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Arkdale Cold Case Remains Unsolved 31 Years Later

By: WSAW Staff
Posted: Wed 4:50 AM, Nov 28, 2012

More than three decades have now passed since the body of an Arkdale man was found off of a remote road in Adams County. No arrests have been made, and no charges have been filed, but investigators still believe someone out there knows something they're not saying.

Terry Smith, then 26, was last seen August 28, 1981. He had been to Two G's bar in Adams around noon with his wife, Mary. Mary says then she drove Terry to Wisconsin Dells where he was going catch a ride to Belvidere, Illinois where he had family.

Investigators say Terry and his wife were having problems at the time.

On November 28, 1981, hunters found Terry's partially decomposed body in a rural area north of the Village of Grand Marsh.

He had been shot in the chest.

During an interview with WMTV-TV, in 2009, Terry's sister, Karen Hammer said she believed the suspect was local. “Obviously knew the area... knew the surroundings."

Karen says she never knew of Terry coming for a visit. He was never reported missing.

"It's just so hard to think in this day and age, with all of the modern technology somebody gets away with murder, I find that baffling."

If you have any information you're asked to call the Adams County Sheriffs Department at 608-339-3304 or 1-877-885-9977.


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