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Iowa Cold Cases
Larry Ely Murillo Moncada
Missing Person — SOLVED
Name: Larry Ely Murillo Moncada
Aka: Marlon Murillo
Age at Report: 25 YOA
Date of Birth: August 22, 1984
Height: 6’
Weight: 140 lbs.
Eye Color: Brown
Hair Color: Black
Race: Hispanic/Latino
Missing From: 719 N. 14th St.
Council Bluffs, IA
Pottawattamie County
Agency: Council Bluffs Police Department
Incident Type: Endangered Missing
Case Number: 09-039818
NamUs MP # 27992
Last Seen: November 28, 2009
Remains Found: January 24, 2019 — No Frills Supermarket in Council Bluffs
Positively Identified as Murillo-Moncada: July 22, 2019
UPDATE
July 22, 2019: The remains found behind a former No Frills Supermarket cooler in Council Bluffs, Iowa, in January 2019 have been identified as those of Larry Ely Murillo-Moncada, a former employee who had been reported missing November 28, 2009. Investigators used his parents’ DNA to confirm the identity, and the clothes matched the description of his attire at the time he was reported missing, Council Bluffs Police Capt. Todd Weddum said.
Weddum said Murillo-Moncada’s parents reported their son missing after he became upset and ran out of their home. They told police at the time that he was acting irrationally, possibly because of a new anti-depressant medication he’d begun taking.
Officers contacted family members, other law enforcement agencies, nearby detention centers and even the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency — he had been deported to Honduras before making his way back to the United States — but received no information regarding his possible whereabouts, CNN reported July 22, 2019.
Investigators now believe Murillo-Moncada went to the supermarket and climbed on top of the coolers. The space was used as storage for merchandise, Weddum said, and employees would sometimes go there to hide when they wanted to take an unofficial break.
He is thought to have fallen into the 18-inch gap between the back of the cooler and a wall, where he became trapped. Noise from the coolers’ compressors may have concealed any attempts to call for help, according to Weddum.
An autopsy conducted on the remains found no signs of trauma, and the case has been closed and deemed an accidental death.
Case summary compiled by Jody Ewing
Larry Murillo, 25, fled from his Council Bluffs, Iowa home on Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009 after beginning a new regiment of anti-depressants and having hallucinations. Despite the cold weather, he left the house with no shoes or coat, wearing only blue jeans and a blue long-sleeve shirt.
His mother reported him missing to the Council Bluffs Police Department later that night.
Murillo lived with his mother at 719 N. 14th Street, and was last seen on Saturday about 6:15 p.m. when he began experiencing hallucinations and fled the home in fear.
Ana Moncada described her son as a 6-foot Hispanic male with brown eyes, black hair, and weighing 140 pounds.
Had seemed disoriented
Mrs. Moncada said her son went to work on Thanksgiving night and when he returned home the morning of November 27, seemed disoriented. She took him to see a doctor, who prescribed an anti-depressant for anxiety.
Pottawattamie County in IowaHe continued to feel disoriented and began to hear voices, Mrs. Moncada said
Though Murillo did not eat very much sugar, she said, by Saturday he’d started having hallucinations.“He said somebody was following him, and he was scared,” she said. This fear apparently led Murillo to run out the door that evening without wearing any shoes, Stockton said. The family has checked with acquaintances and posted flyers at businesses they frequent, but have heard nothing so far.
Larry left behind his wallet, medication and all personal property, and there has not been any activity on his accounts.