Family, friends and law officers today announced a reward for a Clarke County cattle farmer that’s been missing since February 11th of 2004. George Douglas is at a loss to explain what happened to his brother William Douglas Senior of Osceola. He says on February 4th of 2004 Bill was talking with his mom on the phone when he said someone was at the door. He left the phone and he never returned, and they haven’t heard from him since.
He says they’ve covered the farm with horses, snowmobiles, they’ve drained the pond on the farm and haven’t been able to find him. Douglas says he even consulted a couple of psychics to try and find his brother, but so far they haven’t found any substantial clues. George says he was close to his brother — and there’s nothing to make him think his brother would just leave the farm. He says there’s no indication at all, as he says his brother “was an awful responsible person.” He says his brother has been retired 18 months and he had a herd of cattle he took care of along with his son. He says his brother would always contact him. He says, “He’s always been very responsible. There’s no way that I believe that he wouldn’t contact me, unless he’s incapable upstairs or something.”
The family is offering a five-thousand dollar reward for information that helps them find William Douglas. Iowa Department of Public Safety spokesman, Jim Saunders, says they’re also hoping for a new break in the case. He says they’ve done hundreds of interviews and searches and have come up empty.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Clarke County Sheriff’s office at 641-342-2914, or the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation at 515-281-5138. For more information and to see a picture of William Douglas, check out our website at RadioIowa.com. The reward money is being put up by the Carole Sund/Carring Memorial Reward foundation. It’s an organization that helps people with missing family members that can’t afford to offer a reward.