"With Grateful Hearts:" Womack Family Thanks Those Who Helped Bring Todd Home

From the Winneshiek County Sheriff's Office: "With Grateful Hearts, We Thank You!" Forty-one years ago, our brother left us, and with his absence came a lifetime of unanswered questions. For more than four decades, our family never knew where he was, what had happened, or whether we would ever receive the answers we needed. In 1985, our brother Clifton "Todd" Womack was living with our mother, Peggy Jo Womack in Eastlake, Ohio. One day he told our mom, "I'm going out to look for a job", only to never come back. She filed a missing person's report with the local law enforcement, the Eastlake PoliceDepartment. While the police department did all they could; over the years nothing substantial ever came up. Our mom passed in the late 1980's, never to know what happened to her youngest son. Recently, through the extraordinary work of Winneshiek County Sheriff's Office in Iowa, his remains were identified. This discovery has given our family something we have waited 41 years for to receive: the truth, and a measure of peace. We are grateful to every person who helped bring him home to us in this way. To the investigators, law enforcement officers, medical examiners, forensic specialists, advocates, and all who continued to search for answers, please know that your dedication has made an immeasurable difference in our lives. A special mention to the following:Thank you Deputy Cole Tweten for wanting to open an old unresolved case. Your desire and commitment to solve this case has given us closure for our brother. Thank you Sheriff Dan Marx, for giving the go ahead for Deputy Tweten along with the assistance of Detective Chris Wuebker to pursue this investigation. With your approval to open an old case, you gave the impetus that your Sheriff's office needed to solve this old case! Thank you Retired Sheriff Floyd Ashbacher who was part of the original investigation when our brother's remains were found. Our conversation on Facetime with you was very helpful! Thanks to Winneshiek County Sheriff's office for setting up a Facetime call to allow our family to talk with the above-mentioned law enforcement officers and describe everything that went into finally identifying our brother's remains. You went above and beyond your duties, there are no words to describe our appreciation! Thanks to the Winneshiek County community for providing a gravesite, with a marker for our brother Todd's remains at a local cemetery. You took the time and resources to give our brother a dignified burial! Thanks to the Elizabeth Collins Foundation who provided the funds to exhume our brother's remains which allowed the Winneshiek County Sheriff's Office to identify our brother. Now, we can begin to remember him and honor his life knowing that he was not forgotten. The compassion and commitment shown by so many have helped give us the closure we prayed for. Our brother was loved. He was family. Today, we hold on to the memories and the gratitude we feel toward everyone who helped make this day possible. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for helping us find answers, for treating our brother with dignity, and for giving our family the gift of closure after 41 years. Sincerely, Jay, Terry, Sherry and Amber Womack