Missing Iowa man cold case reopened
FREMONT, Iowa — The search to find Harry Dennis Milligan, of Avery, Iowa, continues.
His brother, Mark Milligan, has been working diligently to find answers about his brother's disappearance for nearly four decades.
After sitting in the cold case files for nearly 37 years, the case has now been reopened by law enforcement.
"I just want to know where he is at, bring him home."
On June 30, 1984, Harry Dennis Milligan went out for a fun night with friends in Albia, Iowa.
At the end of the night, Milligan’s friends dropped him off at his car so he could be on his way back home to Avery, Iowa.
Milligan did not make it home and was reported missing the next day.
For years now, Harry’s brother Mark has been searching for answers about the moments leading up to his brother's disappearance.
"Let's bring this back to the light and see where it goes and see if we can get enough community involvement,” Milligan said. “That's what it took, in my opinion, was getting the community talking, getting people talking and just showing the sheriff and law enforcement in general that this case was never looked at like it should've been in the beginning."
Mark might get the closure he was hoping for.
In late December 2020, the cold case of Harry Milligan’s disappearance was reopened by the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.
"I’ve talked to the sheriff, the DCI agent who is involved and the deputy over there and right now it seems like things are moving in the right direction and hopefully it won't be long and the answers will start coming out."
Dozens of community members are coming together to help solve this case. A Facebook page called Harry Dennis Milligan: Still Missing was started for people to share memories, photos and collect information related to the night harry went missing.
"It's overwhelming.” Milligan said. “For years, you felt like you was the only one looking for an answer. What the community has done, with everything, it's just unreal."
Milligan says he won't stop searching until he finds answers.
"If anybody thinks I’m going to stop, they are crazy, and that goes for everybody. I don't care if it's law enforcement, I don't care who it is. The people who were last with him, the people that may know, the people that somebody may have told somebody, it's not going to stop."
Monroe County deputies declined to comment on the investigation as it is ongoing.
We also left a message Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and it was not immediately returned.
