March 13, 2021
Ruthven, Iowa The man who had faced 1st Degree Murder charges in connection with the murder of a man whose body was found in a lake near Ruthven last summer, has pled Guilty to, and been sentenced for, that murder.
On July 22nd last year, Palo Alto County authorities received a report of a possible body in Virgin Lake, south of Ruthven. Upon arriving deputies discovered a body about 25 feet from shore. According to the Palo Alto County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation was called and the body, later identified as 27-year-old Rollin J. Bontrager of Washington, Iowa, was removed from the lake and transported to the Iowa Medical Examiner’s Office in Ankeny.
Trial Pushed Back For Man Accused of Murder in Palo Alto County
January 16, 2021 6:08 am
Saga Communications
Emmetsburg, IA (KICD)– The trial for an Emmetsburg man charged with murder after a body was found in a Palo Alto County lake last summer has been pushed back.
29-year-old Allen Schwidder was scheduled for a jury trial in March, but updated court documents show he will now have to wait until June 21st to have his day in court.
Schwidder was charged with first degree murder in August after the body of 27-year-old Rollin Bontrager was found in Virgin Lake south of Ruthven after reportedly having been beaten to death.