UPDATE: Isadora’s boyfriend, 21-year-old Joshua Hite, has been charged with her murder, tampering with physical evidence, and providing false statements. The Fargo Police Department is now searching for her remains. Anyone with information is encouraged to call 701-451-7660. Anonymous tips can be submitted by texting keyword FARGOPD or WFPD and the tip to 847411.
West Fargo, North Dakota, resident Isadora Wengel was last seen by her father on December 31, 2025. Authorities are asking for the public’s help in their search for the missing 25-year-old.
Isadora, known to loved ones as Izzy, is a devoted friend and sister, according to her older sister, Callista Wengel Jones. “She was a very bubbly, charismatic little kid,” Callista told Dateline. “She stood up for her friends and for her family.”
Izzy excelled in school, and graduated from high school when she was 16. And more than anything, Callista said, she was an extremely talented gymnast, until rheumatoid idiopathic arthritis took her out of the sport. “She was so good,” Callista said. The week before Izzy disappeared, she asked Callista for help with her resume. “She found a job that she said was her dream job, and it was as an assistant coach for a gymnastics team,” Callista said. “She was really excited about that.”
Just a week later, Izzy was gone.
At a press conference held by the Fargo Police Department, Chief Dave Zibolski stated that Isadora was reported missing to the West Fargo Police Department on January 7, 2026. On January 8, the Fargo Police Department became involved. Their investigation led them to an apartment in South Fargo, and a search warrant was issued for that location. Chief Zibolski did not disclose any more information on the results of the search warrant. Dateline reached out to Fargo PD to discuss the investigation and was referred to its public posts as being the most current information available.
At the press conference, Zibolski said there are “large concerns that foul play is involved” and that the department is investigating from that perspective. “At this juncture, we have a large contingent working together on a very large, complex investigation,” he said.
The department believes there is no general threat to public safety at this time. However, investigators are calling on the public’s help to assist with the investigation. In a January 12 news release, Fargo PD stated, “The Fargo Police Department is asking residents and businesses in the area between the 4400 block of Calico Drive South and the 5100 block of 30th Avenue South between 32nd Avenue South and Amber Valley Parkway South to check their security cameras for any video footage that may show Wengel on Saturday, January 3, between 7 p.m. and midnight.”
Residents, businesses, and property owners in Southwest Otter Tail County, Minnesota, are also being asked to check any security cameras, doorbell cameras or trail cameras for video between 2:00 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday, January 7, for a “vehicle of interest” — a Subaru Impreza with the North Dakota license plate 592ETF, according to a Fargo PD Facebook post.
“A lot of effort has gone into locating this missing gal, and working with the family, as well,” Chief Zibolski said at the press conference.
The family is asking for help from their community– a community they say Izzy loved dearly. “She really lit up every room she walked into. I know it’s cliché to say but she really did,” Callista said. “She would do everything she could to make you feel welcome and she had a knack for making friends.”
In a Facebook post by Heather Fones, Isadora’s mother, wrote, “We are not giving up. We will never give up. Please keep sharing the info and spreading the word. Let’s bring Izzy home.”
“This investigation remains an all-hands-on-deck, collaborative effort involving The Fargo Police Department and West Fargo Police Department, with assistance from the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Cass County Sheriff’s Office — Fargo, ND and the Moorhead Police Department,” Fargo PD wrote in a post on their Facebook page. “We would also like to thank our partners at The City of Fargo Solid Waste Department for their tireless efforts as our search for evidence related to this investigation at the Fargo Landfill continues.”
Residents in both North Dakota and Minnesota are encouraged to share any suspicious activity with Fargo PD. “Any information, no matter how small it may seem, could be important,” the department wrote on its Facebook post.
Isadora Wengel is 5’3”, approximately 175 pounds, with blonde hair and hazel eyes. She was last known to be wearing a white cardigan with pink hearts believed to be the Taylor Swift “Lover” cardigan, blue jeans and either white Air Force 1 shoes or Ugg boots.
If you have information on Isadora’s whereabouts or any information related to the case, the Fargo Police Department asks that you call 701-451-7660. Anonymous tips can be submitted by texting keyword FARGOPD or WFPD to 847411.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article has been updated to include comments from Isadora’s sister, Callista Wengel Jones.
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