Section 633.517. Missing soldiers or sailors — presumption of death.

  1.  A written finding of presumed death, made by the secretary of defense, or other officer or employee of the United States authorized to make such finding, pursuant to the federal Missing Persons Act, 56 Stat. 143, 1092, and  Pub. L. No. 408, Ch. 371, 2d Session 78th Congress codified at 10 U.S.C. §1501 et seq., as now or hereafter amended, or a duly certified copy of such a finding, shall be received in any court, office, or other place in this state, as evidence of the death of the person therein found to be dead, and of the date, circumstances, and place of the disappearance.

  2.  An official written report or record, or a duly certified copy thereof, that a person is missing, missing in action, interned in a neutral country, or beleaguered, besieged, or captured by an enemy, or is dead, or is alive, made by any officer or employee of the United States authorized by the Act referred to in subsection 1 of this section, or by any other law of the United States, to make such a report or record, shall be received in any court, office or other place in this state as evidence that such person is missing, missing in action, interned in a neutral country, or beleaguered, besieged, or captured by an enemy, or is dead, or is alive, as the case may be.

  3.  For the purposes of subsections 1 and 2 of this section, any finding, report, or record, or duly certified copy thereof, purporting to have been signed by such an officer or employee of the United States as is described in said subsections, shall prima facie be deemed to have been signed and issued by such an officer or employee pursuant to law, and the person signing the same shall prima facie be deemed to have acted within the scope of the person’s authority. If a copy purports to have been certified by a person authorized by law to certify the same, such certified copy shall be prima facie evidence of the person’s authority so to certify.

[C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, §634.12; C66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §633.517]

2010 Acts, ch 1061, §77

; 2015 Acts, ch 29, §108

Subsection 1 amended