In the summer of 1947, a Yugoslavian immigrant carrying thousands of dollars earned through hard labor vanished in Iowa. Nearly eight decades later, the case remains one of the state’s enduring unsolved mysteries.
According to research by Nancy Bowers of Iowa Unsolved Murders: Historic Cases, 49-year-old John Zauhar had spent years working as a lumberjack near Bend, Oregon, after World War II. His goal was to save money and return to Yugoslavia to support family members struggling in the aftermath of the war.
In August 1947, Zauhar boarded a train heading east with approximately $3,700 in cash—a significant amount at the time. While traveling through central Iowa, witnesses reported he began behaving strangely, handing out money to fellow passengers.
Concerned for his welfare, railroad officials had Zauhar removed from the train in Boone on August 23. Local police took him to the city jail for safekeeping, though he was not charged with any crime. Officers secured his money in a safe and allowed him to spend the night there.
The next morning, Zauhar left the jail alone to get breakfast. He never returned.
Months later, on November 9, a train crew discovered a decomposed body along railroad tracks about four miles west of Boone. Authorities found no identification, but investigators noted what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the skull. An autopsy later determined the wound could not have been self-inflicted.
In January 1948, Boone County Coroner Garland Hancock ruled that the unidentified man had died through “felonious means at the hands of an unknown person or persons.”
While officials explored whether the victim could be Zauhar, no public confirmation was ever made. The unidentified man was buried in Mineral Ridge Cemetery north of Boone.
The mystery did not end there. Back in Yugoslavia, Zauhar’s wife and three sons spent years seeking answers. In 1949, the Yugoslav Consulate in Chicago was authorized to investigate whether the unidentified murder victim was indeed John Zauhar. A Pennsylvania-based insurance company also reportedly sought confirmation before paying death benefits to his widow.
Records available today leave several questions unanswered. Was the body ever positively identified as John Zauhar? What became of the money left in the police safe? And most importantly, who killed the man found beside the railroad tracks west of Boone?
Whether the victim was John Zauhar or someone else, the homicide remains unsolved, and no one has ever been charged in connection with the case.
Source: Research by Nancy Bowers, Iowa Unsolved Murders: Historic Cases.
