Midwest
'I-70 Strangler' remains mysterious Midwest boogeyman, but private investigator has theory
The “I-70 Strangler” has become a ghost story about a faceless boogeyman who hunted boys and men in the 1980s and 1990s.
At least 12 bodies were found partially nude and strangled and dumped in streams, gullies and trenches along Interstate 70 in Indiana and Ohio.
Over the years, investigators looked at two notorious serial killers – Larry William Eyler and Herb Baumeister – as the “I-70 Strangler,” but the theories never materialized into definitive proof.
Baumeister, whose property was littered with 10,000 “burnt and crushed” skeletal remains of his victims, is more commonly associated with the shadowy Midwest monster since a local retired, highly respected sheriff turned private investigator tied him to the killings.
‘I HAD A BRUSH WITH THE DEVIL’
About 10,000 remains of Herb Baumeister’s victims were dug up throughout his 18-acre Indiana property. (Google Street View/Indianapolis Police Department)
After Virgil Vandagriff retired as the sheriff of Marion County, Indiana, he received a pair of calls in the mid-1990s from families concerned about suspicious disappearances of loved ones.
Seemingly isolated missing persons cases became a hunt for a serial killer.
Both missing men were gay with similar heights, weights and appearances. They vanished on the way to bars, and that’s where he distributed flyers.
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During his investigation, a publisher of a magazine focused on issues concerning the gay population alerted Vandagriff about a rash of missing men in the Indianapolis area that seemed to fit the same profile.
“It became obvious there was a serial killer,” Vandagriff told WTHR in a December 2022 interview. “Just had to figure out who, where and how to bring it to an end.”
The “Interstate 70 Strangler,” whose identity is still unknown, killed at least 12 boys and young men and dumped their bodies along the interstate in Indiana and Ohio. (Google Maps)
Interstate 70 from Indiana to Ohio has many different terrains, including water, gullies and wooded areas, where the bodies were dumped in the 1980s and early 1990s. (Google Street View)
Vandagriff took his findings to the police, but gay victims were considered a low priority for law enforcement at the time.
“It was shocking to me the number of gay people that were missing that no one would pay attention to,” Vandagriff told WTHR during the 2022 interview.
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Instead of waiting, the investigator took the case into his own hands and created a profile of the killer.
During the investigation, an informant who used a fake name said he had met a man named “Brian Smart,” a nickname used by Baumeister when he frequented local watering holes.
Interstate 70 from Indiana to Ohio has various terrain, including water, gullies and wooded areas, where the bodies were dumped in the 1980s and very early 1990s. (Google Street View)
The informant survived a confrontation with Baumeister and saw him again in a bar and reportedly yelled, “This guy’s a serial killer. Somebody get his license plate number,” Vandagriff told WTHR.
Not surprisingly, that license plate came back to Baumeister, which led law enforcement to his secluded, 18-acre property at Fox Hollow Farm in Westfield, Indiana.
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Law enforcement ultimately dug up 10,000 “burnt and crushed” skeletal remains around Baumeister’s home in the 1990s, including those of Vandagriff’s two missing persons.
Before he bought the vast property in 1991, investigators believe Baumeister had dumped his victims along I-70, but he died by suicide after fleeing to Canada as his life spiraled into a tailspin.
His marriage crumbled, his businesses went bankrupt, and there was a warrant for his arrest.
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About 10,000 remains of Indiana serial killer Herb Baumeister were found on the 18-acre Westfield, Indiana, property. (Google Street View)
He shot himself in July 1996 and took all his secrets to the grave.
The Hamilton County Coroner’s Office teamed up with Othram, one of the country’s leading forensic genetic genealogy labs, to identify Baumeister’s victims three decades after his death.
So far, the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office has identified eight victims, and investigators have four more DNA profiles that have not been identified yet, which brings the body count up to 12, according to Hamilton County Coroner Jeff Jellison.
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Jeffrey A. Jones, who was reported missing from Fillmore, Indiana, in 1993, was identified as the latest victim of serial killer Herb Baumeister. (Hamilton County Coroner’s Office)
Manuel Resendez, who was 34 when he seemingly vanished in 1996, was identified as one of Herb Baumeister’s victims in January 2024. (Hamilton County Coroner’s Office)
Investigators have tied Baumeister to at least 25 victims, but he was never definitively named as the “I-70 Strangler,” and neither was the other prime suspect, Eyler, who is believed to have murdered at least 21 victims around the same time.
His victims were also boys and young men in the gay community from the same area. Eyler was sentenced to death by lethal injection.
The “I-70 Strangler” and “I-70 Killer” are two different – but still unknown – serial killers who murdered their victims in the same area.
But the “Strangler’s” killings appeared to be sexually motivated, and the victims were male, while the “I-70 Killer’s” victims didn’t have evidence of sexual assault and were typically young women.
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Drone view of the Milwaukee County Courthouse
Check out a bird’s‑eye view of the Milwaukee County Courthouse from a drone
A Milwaukee County Board supervisor wants the public to weigh in on the county’s multi-million dollar project to revamp the the county’s downtown courthouse complex.
In early July, the county updated its project estimate to $897 million to overhaul the crumbling downtown courthouse complex, roughly doubling initial projections.
Supervisor Justin Bielinski, who has been the biggest opponent to the project on the board, authored a resolution calling for a contingent referendum on the Nov. 3 ballot. The referendum would ask voters whether they would require County Board approval for any additional financing needed for the construction phase of the courthouse project.
The resolution, which will go before the finance committee on July 23, also asks for the transfer of $18,000 from the appropriation for contingencies to the Milwaukee County Election Commission to offset the cost of the referendum.
“A capital project of this size is likely to require substantial long-term borrowing, debt service, and future budget commitments by Milwaukee County, which may place upward pressure on the property tax levy to service the debt issued to finance the project,” Bielinski’s resolution says.
The more than 320,000-square-foot Courthouse Complex is almost 100 years old and is home to the county’s criminal courts, County Jail as well as the Sheriff’s and District Attorney’s offices. The existing judicial buildings have been called “severely outdated” and “functionally obsolete,” creating public safety and security concerns over the years as its maintenance backlog exceeds $75 million.
Upon the release of new project estimates, County Executive David Crowley argued he expects his administration’s funding approach to cover the increased costs of the courthouse project and cut the cost to county property tax payers by more than $400 million by tapping other sources.
Crowley has described the project as urgent.
“The Public Safety Building has well surpassed the end of its life. The question in front of us isn’t whether we replace it, but when we will do it and how responsibly we can get it done,” Crowley said in a statement July 2.
The design phase of the new courthouse complex began in late 2024 and with initial timelines expecting to wrap up in 2028 and demolition set to start that year. Construction is expected to take place between 2029 and 2032.
So far, the county has allocated roughly $38.6 million between fiscal years 2024 and 2026 for the preliminary planning, design and consulting work for the project. Approximately $858 million will be needed for the remaining construction.
The county’s adopted capital budget for 2026 was limited to the approved bonding cap of $56.8 million, which leaves $63.3 million in requested bonding authority unfunded, Bielinski’s resolution says, adding that substantial borrowing for the project could limit the county’s ability to finance other major infrastructure needs, such as parks, transit, bridges, roads as well as other public facilities.
“Because of the magnitude and potential countywide fiscal impact of this project, Milwaukee County voters should have a voice through a contingent referendum before the County makes a final construction-phase funding commitment for the [courthouse] project,” the resolution said.
Minneapolis, MN
Marilyn Savage, St. Cloud State Educator And Media Pioneer, Remembered July 18 In Cokato
June 24, 1938 – June 19, 2026
Marilyn Ardis Savage, 87 died from Parkinson’s disease on June 19, 2026 at Ave Maria. She was born June 24, 1938 in Minneapolis, MN to Elmer S. and Mabel A. (Salmela) Sako.
Marilyn graduated from North High class of 1956. She went on to get a Bachelor’s of Science at the U of M. In 1960 she started teaching at John Hay Elementary. In 1975 she married Carl Savage and they went on a leadership conference for media specialists for their honeymoon. In 1982 Marilyn completed her Masters of Science in Information Media at SCSU. Marilyn and Carl were active in the MN Educational Media Organization and published the Minnesota Media magazine. They worked in a group to create Information Media guidelines for the state of MN and Marilyn spoke at events and invited other teachers to observe the curriculum in her media center.
Marilyn touched a lot of lives as a teacher. She was well liked and respected by her students. She commented that it was important to have good relationships with students because you never know when one is going to become your anesthesiologist!
Marilyn and Carl loved to travel and spent many summers in TN visiting his family and in FL where they bought property where they planned on retiring. Their trips were full of adventures like when they unknowingly traveled with a couple of identity thieves.
Marilyn became a widow in 1991 and retired from Zachary Lane Elementary in 1997. Retirement gave her the opportunity to pursue her love of travel. She and her best friend, Jan Sorell, traveled to China and Hawaii together as well as many other smaller trips. Marilyn also visited her nephew in Alaska and even volunteered at a summer camp in Finland. She remained active in her community, helping plan YMCA fundraising events. One of her greatest joys was spending time with her close friends in the “Lunch Bunch,” who gathered each week at their favorite restaurant.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband Carl, sister Evon and fur babies Sase, Sadie and Chloe.
She is survived by nieces Lauren Sako (Scott Krein) Jamestown, ND; Elaine (Keith) Pyle Crystal Lake, IL; stepson Clay (Anita) Savage Hernando, MS; nephew Dave (Lisa) Hendrick Anchorage, AK; niece Theresa Brown Counce, TN; grandnephew Benjamin Salomonsen Hubert, NC; grandniece Natalie (Nik) Eccless Duelm, MN; two great grandnieces and many cousins.
A celebration of life will be held at Benson Funeral Home on July 18th. Visitation at 10am and service at 11am. Lunch after the service. Following the luncheon, Marilyn will be laid to rest at the Cokato Finnish Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family prefers memorials to the Carl & Marilyn Savage Scholarship in Information Media at St. Cloud State University. https://scsu.mn/give
Indianapolis, IN
Unsettled Friday and Saturday, then summer heat returns early next week | July 10, 2026
TODAY
Partly sunny and warm with scattered showers and thunderstorms likely through much of the bookends of the day. Highs reach the mid 80s, with a west southwest breeze around 5 mph. It does not look like nonstop rain from start to finish, but this is the least reliable daytime period in the forecast, and any stronger storm could drop a quick heavy downpour with a gusty burst of wind.
TONIGHT
Scattered showers and thunderstorms remain possible through the evening, then another lower-end storm chance lingers late overnight. Lows settle near the upper 60s, with light wind. The severe risk looks lower than it is Thursday night, but a few pockets of heavier rain are still possible if a boundary stalls close enough to central Indiana.
TOMORROW
Mostly cloudy and not quite as hot, with another chance for showers and thunderstorms developing mainly after mid afternoon. Highs reach the low to mid 80s, with a light northeast breeze around 5 mph. Much of the first half of the day should be usable, but later afternoon and evening plans will still need a weather eye.
TOMORROW NIGHT
A few showers and thunderstorms may linger early, then the trend turns quieter with mostly cloudy skies overnight. Lows fall to the upper 60s, with an east northeast breeze around 5 mph. It is a calmer setup than Friday night overall, even if an early interruption is still possible.
SUNDAY
Mostly sunny and warmer with highs in the mid 80s. An east breeze around 5 to 10 mph keeps the day from feeling too stagnant, and this looks like one of the cleaner forecast days of the stretch. Most of central Indiana should stay dry from start to finish.
SUNDAY NIGHT
Mostly clear and seasonably mild, with lows around the mid 60s and a light east northeast breeze. Quiet weather continues overnight with no meaningful travel concerns.
MONDAY
Sunny and hotter, with highs climbing into the upper 80s. A light east wind around 5 mph holds through the day. After the unsettled end of the workweek, this looks like a very usable summer day with heat becoming the main story instead of storms.
MONDAY NIGHT
Mostly clear and warm, with lows near 70 and only a light breeze. There will be little trouble overnight, and the warmer pattern settles in more firmly.
TUESDAY
Sunny and hot again, with highs near 90. Wind stays light, becoming east southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon. This is another day where the weather looks broadly quiet, with heat the main thing to plan around.
7 DAY FORECAST
The main concern in the near term is the unsettled Friday into Saturday period, when repeated rounds of showers and thunderstorms could bring quick heavy rain, especially Friday afternoon and evening. After that, the pattern trends warmer and drier from Sunday into at least Tuesday, with highs returning to the upper 80s and lower 90s while heat index values stay more manageable than the late-June heat. By Wednesday and Thursday, isolated afternoon and evening storms begin to creep back into the forecast, with a more noticeable thunderstorm threat showing up later next week into next weekend.
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