A Council Bluffs man has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection to the 1989 disappearance of Barbara Lenz — a case that remained unsolved for 35 years.
Robert Davis, now 61, was Lenz’s boyfriend at the time she vanished. He was the last known person to see her after dropping her off at her apartment in Woodbine, Iowa. She was supposed to meet her ex-boyfriend in Omaha later that day but never arrived. Despite suspicions that she had been taken against her will, Lenz was never found and the case went cold.
The recent arrest comes after the Iowa Attorney General’s Office re-established its Cold Case Unit, which reopened the investigation. By revisiting past interviews, gathering new witness statements, and re-examining evidence, investigators were able to build a case against Davis.
Court records outline a history of domestic violence, including documented assaults on Lenz and her young daughter. In the days leading up to her disappearance, Lenz had reportedly shared fears about Davis and expressed a desire to leave him. Witnesses reported seeing the couple argue the morning she disappeared, and one later claimed to have seen Davis injure Lenz before they left his residence.
That same evening, Davis told someone he was looking for her but couldn’t find her. Another witness came forward alleging Davis and his brother had buried something in a rural area shortly after Lenz went missing.
Davis stopped cooperating with law enforcement shortly after the disappearance and remained off investigators’ radar until now. Years later, he was convicted in an unrelated kidnapping and sexual abuse case involving another woman.
Lenz’s daughter, who was just three when her mother disappeared, is now an adult with children of her own. The arrest marks a major step toward long-awaited answers for her and others who have lived with decades of uncertainty.
The case will be prosecuted in Harrison County and remains under active investigation.
Kyle Werner is a reporter for the Register. Reach him at kwerner@dmreg.com.
