Son of prominent Des Moines family is missing in Mexico

The 62-year-old son of a wealthy Iowa couple has disappeared and may be dead. Alan Blank was at his ranch in Mexico, near Cabo San Lucas, when he disappeared Thursday, March 8th. Eileen Wixted, a spokeswoman for the Blank family, says the missing man met with a restaurateur who was hoping to win a food concession contract for a zoo Blank was building in the area.Blank disappeared after meeting Jimmy Presley, who had reportedly suffered some financial setbacks and was frustrated the government review process was delaying the project in Mexico. The Blank family believes Presley attacked Alan Blank and may have killed him. Wixted says unfortunately, Presley himself died Friday, March 9th.Mexican authorities say Presley committed suicide by driving his van, head-on into a large bus. The family has hired private investigators to join the search for Blank.Mr. Blank and his family are well-known philanthropists. The Des Moines Zoo and a children’s hospital in Des Moines bear the Blank name. Blank’s elderly parents are in Des Moines and Wixted says the couple has gone into seclusion.