Ellabeth Mae Lodermeier, a 25-year-old social worker, was last seen at her home in the 300 block of North Indiana Avenue in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on the evening of March 6, 1974. She was estranged from her husband, Gene Vernel Lodermeier, and the couple was in the midst of divorce proceedings at the time. Her boyfriend, who lived separately in Sioux Falls but was out of town that day, called her home three times between 9:00 and 9:30 p.m. that evening; each time the call was answered by an upstairs tenant rather than Ellabeth. When she failed to report to work the next morning, March 7, coworkers contacted her husband, who went to her residence with them and found the home locked and her car parked in the driveway. Inside, they found a partially eaten pizza and spilled flour on the kitchen floor, and a loaf of bread left rising on the counter. Her purse and coat were missing, but nothing else in the home appeared disturbed or taken. She has not been seen or heard from since.
The Sioux Falls Police Department is the lead investigating agency (agency case number 1974-4456; NamUs #MP8614). In September 1974, several of Ellabeth's credit cards were found in a women's restroom at a Canadian National Railway station in Dauphin, Manitoba — roughly 650 miles from Sioux Falls — though investigators found no evidence she had ever traveled there and believe the cards were planted to mislead the investigation. In April 1992, her wallet, checkbook, and additional cards were recovered from a hole along the banks of the Big Sioux River near Highway 42 and South Riverview Avenue, east of Sioux Falls; a subsequent search of the river turned up no further trace of her. Ellabeth's boyfriend was investigated, took and passed a polygraph examination, and was cleared of suspicion. Gene Lodermeier, the last person known to have seen her, has been described by police as a person of interest; he was never charged in connection with her disappearance and died of natural causes in 2013. Investigators consider the case a suspected homicide and believe Ellabeth is deceased. A reward has previously been offered by a family friend for verifiable information leading to the location of her remains. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Sioux Falls Police Department or Crime Stoppers of the Sioux Empire at 605-367-7007.
