IA - Micalla Rettinger, 25, shot while driving home from work, Waterloo, 28 April 2019

[Jethro4WS]

The reward in this case is now up $58,000.
Reward skyrockets for info into killing of former Park Hill student Micalla Rettinger

 

[annie1038]

I just came home on this this same stretch of highway 20 minutes ago in the dark. It's really hard to believe the bullet came from below, from the wooded area. I suppose it could be a fluke, but I just don't see it.

 

[GordianKnot]

Micalla Rettinger’s funeral to be held today

Her funeral is today.

 

[GordianKnot]

Here's a picture of the bridge where she was shot:
Search yields few clues to Highway 218 shooting

Thank you for that, PT: having a visual of that bridge is definitely helpful.

I'm really struggling with seeing how this could be a hunting-related accidental shooting looking at that bridge elevation.

I do wonder precisely where the vehicle was located on the bridge when the bullet struck, i.e., whether they had just gotten on, were midway across, etc.

Has LE definitively stated there were no other vehicles on the bridge at the time of the shooting?
I'm wondering if there could have been a vehicle on the bridge coming the other direction that had their lights cut.

JMO.

 

[GordianKnot]

Grieving family of Micalla Rettinger asks shooter to please come forward

SABBM:

Meanwhile, KWWL spoke with Black Hawk County Conservation.

They say the area near where the shooting happened is not known for illegal hunting activity.

Black Hawk County Conservation Executive Director Mike Hendrickson says, “No one remembers a time when any of us were called down there that there was illegal hunting or there were shots being fired or anything like that, so we have just never come across that with our experience.”
_______________________________

Reading the the linked article, it's hard to believe that the most likely scenario is that this was some type of accidental shooting by a hunter.

What the heck happened here?
Where did that shot come from?
Do either of the other passengers remember seeing or hearing another vehicle on that bridge or not?

Weird.

JMO.

 

[Ommmm]

Thank you for that, PT: having a visual of that bridge is definitely helpful.

I'm really struggling with seeing how this could be a hunting-related accidental shooting looking at that bridge elevation.

I do wonder precisely where the vehicle was located on the bridge when the bullet struck, i.e., whether they had just gotten on, were midway across, etc.

Has LE definitively stated there were no other vehicles on the bridge at the time of the shooting?
I'm wondering if there could have been a vehicle on the bridge coming the other direction that had their lights cut.

JMO.

It was incredibly foggy that night/morning too. The kind of fog where you can’t see the stop light just up ahead even though you know it’s there. You can see it in one of the news photos of the police vehicles blocking the exit.

ETA photo and link

UPDATE: Woman was shot while driving on Highway 218 (PHOTOS)

'Illegal hunting' angle being probed in fatal shooting of 25-year-old on highway

 

[GordianKnot]

Boyfriend of woman killed by apparent random bullet speaks out

Video interview with MR's boyfriend.

 

[PastTense]

King, the beloved husky of Micalla Rettinger and Adam Kimball, went everywhere with his human parents. And he was there in the backseat of the Jeep during Rettinger’s final moments in the early hours of April 28 when a bullet entered the driver’s side window on U.S. Highway 218 in Waterloo, taking Rettinger’s life and injuring Kimball. So perhaps it was no surprise King was also there when Rettinger was memorialized and laid to rest Friday in Lenexa, Kansas.

Micalla Rettinger's dad speaks with The Courier

 

[Jethro4WS]

We now know that the bullet that struck her and then struck her boyfriend was a 9mm.
Investigators examining bullet that killed former UNI softball player

The bullet broke through Micalla Rettinger's car window and killed her while she was driving home on Highway 218 near Waterloo on April 28. She died a short time later.

The bullet also hit her boyfriend Adam Kimball, 32, in the face. He is recovering from his injuries.

KCRG reports investigators said they believe the bullet came from a nearby wooded area.

Iowa State University is taking a close look at the 9-millimeter bullet. The university has microscopes that can look at the grooves to help officials gather necessary data.​

 

[Ommmm]

I’m skeptical about the wooded area being the location. I’m hoping someone who knows firearms better than I will correct me if I’m wrong but, isn’t a 9mm essentially a hand gun? Can a 9mm really travel that far and still have enough velocity to go through a window and two people? And even if it can travel the distance, how did it get up there? The land is much lower than the interstate overpass. There would be zero clear line of sight unless they were elevated too.

 

[PastTense]

The local newspaper's editorial:

All communities of substantial size have seen their share of senseless death. The Cedar Valley is no exception. However, every once in a while there are cases that strain our ability to comprehend; cases that are nearly as mysterious as they are tragic...

There has been talk of a stray bullet from the area around the former Sherwood Park neighborhood between the Cedar River and the highway — which is managed by the Black Hawk County Conservation Board. But Mike Hendrickson, conservation director, has stated the area is not used for hunting or target practice, adding he can’t recall ever having issues with illegal gun use in the area.

That may have changed. Something extremely out of the ordinary occurred here in the early morning hours of April 28. Whether this incident is steeped in evil, or is a one-in-a-million coincidental accident — or something in between — we know one thing: A driven young woman with dreams of becoming a dentist was taken way too soon.

The senseless death of Micalla Rettinger

 

[PastTense]

Sunday, May 19, marked three weeks since Micalla Rettinger, 25, was shot and killed while driving on Highway 218 in Waterloo.

Waterloo Police said this morning, there are still tips coming in. Police said, those tips result in new leads, along with other investigatory leads that are developed.

THREE WEEKS LATER: Waterloo Police say tips still coming in, in Micalla Rettinger case

 

[Ommmm]

Admin, please delete if not allowed.

 

[scriabina]

Admin, please delete if not allowed.

Whoa, a quick google search reveals that from the street names it appears this was in Waterloo IA as well...?! That is a disturbing coincidence. So there may be some psycho on the loose shooting people at random on the streets in the dead of night? Terrifying!!

 

[Ommmm]

Whoa, a quick google search reveals that from the street names it appears this was in Waterloo IA as well...?! That is a disturbing coincidence. So there may be some psycho on the loose shooting people at random on the streets in the dead of night? Terrifying!!

Yes, it is.

 

[scriabina]

Admin, please delete if not allowed.

The only possible MSM source for this I can find is here, but it has very little info. Waterloo 16-year-old struck by bullet Monday

 

[Ommmm]

The only possible MSM source for this I can find is here, but it has very little info. Waterloo 16-year-old struck by bullet Monday

I think that may be a different incident. The man she was referring to is middle aged and on was his way to work, early in the morning. Let me see if I can find a MSM source. Odd... normally this kind of thing would garner lots of media attention.

 

[Ommmm]

Officers heard second shot while investigating Micalla Rettinger highway shooting

 

[PastTense]

"Evidence of "KK's" indelible effect on people comes in the form of checks, dog collars and cash. In the 60 or so days since Rettinger, 25, was mysteriously gunned down in Waterloo, nearly $30,000 has been raised in her honor for a scholarship at her alma mater, the University of Northern Iowa.

Her family says they have been overwhelmed by pictures of the former softball star that fill Facebook accounts and the donations by everyone from childhood friends to strangers. “It’s amazing to see that, but it makes it that much more heartbreaking," said Kelly Rettinger, Micalla's stepmother. "She would have continued to bring so much good into the world, but we were robbed, and she was robbed, of that opportunity.”...

Waterloo police Capt. Joe Leibold told the Register on Wednesday there was little information to release about the two-month-old investigation. Evidence is being tested and leads are being followed, but he divulged no details. The round that killed Rettinger and injured her boyfriend is being examined by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Leibold said, but test results won't be immediately publicized."
With leads in April homicide investigation scarce, family works to cement former UNI softball star's legacy

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

Admin, please delete if not allowed.

Reported by KWWL at 7:49 am on May 22, 2019:
“[SBM]
Police were called to Hammond Ave./ E. Ridgeway Ave. around 4 a.m. on Tuesday.

When officers arrived on scene, they found a vehicle that was damaged.

No injuries were reported.
[SBM]” (BBM)
Police respond to vehicle hit by gunfire