T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY A sign at the Meskwaki Nation Police Department (MNPD) headquarters showcases the $100,000 reward for information regarding the disappearance of Rita Papakee, who was last seen on Jan. 16, 2015.

MESKWAKI SETTLEMENT — It has now been over a decade since Rita Papakee was last seen alive on the Meskwaki Settlement on Jan. 16, 2015. Her case has drawn attention both locally and across the country, and law enforcement agencies continue to pursue leads in hopes of finding her and providing resolution for her family.

Meskwaki Nation Police Department (MNPD) Chief Jeff Bunn, who joined the department in 2019 and took on his current leadership role in 2021, said Papakee’s case is probably the defining case of his career in law enforcement and unlike any situation he had dealt with before through stints in California, Toledo and State Center, where he served as the police chief for 21 years.

“I had nothing in my career that was this significant. I’ve had cases like homicide cases and stuff like that, but nothing like a missing person that hasn’t been located in 10 years,” he said.

When he started with the MNPD, Bunn’s knowledge of the case was essentially a surface level understanding, but he and other officers would receive occasional tips and follow up on them.

At the time, however, no specific investigator was dedicated to Papakee’s case, though the MNPD did work with the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation (DCI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Additionally, they have since partnered up with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Missing and Murdered Unit.

When Bunn became the chief, he assigned a designated investigator within the MNPD, Lt. Jason Gudenkauf, to the case, and he praised his dedicated work reviewing all available evidence and checking to see what may have been missed in the past.

“He’s done a great job, and he’s done multiple interviews. And some of those interviews lead up to that search that we had last year where there was some particular information that Rita might be in a specific location, a well that’s down on the south side near Battleground,” Bunn said.

During the course of the search, which was completed last June, cameras were placed in the well and captured footage that showed possible skeletal remains. The FBI then sent a unit to the Settlement along with a renowned doctor, but ultimately, it didn’t result in any major new discoveries or revelations.

“There wasn’t anything there. What we saw in the video, we have no explanation of. Unfortunately, there just wasn’t anything there, so that was kind of defeating for us because we were pretty excited and thought this might be (a big break in) the case,” Bunn said. “Our tips now have kind of led us in a different direction, and there’s gonna be some more interviews coming. And a lot of the interviews that we’re doing are with the same people — people that knew her… just kind of a group of people. It’s not that they’re necessarily involved. It’s just that they might’ve heard this, might’ve heard that, so we want to follow up on those leads as much as we possibly can and see if there’s any correlation to them. If the information seems to be mapping the same, then we may have something.”

The overall number of tips has dropped off in recent months and years, but Bunn said they do still trickle in — and of course, a $100,000 reward is available for information that assists in finding Papakee. The chief also hoped to assure the public that every call they receive is followed up on, whether it turns out to be useful or not.

As for the circumstances leading up to her disappearance, Bunn explained that Papakee may have been “struggling a little bit” during that time, but he didn’t believe any specific thing she had done would have caused what happened to her.

“We still have hope that we’ll find her, if not alive, but at least (we’ll) be able to recover her for her family,” he said. “We don’t have any indication that she was suicidal at all. And we don’t know of any (violent) attack, or at least we wouldn’t be able to prove that right now. It’s very well (possible) that whatever occurred could’ve been an accident and that people just got scared and handled something in a way that they probably shouldn’t have. And they really wouldn’t have necessarily been in trouble. Some people do that, you know.”

And with statutes of limitation now expiring, he added, the primary focus is simply on bringing Rita home.

“Somebody knows. Somebody knows what happened with Rita. The last person that would’ve been with Rita has to have known something. I just find it really hard to believe that they didn’t, so that’s what we’re focusing on right now,” Bunn said.

The chief credited Papakee’s family and tribal council members like Vance Brown for continuing to bring attention to the case and working toward a resolution. And as long as Bunn holds his current position, he plans to make the effort to locate her a top priority.

“As I tell everybody, always, you know, it’s my goal while I’m here, and I don’t have that many more years left, that I would really like to solve this for the family,” he said. “And not me. All I am is a tool. The guy that’s solving it is Lt. Gudenkauf… (He’s) a very experienced investigator, and he’s doing an amazing job on this. He’s putting it all together and making it look like something, and that’s what’s important.”

Both men are confident that a resolution is nigh.

“We feel like we’re close, closer than we ever have been. We just feel that, and so having that feeling tells me, you know, you don’t get that feeling unless you know,” Bunn said.

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.