life. families separated from their loved ones. gone without a trace. nationwide, there are almost 100,000 active missing persons cases. since december 2013, dateline s online missing in america series has been telling some of those heartbreaking stories. one of the first came from the heartland. where not everything is serene and pastoral. this is the quad cities. urban. industrial. gritty. four cities split by the mighty mississippi river. two on the iowa side, two in illinois. these days, the quad cities is a sometimes uneasy mix of old-fashioned midwestern valus and modern urban life where crime is an unescapable part of the landscape.