Iowa : Crystal Arensdorf

Written By Navigating Advocacy Podcast

Dubuque, Iowa, has about 60,000 people, according to the 2020 census, and it is the junction between three different states Iowa of course, Illinois, and Wisconsin. There are five colleges in this town, and for this being less than 60,000, there are quite a lot of schools for higher learning. Dubuque is right along the Mississippi river, so it industrialized quickly and had a huge manufacturing industry. The list of famous people that came from this town is extensive. The crime rate in this town is a smidge higher than in the state of Iowa. The chances of becoming a victim here are one in 258, and Iowa as a whole is 332. 

Crystal Arensdorf was a 20-year-old woman described as kind, funny, and outgoing. She grew up in a large family in Dubuque, Iowa. She had six siblings, was the baby of the family, and was a natural caretaker. She lived with her boyfriend, Tim, and worked as a house cleaner. 


One of Crystal’s good friends, Dawn Walsh, stated, “She was kind,” Even if you did something that could be upsetting, she never really said bad things about people. She was generally kind, loved kids, and was genuinely just sweet and beautiful. Her smile was infectious, and we would just lay there and laugh for hours.” 

You can tell so many people deeply miss her. 

On the night of July 3rd, 2001, Crystal went to a friend's house to watch fireworks; she was there with a few people, including one of her sisters. After the sisters leave the friend's house, Crystal calls her boyfriend because she is supposed to pick him up somewhere. They argue, so Crystal decides not to pick him up. She then goes to a local bar, Knicker Saloon, to meet up with friends. While at the bar, Crystal would make plans with one of the bartenders named Robert to share a cab after the bar closed. This would have been about 2:30 am, but by the time he finished his work, Crystal was nowhere to be found. He assumed she had changed her mind and went on about going home on his own. Crystal’s sister took her car home, so it's not like crystal could have driven herself home. All her friends left at 2 am when the bar was closing; this was the last time they saw Crystal. Crystal’s purse and keys would be found at the saloon, but that would be the only trace left of the bubbly young woman. The following day when Crystal’s sister didn't hear from her about picking up her vehicle, she started to get worried. A missing person report was filed, but the police wouldn't start searching immediately, so the family took to the streets themselves. They knocked on doors asking if anyone had seen Crystal without much luck. 

On July 16th, an organized search was conducted not sure how police zeroed in on the location of Leisure lake; this body of water was 25 miles away from where Crystal was last seen. Over the next few months, police would follow up on 375 leads, and by October of that year, Crystal’s boyfriend would be eliminated as a person of interest, but three other local men will be added. Authorities would say these men were being looked at more intensely based on their alibi and the fact that they were less than cooperative during their interviews. Two of the men were brothers living there in Dubuque and were also at the Knicker’s saloon. These two were even given polygraph tests, but the results have never been released. One news report did say that certain persons of interest did not pass the polygraph, which would lead me to believe the two brothers have never been cleared in all these years.  


One of the brother’s vehicles was searched as well; now, to get a search warrant, they would have to have some type of probable cause to do this search. However, could the guy just agree to the search without a warrant? It's possible. Both brothers moved out of the area just weeks after police started looking into them. 


By May of 2002, less than a year after Crystal disappeared, that bartender of Knicker Saloon pleaded guilty to serving Crystal alcohol that night. This bartender was never listed as a person of interest or suspect, probably because he had the air-tight alibi from the cab company that dropped him off alone that night after Crystal didn't show up to share the cab. This case went cold quickly, but that didn't stop the family from trying all avenues to figure out what happened to Crystal. Psychics, random theories, and even cross-country sightings, the family always said they would not stop until they knew what had happened. 



In 2005, one of the brothers, who was a person of interest in Crystal’s case, was arrested for viciously beating and threatening to kill his girlfriend; he was only with this woman six weeks before this attack. Apparently, he thought she was cheating because she was sitting in a vehicle with another guy. He said he would kill both of them. Then he dragged her out of the vehicle and into his, where he beat her, tried to strangle her, and then dumped her broken body in a parking lot. 


In July 2015, a promising tip came through the Iowa Cold Cases website. After a few years of basically nothing, the police were fired up again to solve this case. This tip stated the brothers, who were persons of interest this whole time, didn't drive their own cars that night. They drove their sister's truck. Remember, their car was searched, and I'm assuming evidence wasn't found otherwise. These two would be in prison by now, but if the wrong car was searched, that could explain the lack of evidence found. Evidence is needed to even start the process for formal charges. The person that reported this tip also to authorities, alias’ the brother went by and where they worked. 



In September 2020, the Knicker Saloon’s basement was searched by ​​Iowa State's Major Crime Unit. They never elaborated on why it was searched or if they found anything. The bar released a statement on social media stating they are fully cooperating and have nothing to hide.


On a bunch of the forum sites, they say Crystal was friends with people into Meth and could have overdosed or been taken because of drugs. Police ruled this out because they found no evidence of Crystal directly or indirectly involved in the meth scene. 



Authorities believe this one will be solved. Considering they are still following leads and conducting searches, it is a good sign that questions will eventually get answered for Crystal’s family. 

Crystal was last seen wearing blue-tinted soft contact lenses, a white polo T-shirt, tan shorts, black sandals, a gold chain necklace with an opal pendant, an opal ring, and a toe ring. She has a mole near her naval, and her ears are double-pierced.

If you have any information about Crystal Arensdorf’s disappearance, please contact the Dubuque Police Department at (563) 589-4429 or (563) 587-3813. You can also send your tip in an email to nschloss@cityofdubuque.org or drandall@cityofdubuque.org. There is a combined $12,500 reward for information in Crystal’s case.

Navigating Advocacy Podcast

Whitney and Melissa, hosts of Navigating Advocacy, blend their true crime interests with a mission to spark justice through storytelling, inspiring action, and building a community of advocates.

https://www.navigatingadvocacy.com
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