The Lee County Sheriff’s Office is currently searching intensely for a woman named Kelly Barlow, who has gone missing in Lee County since August 8, 2023.
Woman Missing in Lee County
Kelly Barlow is 40 years old and was last seen near Donnellson, Iowa, on Highway 2 between Fort Madison and Donnellson.
Kelly’s family is worried about her safety because she hasn’t been eating well, and they fear that she might have gotten lost during a storm on August 8th. She has been missing since that day.
According to a Facebook post from the sheriff’s office, Kelly Barlow was last seen walking westbound on Highway 2 by Appleberry Orchard on Monday evening around 5:30 p.m. https://t.co/KcYraYdpOX
— KWQC TV6 News (@kwqcnews) August 10, 2023
Authorities, Family, and Friends Unite in Search
The authorities are working together with family and friends to find Kelly. They are using tools like drones and dogs to search for her throughout Lee County.
Kelly’s mother, Vernie, just wants to know that her daughter is safe. While Kelly sometimes takes walks to clear her mind, it’s unusual for her to go without checking in with her mom for several days. The search for Kelly continues, and her family is hoping for her safe return.
“Well she had left her home, she left her phone with her friend, so he could use the hotspot on it she’s like, ‘I’ll be back in a few minutes…’ [and] never came back,” Vernie said.
Kelly’s home is in Fort Madison, Iowa. As the search nears a week, Kelly’s family has asked local cops and 10 other agencies to help with the search. Lee County Sheriff Stacy Weber said they’re using drones, dogs, and UTVs to find Barlow.
“We covered the entirety of Highway 2 from Fort Madison to Donnellson in about 2 hours which is pretty incredible,” Weber said.
Local Support and Tips: Community Contributes to the Search
Weber said it’s not unusual to see Kelly walking around the county, so it’s not surprising that some locals are already sending tips to help with the search.
“She’s been seen a couple places and we’ve checked those places,” Weber said. “We’ve recovered some of her property, but nothing to lend us to the belief there’s any foul play at this point, we don’t know that.”
Officials don’t think there was foul play at this point. Vernie said that when Kelly first went missing, she thought she had gone to a friend’s house and stayed for a while.
“We have contacted everyone that we can think of and everyone has contacted someone else and someone else has contacted, it’s all over facebook, social media,” Vernie said. “Everybody knows, you know, if you see Kelly, let us know and no one has seen her, no one’s heard from her, and that is way, way off for her.”
Even though no one knows where Kelly is, her mother is only interested in one thing.
“Just make sure she’s okay, she doesn’t have to come back if she doesn’t want to if that’s the case, but just let us know she’s alive, she’s alright, we just want her to come home,” Vernie said.
Weber said that the sheriff’s office will continue to search until late Friday night. Weber said that if Kelly isn’t found this weekend, he’ll ask the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation to join the search on Monday.
Follow us on Twitter for the latest updates and news as the community comes together in a united effort to bring her back safely.
