ISP asking for public’s help to solve 1984 cold case of woman’s abduction, murder

MARSHALL COUNTY, Ind. (WANE) – Indiana State Police detectives are asking for the public’s help to piece together details of a 1984 cold case in Marshall County.

Nearly 41 years ago, Darlene Hulse – a 28-year-old wife and mother – was abducted from her rural Argos home and murdered. The culprit was never caught.

On the morning of Aug. 17, 1984, Hulse and her three daughters were about to leave their house on 20B Road when a man disguised as a delivery driver forced his way into the home, according to a press release from ISP. Investigators determined there was a struggle between Hulse and the attacker; meanwhile, her two older daughters – at 6 and 8 years old – ran to the nearby home of a family member to report the attack.

When police responded to Hulse’s house, her 11-month-old daughter was inside, but Hulse was nowhere to be found. Investigators determined Hulse was “brutally attacked and abducted” and was driven away in the man’s car.

Witnesses described the suspect as a white man in his mid to late 20s, between 6 feet tall and 6’2″, with blond hair combed to the side, a long nose and long face. The car was described as a 70s style 4-door, greenish in color with rust, possibly an Oldsmobile or Pontiac.

The next afternoon, someone reported to police there was a dead woman found in the woods on Olive Trail between State Road 110 and 20A Road, about six miles west of the Hulse home. The woman’s identity was confirmed to be Hulse; she died of blunt force trauma, according to the autopsy.

“Somebody knows something,” said ISP Detective Arthur Smith. “It might be a family member, friend, or former associate. Please help us in finding answers for Darlene’s family and the community. They deserve it.”

Anyone with information on the case should report it to the ISP Cold Case Hotline at 833-466-2653, or via email at ispcoldcase@isp.in.gov.