1st Cold Case Analyzed by A.I. Sparks Renewed Federal Effort in Missing Persons Case

An Indigenous mother vanished. A decade of dead ends followed—until Meskwaki Police turned to AI to reignite the case. See how TRULEO is helping.

MESKWAKI NATION, IA, UNITED STATES, June 24, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- For over a decade, Rita J. Papakee, an Indigenous Native American mother of four, has been missing and presumed dead. At least 25 agencies were involved in the initial response and investigation, but after 10 years of dead ends, unstructured tips, and scattered reports, the case went cold. That’s when the Meskwaki Nation Police Department turned to artificial intelligence to strengthen and support their ongoing efforts to bring it to a close.

When Jason Gudenkauf was promoted to lieutenant three years ago, Police Chief Jeffery Bunn tasked him with overseeing Papakee’s case and made it a priority for the department. Lt. Gudenkauf contacted TRULEO, the leading AI platform for law enforcement, to see if the company would be willing to assist with summarizing and analyzing over 10 years of gathered details, leads, witness statements, sonar scans, phone records, social media posts, interviews, body worn camera footage and more.

TRULEO CEO/co-founder Anthony Tassone said, “Lt. Gudenkauf called and explained the case and its challenges. With a multi-faceted, cross-agency case file with non-uniform documentation spanning over a decade, it was imperative that the department get a fresh set of eyes on the data. That’s where TRULEO came in.”

Years of evidence, details, and artifacts were uploaded and analyzed, leaving no stone unturned. The result? A 27-page report delivered to the department categorizing and prioritizing tips and information, identifying discrepancies in witness interviews, providing a comprehensive timeline, and estimating a total expenditure on resources from Day 1 of the search. The document and its findings led the department to contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and reignited the search with deployment of cadaver dogs in a different area.

Although the recent search did not yield significant findings, the renewed efforts send a powerful message to Rita’s family and the community: this case still matters.

“We want to do everything possible that we can to bring this case to a resolution,” said Lt. Gudenkauf. “We are grateful to TRULEO for assisting us with this major undertaking and will continue working diligently to provide closure and justice for Rita’s family.”

Know something that might help to resolve Rita’s case? Contact Lt. Jason Gudenkauf at the Meskwaki Nation Police Department at (641) 484-4844, the Tip Line at (641) 484-5400, or the Tama County Dispatch at (641) 484-3760. You may be eligible for a $100,000 reward.

TRULEO’s Case Summarization

Case summarization is just one of TRULEO’s recently released features intentionally built for investigators.
This technology simplifies the complexity of data associated with an investigation and helps to accelerate results.

How it works:
Simply upload your case materials, and TRULEO handles the rest — analyzing, summarizing, and organizing the details into a clear, actionable report. With key insights, patterns, and critical comparisons surfaced for you, you can focus on what matters most: solving the case, faster and more confidently.

To find out more about TRULEO’s additional workflows for investigators, visit truleo.co.

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About TRULEO

TRULEO is the most ethical, unbiased, and operationally effective AI platform built exclusively for law enforcement. Trusted by Chiefs, patrol officers, and investigators, TRULEO automates critical workflows—from report writing and performance reviews to witness interviews and virtual dispatch. By analyzing policies, statutes, RMS data, and body camera video, TRULEO answers real-time questions and generates clean, professional reports—just like a virtual analyst. Fully compatible with all RMS and body camera systems, TRULEO is proudly 100% made in America and is taught as part of the FBI National Academy curriculum in Quantico, Virginia. Learn more at truleo.co.

Anthony Tassone
TRULEO
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