Jerry Greenfield hasn’t lost hope after 47 years.
Her cousin, Ronald Westwick, then 34, left his parents’ home in Ellsworth on March 12, 1979, to go to a bar in Ames. He was expected home later that night, but never returned.
His family knew something happened because Westwick left without his epilepsy medication at home.
Nearly 50 years have passed, and Westwick still hasn’t been found.
The case, cold for decades, was reopened in early 2026 after Ames Police uncovered a new lead.
Ames Police Maj. Dan Walter said one of Westwick’s acquaintances came forward with new information.
“I think the witness was at a different point in their life and decided it was time to share what they knew,” Walters said.
Though Walter said he couldn’t share the information with the public, his department “corroborated” the tip, which inspired additional interviews and follow-up.
The tip was significant enough for the Ames Police Department to assign a detective to the cold case.
Greenfield hopes the new investigation turns up something concrete, providing much-needed closure.
“That would be so nice if we could just put him to rest, if there were bones or something,” Greenfield said. “As time goes by, you kind of forget and then something will happen and you remember and you think, ‘oh, I wish I could find him and put him to rest.'”
Ronald Westwick was a ‘happy person’
Greenfield and Westwick were the same age. Their families lived nearby, so they saw each other often and quickly developed a strong bond.
“He was an only child, so he didn’t have any brothers or sisters,” Greenfield said. “So we were kind of like brother and sister.”
Westwick was always funny, good-hearted, and liked to laugh. She remembers one particular visit to the family’s farm, when Westwick’s mother helped her ride a pony. After a short ride around the house, the pony suddenly stopped and threw Greenfield off.
“I went right over the top of the pony into the chicken yard, so I had chicken poop all down the front of me,” Greenfield said. “And Ron laughed so hard. He just thought that was hilarious.”
Westwick was a good dancer who was a big hit with the girls at high school gatherings.
“He was always very jokey, and he was liked by all of our classmates,” Greenfield said. “I think you could have smacked him in the face, and he still would have been a happy person; he just never got upset about anything.”
Ronald Westwick had a hard adult life
Westwick had a hard life after high school. He got several citations for drunk driving and stole a school bus from Webster City, landing him in the Anamosa State Penitentiary in the late 1960s.
Westwick got married shortly after he was released. He moved in with his parents in Ellsworth after he divorced, before he went missing in 1979.
Greenfield and Westwick slowly grew apart as adults. The last time Greenfield saw her cousin was a year before he went missing, when he stopped for a brief visit at her Story City home
“He stopped after his shift at American Pack, where he had been working,” Greenfield said.” He got such a kick out of our son, and we just had a nice visit.”
Family shocked, distraught by Ronald Westwick’s disappearance
Greenfield was shocked when Westwick went missing.
“It was like, no, that can’t really be right, maybe he just went off somewhere,” Greenfield said. “But he didn’t, because they found his car and at the bar that he was at, he was playing some kind of game that kept score, and he had gotten a high score.”
Both of Westwick’s have passed since he disappeared. His father, Elmer, died shortly after his son went missing because it “took a toll on him.”
Westwick’s disappearance hurt his mother, Ruth, too, though she held out hope to once again see him.
“When she talked about him, she never cried,” Greenfield said. “I think it was therapy for her to talk about him.”
Ruth Westwick made sure a burial plot was ready for Weswick in case she passed before he was found. The Westwicks are buried in Rose Grove Cemetery in Hamilton County, where a headstone sits nearby for their son’s remains.
“I do think that (his remains) will eventually be found,” Greenfield said. “I’m really grateful for the Iowa Cold Case Unit that was established, and I’m grateful to the Ames police and whoever is working on it that they still want to find out what happened to him.”
Police ask anyone with information about Westwick’s disappearance to call 515-239-5133 or submit a tip at www.crimestoppersofcentraliowa.com.
Celia Brocker is a government, crime, political and education reporter for the Ames Tribune. She can be reached at CBrocker@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Ames Police uncover new lead in 47-year-old cold case
Reporting by Celia Brocker, Ames Tribune / Ames Tribune
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