Chicago Daily Herald, IL
04-03-07
Rolling Meadows man missing at Iowa State
By Amie Shak
Daily Herald Staff Writer
A 19-year-old college student from Rolling Meadows went missing from Iowa
State University in Ames early Saturday, police said.
Abel M. Bolanos, a 2005 graduate of Rolling Meadows High School, was last
seen between 4 and 4:30 a.m. leaving a party at 208 S. Hyland Ave. near the
Iowa State University campus, Iowa State University police Cmdr. Gene
Deisinger said.
Bolanos is a sophomore at the school and is a George Washington Carver
scholarship recipient, university officials said.
Police said Bolanos drove to the party and parked about a block away, leaving
his car and room keys at the party.
He was last seen walking south on Hyland away from the party around 4 to 4:30
a.m., Deisinger said. Witnesses said he may have been drinking.
The car Bolanos drove was still parked on the street, he said.
Bolanos may have been in the Wallace Wilson complex area on campus where
he lives around 4:30 a.m., but police said that even if he got into the secured
building, he wouldn’t have been able to get into his room because he left his keys
at the party, Deisinger said.
Police have done an “exhaustive” search in the area between the party and the
residence hall where Bolanos has a single room, doing a door to door canvass
with trained search personnel and volunteers.
Officials also used an Iowa State Police patrol plane that has heat-detection
technology and a civil air patrol plane for visual searches in an outlying wooden
area, Deisinger said.
On Monday morning, an unidentified person walked into an Ames bank and
turned in a credit and debit card they found bearing Bolanos’ name, Deisinger
said.
There were no attempts by that person to misuse the card, he said.
Since it’s not an uncommon practice for people to turn in bank cards they have
found, the bank did not log a name or contact information of the person who
turned it in, Deisinger said.
Police are asking that person to contact them, as they are looking for information
on where, when and what condition the cards were found, Deisinger said.
Police have not found anything to indicate foul play at this point and family and
friends said it’s unusual for Bolanos to be out of contact with them for this long,
Deisinger said.
The investigation will continue today, when trained search personnel and
community volunteers will continue to search residence halls and buildings room
by room once again, Deisinger said. Staff have also searched mechanical areas
and places they believe he wouldn’t have had access to, he said.
Bolanos is 5 feet 7 tall, 165 pounds with brown hair that is short and straight with
brown eyes, police said. He has the words “Ancora Imparo” tattooed on his upper
right arm. He was last seen wearing jeans, a white T-shirt and brown shoes,
police said.
Although police have not yet come across any information indicating he has
come home to the Rolling Meadows area, they are asking that anyone with
information about Bolanos’ disappearance to call Iowa State University Police at
(515) 294œ4428.