MUS-2026-303
Archive card
MUS-2026-303
Homicide
- Incident
- 1997
- Indexed
- Oct 17, 2026, by MuseUnsolved
- Agency
- Dawson County Sheriff's Office
- Location
- Cozad NE
Public record. Index entry.
Index entry. Case details compiled from public reporting; our researchers have not verified this file yet.
Summary
What happened, as the record shows.
Leah Rowlands, 41, was shot and killed during an armed robbery at an Amoco station off Interstate 80 in Cozad, Nebraska, on March 10, 1997. She was working her first shift after being promoted to store manager. An unknown man shot her three times with a 9mm semiautomatic firearm, and the entire event was caught on store surveillance video. America's Most Wanted aired the tape twice, in 1997 and 2002, and hundreds of leads poured in, but no suspect has been arrested. The FBI ViCAP issued a cold case homicide alert for the case on April 17, 2020.
Timeline
What the record establishes.
- March 10, 1997
At about 10:30 a.m., an unknown man entered the Amoco Convenience Station in Cozad and shot clerk Rowlands three times with a 9mm semiautomatic firearm.
- March 10, 1997
Rowlands was working her first shift after being promoted to store manager.
- 1997 and 2002
America's Most Wanted aired the security videotape twice, and hundreds of leads poured in, but no suspect has been arrested.
- April 17, 2020
FBI ViCAP issued its cold case homicide alert for the case.
Key people
The people in the file.
41, a divorced mother of two, of Cozad. Shot three times during an armed robbery at the Amoco station where she had just been promoted to store manager.
Contact details change over time; confirm the current assignee before publishing.
Investigating agency
Where tips go.
This case is with the Dawson County Sheriff's Office. If you know something, say something to them. For public-record leads for our researchers, use the tip line on any open file.
Coverage
Coverage and further reading.
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