WATERLOO COLD CASE: Micalla Rettinger’s Shooting Death

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It's been two years since a routine drive on a Waterloo highway turned into a tragedy.

Former UNI softball player Micalla Rettinger was returning home from work around 2:30 AM on April 28, 2019, when a bullet shattered the driver’s side window of her jeep as it crossed the U.S. Highway 218 bridge over the Cedar River near George Wyth State Park. The bullet struck the 25-year-old Rettinger in the neck. She died shortly after stopping the vehicle on the shoulder of the highway.

For the past 24 months, investigators have been trying to figure out who fired the fatal shot. Waterloo police have been working with federal and state authorities, but still haven't been able come up with any definitive clues. Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers is offering a $58,000 reward to anyone who provides information that brings closure to the unsolved case.

Rettinger's boyfriend, Adam Kimball, was a passenger in the front seat of her jeep. Authorities determined the same bullet that struck Rettinger also hit Kimball in the mouth. He recovered after being treated at an Iowa City hospital. A second passenger and a dog – both in the back seat – weren’t injured.

Soon after the incident, police said there was no evidence that Rettinger or her vehicle were intentional targets.

Rettinger graduated from UNI in 2016 with a degree in biology. She wanted to be a dentist. The Lenexa, Kan., native played softball for the Panthers from 2013-2016, starting every game each of the four years.

Anyone with information about the case should call Waterloo Police at 319-291-4340, Ext. 7, or Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers at 1-855-300-TIPS (8477). Tips can also be left using the Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers website.