Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com

Published - Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Probe into Dolowy murder continues

By ANNE JUNGEN / La Crosse Tribune

Authorities await results from the December 2007 exhumation of a town of Barre woman whose body was left burning and decapitated in a Vernon County ditch 23 years ago. Investi-gators also are conducting follow-up interviews in the unsolved homicide of Terry Dolowy “because of some of the evidence that has arisen,” said Vernon County Sheriff Gene Cary.

“We’re working hard at it, diligent at it, and leaving no stone left unturned,” he said. “This may be a cold case, an old case, but to us here, it’s just as important as if it happened yesterday.”

Dolowy’s body was found Feb. 18, 1985, in a roadside ditch in the town of Bergen in Vernon County. The 24-year-old University of Wisconsin-La Crosse senior and her white poodle, Suzie, last were seen by her boyfriend about 1 a.m. four days earlier when she returned to her mobile home near Barre Mills, Wis.

Dolowy’s remains were exhumed Dec. 13, 2007, from the Calvary Cemetery in Steger, Ill., about 30 miles south of Chicago.

The sheriff’s department has not received results from Hamline University forensic anthropologists and forensic pathologists from the Minnesota Regional Medical Examiner’s office in Hastings, Minn. Cary declined to identify what was extracted during the examination of Dolowy’s body.

“This is a 23-year-old homicide and we know they have incoming fresh cases that have to charter their efforts at,” Cary said.

Additional evidence — which Cary also declined to identify — has been resubmitted to the Wisconsin State Crime Lab in Madison for further testing, given the improvements in DNA analysis and techniques.

“They’re going to try to get this on front burner for us,” Cary said.

La Crosse and Vernon County authorities said they never stopped working on the case, dedicating thousands of hours over 22 years to follow tips, leads, forensic evidence and possible suspects.

Media reports from the December exhumation generated additional tips and leads, which investigators are pursing, Cary said.

“Significant information did surface after it was brought to the attention of the public,” he said.

Anne Jungen can be reached at (608) 791-8224 or ajungen@lacrossetribune.com.