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In January 2015, Rita Janelle Papakee was last seen at the Meskwaki casino in central Iowa. What should have been an ordinary night ended in silence. Days passed. Then weeks. And before urgency ever took hold, a mother, sister, and community member had vanished.

Witnesses would later tell police they saw Rita walking in the cold and snow, visibly angry, when a dark pickup approached her. Others reported seeing her at a man’s home the next day. Then came more disturbing claims — that Rita was dead, that evidence had been hidden, that her body had been moved.

Search warrants were executed. Federal evidence teams were called in. A well on the south side of the reservation — an area investigators refer to as the battleground — became the focus of repeated searches. Cadaver dogs, DNA collection, polygraph exams, and renewed FBI involvement followed. Tips surfaced. Some were withdrawn. Rumors spread. But Rita has never been recovered.

She is still officially listed as a missing person. In practice, investigators have treated her case as a homicide without a body — one caught between information and proof, between community silence and the urgent need for answers.

In this episode of Vanished Voices, we trace Rita’s story: who she was, the last known sightings, the investigation’s turning points, and the lingering questions that refuse to settle. We explore how a close-knit community navigates trust, tradition, and tragedy.

And until Rita is found, her voice — and her family’s — will not be forgotten.

To see more about this case, as well as the sources used to create this episode, visit our Blog Here.

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