**Nearly a decade after Larry Ely Murillo-Moncada vanished during a winter storm in Council Bluffs, Iowa, a grim discovery inside an abandoned supermarket finally solved the mystery.
On November 28, 2009, the 25-year-old ran barefoot from his home amid heavy snowfall, reportedly frightened and believing someone was following him after returning from a Thanksgiving shift at a local grocery store. When he didn’t come back, his family reported him missing the next day. Despite extensive searches, flyers, and interviews with friends and coworkers, no solid leads emerged, leaving his family in painful uncertainty for years. Then, in 2019, contractors dismantling equipment inside a former No Frills Supermarket found human remains wedged behind a large refrigeration unit.
DNA testing confirmed they were Murillo-Moncada’s. Investigators believe he returned to the store, where employees sometimes climbed atop the coolers while stocking shelves, and accidentally slipped into a narrow 12-foot gap between the units and the wall. The loud refrigeration noise likely drowned out any cries for help. An autopsy found no signs of trauma, and officials ruled his death a tragic accident—hidden until the building was finally cleared a decade later.**
