It’s no wonder that crime rates are rising in America, given the current condition of poor infrastructure, rotten legal system, poverty, and inadequate healthcare.
The disappearance of Crystal Rogers, like every other missing person case, presents a slew of concerns for the American judicial system.
America’s daughter, Crystal Maria Rogers who was 35-year-old, disappeared unexpectedly on July 3rd, 2015. Since then, the Kentucky State Police have been searching for her.
Devastated families like the families of Amy Bradley, Madeleine McCann, Jennifer Kesse, Haruhi Suzumiya, Kyron Horman and Lars Mittank and so many more have still not lost hope and are looking forward to finding their loved ones.
The Disappearance of the Crystal Rogers
The disappearance of Crystal Rogers six years ago was commemorated in July 2021. Despite this, she has not been seen or heard from since, and her body has not been found yet. Her family has set high hopes for Rogers to return one day.
For the last five years, a missing person inquiry has been continuing, but her mother, Sherry Ballard is still hoping for answers and justice.
“It’s been a long, long, long six years, we have nowhere to go to pay respects to my daughter and we don’t know where she’s at. That’s something that’s never off your mind. Not for one minute,” said Sherry Ballard.
The mother of five children, Crystal Rogers was reported missing from Bardstown, KY. Her cellphone, keys, and purse were still inside her car when it was discovered left with a flat tire on the Bluegrass Parkway. According to the FBI, Rogers was never known to leave her children alone.
The last person who was with Rogers was her long-time boyfriend, Brooks Houck. Houck was listed as a key suspect in the crime by the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office, although he was never prosecuted and not guilty of any charge.
The Main Suspect and The Raid
Crystal Rogers has five children, one of whom was born to her and Houck. Despite being the only person listed as a suspect since her disappearance, he has never ever been charged.
Early on throughout the case, the Ballard family was outspoken about their suspicions that Brooks Houck was involved in Rogers’ disappearance.
Crystal’s sister claimed in an interview in the past that “Brooks has not offered once to search, help, or do anything for the family.” That raised a lot of concerns for the police at the time.
The Nelson County Sheriff’s Office summoned Houck for interrogation on July 8. Brooks’ brother, Nick Houck, a Bardstown Police officer, contacted him in the middle of the interview and advised him not to talk with the cops.
Nick was asked to appear in front of a grand jury the next day, leading authorities to believe he was also involved in the disappearance. Nick ceased cooperating with the Sheriff’s Office at this point, but after being interrogated by Kentucky State Police, he consented to a polygraph test.
After being approached by the FBI, Nick agreed to take a polygraph exam on July 20. With Bardstown Police Chief McCubbin, the examiner voiced “grave concerns” about the results.
Nick was terminated from the Bardstown Police Department on October 16, 2015, and Brooks was designated a suspect in the investigation.
When the FBI began investigating in 2020, his house was raided. They also looked into his sibling Nick Houck’s residence. Investigators narrowed down on Houck’s grandma, Anna Whitesides, at one time.
Rogers’ remains were thought to have been dumped in her vehicle, according to the FBI. When asked to give testimony, Whitesides, who had already spoken with investigators, asserted her Fifth Amendment right and refused to testify.
In Bardstown, Kentucky, about 150 state and federal law enforcement officials began executing nine federal search warrants in 2020, conducting over 50 interviews.
In August 2020, the FBI stepped over as the primary investigator in the inquiry from Kentucky State Police as well as the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office, with over 150 federal authorities conducting search warrants at three properties acquired by Houck and his family.
An FBI spokesperson in Louisville stated previously that all three sites have been searched “to varying degrees” throughout the years, however, they were unable to find anything.
Crystal Rogers’ father, Tommy Ballard
The father of Crystal Rogers, Tommy Ballard was fatally shot and killed by an anonymous shooter whilst hunting on his own land 16 months shortly after Rogers went missing in 2015.
Tommy was hunting with the son of Rogers, who was 12 years old. Tommy had been shot in the chest once though. The grandson has been absolved of any wrongdoing, and police had ruled out homicide because Tommy’s weapon was not fired.
Ballard feels her husband was murdered because the perpetrators knew they would never give up hope and will find their daughter at any cost. The Police have not found any clue yet.
The Investigation Recommenced
When the FBI launched its grand inquiry last year, officials stated that human remains had been discovered along the Washington-Nelson county boundary.
The FBI eventually stated that the remains found did not belong to Rogers, and their investigation remained relatively quiet till September’s starting week rush of action.
The most relevant search operations were focused around Bardstown’s Woodlawn Springs neighborhood, which is roughly 40 miles south of Louisville in Nelson County. They finished on September 7th, 2021.
Only a few automobiles were allowed into the area during the investigation, and media were kept outside. Federal agents continued to focus on driveways and truck away sections of concrete and debris from outside a residence with the assistance of Nelson County highway department trucks.
What did FBI officials find?
FBI Louisville had revealed months before that agents had been directed to the area based on information acquired over the previous year. A few months earlier, an “item of interest” had been uncovered in the case.
Investigators combing the Woodlawn Springs community in Bardstown for evidence regarding the disappearance of Crystal Rogers, discovered the unidentified object, according to the FBI in Louisville.
The FBI stated on Sept. 7 that its latest search had come to a conclusion, with some “items of interest” found in Bardstown whilst investigation, have been transferred to a Virginia lab for examination.
A $25,000 bounty has been set up for information that could lead to Crystal’s exact whereabouts. The person who will inform the authorities or help in the case will win the prize for assisting in this mysterious case of disappearance.
The aforementioned announcement came one day after the FBI claimed it had discovered an “item of interest” in the investigation while examining a Bardstown-area subdivision.
The FBI stated in a statement released Friday that “now is the time” for anybody with knowledge on missing Crystal Rogers to speak up. Now, all of the authorities have been working tirelessly to get maximum information.
The initiative to find Crystal Rogers
You can lead to new insights on the website crystalrogerstaskforce.com. Crystal’s case was the focus of a website created by the FBI to get every information possible to solve the case. This initiative will act as the authoritative source of law enforcement news.
The website helps the investigating team to keep the inquiry relevant by providing a platform for the community to submit new information, photographs, and maps. The revelation of previously suppressed, fresh, and unique facts, together with interaction from this site, will bring us to the last piece of evidence.
By leveraging federal resources, whoever is guilty of Crystal Rogers’ disappearance will be held to account, as well as providing a unique way to fight against crimes, will bring a new change to the case.
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