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Eugene Martin, a 13-year-old Des Moines Register paperboy in 1984, disappeared in an almost identical fashion to Johnny Gosch, the young boy we covered in our previous episode. Dive into Eugene’s disappearance and the parallels between the two cases.
In this true-crime series from KALA Radio, host Brooke Hass explores the sinister secrets of America's Heartland. Brooke investigates missing and murder cases from the Midwest region that unfold right in your backyard.
Welcome back to the Morbid Midwest! I am your host, Brooke Hass. Last time, we talked about a missing paperboy, Johnny Gosch. Today, I’ll be covering the case of another missing paperboy, Eugene Martin, who disappeared in a nearly identical fashion to Johnny. If you haven’t listened to my episode about Johnny’s case, I suggest you go back and listen before you hear this episode, just to clarify a few things I want to talk about in this episode and to notice the parallels between Eugene’s and Johnny’s cases.
Today’s story, like Johnny’s, begins in the Des Moines area on August 12, 1984. 13-year-old Eugene Martin delivered papers for the Des Moines Register with his older stepbrother. However, on that day, Eugene went alone.
Eugene left his Des Moines home at 5 a.m. on August 12, wearing blue jeans, a red t-shirt and a gray pullover sweatshirt. Between 5 and 5:45 a.m., people reported seeing Eugene talking with an unidentified man described as “clean-cut,” Caucasian, and in his 30s. While reports vary, some people say that the exchange seemed friendly. Other reports say that the man was seen talking to Eugene around 6:05 a.m. while Eugene was folding papers.
According to the Charley Project website and the Iowa Cold Cases website, people began calling in to alert the route manager that they had yet to receive their papers. Eugene’s paper sack was found, still full, on the corner of southwest 14th and Highview Streets. At 7:15, Eugene’s route manager called his home to let them know that Eugene’s papers in his sack had not been picked up. 15 minutes later, when Eugene’s papers were still unclaimed, the route manager called back to his home. Eugene’s father called the police shortly after, who began their investigation around 8:40 a.m..
From there, there is nothing further. The Des Moines Police Department treated Eugene’s case as a potential child abduction. An alert was issued for finding that mysterious man found talking to Eugene. The man’s description is presented as between 30 and 40 years old, 5 feet, 9 inches tall, and clean-shaven with a medium build.
FBI agent Herb Hawkins said that this person may be introverted and described as a “lone wolf.” He may or may not feel guilt-ridden about his actions, but he will not turn himself in.
After that, though, there was really no other headway made - no breaks in the case, no evidence. Nothing. Investigators were left scratching their heads, and the nation was left to wonder… What in the world happened to Eugene Martin?
After Eugene disappeared, his parents divorced. His mother passed away shortly before his father passed away in 2010 from health complications, both never knowing anything further about what happened to their son.
Law enforcement in the area, though, refuses to give up. James Rowley, a former Des Moines police officer, assisted in investigating Eugene’s case until he retired in 2001. However, the case never leaves him, which can be assumed from the missing poster that still hangs in his garage. He questioned the two year gap between the disappearances and the man who was seen talking to Eugene. The lack of leads baffles the seasoned officer, just like the rest of us.
Federal law enforcement claimed that Eugene’s case and Johnny’s case could potentially be connected. When I was researching these disappearances, I found out that there were even more supposed abductions that took place around the time that Eugene and Johnny went missing in the Des Moines area - anywhere from five to seven abductions or attempted abductions. However, none of these cases were ever officially connected. The question that sits with me here is “was there a serial child abductor in this area in the 80s and 90s?”
While none of the cases were actually connected, it’s extremely difficult to not notice the similarities between Johnny’s and Eugene’s cases. The parallels in the two cases are almost haunting:
Both incidents took place in the Des Moines area within two years of each other on Sunday mornings
Both boys typically had people go with them on a paper route, but on the days they went missing, they went alone. (This itself may call for some sort of deeper dive, but it could just be a coincidence.)
Both delivered papers for the Des Moines Register.
Both boys were seen talking to an unidentified person while stacking their papers.
Both boys’ paper delivery items were left still full of papers and abandoned on the sidewalk.
And both disappeared almost into thin air.
What’s even more disturbing is both of these cases could have been each and every one of us, walking home from school, going for a walk, riding our bikes to go see our friends. It could have been any of us. And it still could be any of us. If anyone you know goes missing, be sure you know the procedures in your area for a missing person.
In the 2021 copy of the Iowa Code, Chapter 694 outlines the guidelines on missing people, updated in November of 2020. A missing person is defined as someone who, obviously, is missing and falls under one or more of the following categories:
Has a mental or physical disability
Is missing and is assumed to be in danger
Is missing and it is assumed that they disappeared involuntarily
Or is an unemancipated minor, which means that this person is a minor who is not married and lives with a parent or guardian
If you are to report someone missing, be prepared to provide the following:
Your name and relationship to the missing person
The name, age, address and any identifying characteristics of the missing person
How long this person has been missing
Any other information you or the reporting law enforcement agency deems necessary
After you provide this information to a law enforcement agency, a missing person report will be filed, which will include your information, any preliminary evidence, and the next steps in this investigation. This report will be distributed to all law enforcement agencies that have jurisdiction in the area this person went missing and any jurisdictions that may be involved.
In terms of missing children, law enforcement agencies take immediate action. Agencies will report information to the national crime information center computer. Following this, they will launch an immediate investigation.
Just as a last little reminder, most places do not require a waiting period to report someone missing. However, for further information, please be sure to contact your local law enforcement agency.
Thanks for listening! Join us next time to hear the case of a human body being found not even a mile away from the campus of St. Ambrose University. This has been the Morbid Midwest.