FORT DODGE – Many people are on edge in Fort Dodge, after the death of the woman found inside the Cadwell Building last week is ruled a homicide.
First responders found 50-year-old Lorri Alexander dead last Thursday just after midnight. Her death comes just days after another body was found in a field just southwest of Fort Dodge in the town of Moorland. 51-year-old Donald Preston was found shot dead last Monday.
In the midst of these investigations, people in the area say they are shocked by these two unsolved murder investigations.
“It’s frustrating, it’s heartbreaking, it’s sickening,” said Bethany Thurston, who works at a family-owned bar, run by her mother, which is just across the street from the Cadwell Building.
People, like Thurston, who live in Fort Dodge are still processing the two homicides in the area.
“It’s a tragedy but it also just goes to show the problem with crime,” Thurston said.
Thurston says because of the crime in Fort Dodge, and because Lorri Alexander’s body was found so close to the bar she works at, business is not booming.
“[The Cadwell Building] has been the most difficult thing about keeping our family business up and running,” Thurston said. “People coming in and out of here, we know, are doing illegal things, it scares off our paying customers.”
That fear – is also something Thurston feels herself.
“I park right by the front door and I got to call for a police escort just to walk ten feet to get into my vehicle to go home,” Thurston said.
Thurston says Fort Dodge is no stranger to crime, but it is still unsettling to have two unsolved homicides at the start of the new year.
“It really raises a red flag,” Thurston said. “Is this where I want to put down my roots and start a career and raise a family? And for those that are already here, I’m sure it’s very very discouraging.”
The medical examiners office has not released a cause of death for Lorri Alexander, and police say they are continuing their investigation. As of Wednesday night, no arrests have been made.
The Fort Dodge Police are asking for the public’s help in their investigation into Lorri Alexander’s death. If you have any information, contact police at (515) 573-1426, or Crimestoppers at (515) 573-1444.
Stay with Local 5 for more updates.
