one way or another. We're gonna get the answers to this," Aistrope said.
3 News Now reached out to Lucy several times today but got no response. The sheriff says she came forward because she doesn't want to take this information to her grave.
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