An investigation has been initiated into the death of a Monona County woman. The Iowa Department of Public Safety has reported that the Monona County Sheriff’s Office and Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) located a body a short distance from the victim’s home in rural Castana. The Sheriff’s Office had received a request for a welfare check on 66-year-old Cheryl Stowe on Tuesday, June 26. Upon their arrival at her residence, deputies made contact with Stowe’s grandson, Eliot Stowe. Cheryl was not located at that time, but Eliot was arrested on an outstanding warrant for an unrelated matter. The next day, the body of Cheryl Stowe was found and has been transported to the Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Office in Ankeny for an autopsy. Other agencies involved in the ongoing investigation include the Monona County Attorney’s Office, the Iowa State Patrol, the Mapleton Police Department and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI). Castana is a small community west of Ute and south of Mapleton.
