The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and Honeywell are partnering for the nation’s first abduction prevention program.  The pogram, Got2BSafe is launching to help parents and children.

Karen Swift (personal photo)

Karen Swift, a mother of four vanished the day before Halloween. Dyer County Sheriff Box said Karen picked up her daughter from a Halloween party around 1:30 a.m. and took her home. Sometime between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. Karen vanished from her house without a trace. Her vehicle was found not far away from where she went missing, and her front tire was flat. Sheriff Box says his team is still investigating how the tire on the SUV went flat, meaning if it was an accident or intentional. 

Sheriff Box says a tip led them to an outside area, not far from Karen’s house where they made a body discovery. On December 12, investigators confirm that the body they found is Karen’s and that they are now shifting this case to a homicide investigation. Her cause of death has not been released and she was identified through dental records.

Karen was working at the YMCA at the time of her death as an aerobics instructor, she was also picking up odd jobs cleaning homes and landscaping. At the time of her disappearance, Karen was going through initial divorce proceedings with her husband. He is not considered a suspect or person of interest.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigations and the Dyer County Sheriff’s Office are investigating this case together. If you have any information in this case, please contact the Dyer County Sheriff’s: (731)285-2802 or (800) TBI-FIND

If you have any information on this case, please call the Denver police at 720-913-2000.  To continue following updates, please “like” the Facebook page dedicated to finding Amy.

It’s been nearly a year since a family of four vanished in California, and authorities think the McStays may have planned a trip to Mexico before they disappeared.

1) Joseph McStay, 40, his wife Summer, 43, Gianni, 4, and Joseph, 3, went missing on February 4, 2010. Authorities said they found e-mails from Joseph and Summer asking about passport information and entry into Mexico before February 4th, a clear indication that they may have planned their getaway. But the question is, why? It doesn’t appear the family had any financial or marital problems, Joseph left behind his teenage son, and their home was left in working order.

2) Who reported the family missing? Michael McStay, Joseph’s brother, reported the family missing to police 11 days after the vanished.

3) What did the family leave behind? The McStay’s family pets were left in the yard without food or water. Investigators say perishable food was left on the counter along with other personal items left in the home.

4) Where was the family car found? Where was the family car found? On February 8, 2010 the family’s white Isuzu Trooper was found and towed from the Mexican border in San Ysidro. Michael told me he has video from his brother’s neighbor of the evening they left their home. “The car was backed into the driveway, and it was making a left out (of the driveway), you cannot see who is in it, they pulled out at 7:47 p.m., and his last phone call was 8:48 p.m.; they could have been running out for food, they could have been running somewhere to pick up something from Craigslist.”

5) Investigators say they “may” have the family on tape crossing over the Mexican border, but unfortunately the video is not clear enough to say for certain if it is the McStay family. According to police, there are two adults and two children seen walking across the border around the same time the family vehicle was abandoned. A team of volunteers from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and police experts spent days combing through hundreds of hours of video trying to locate the family. Michael says, “I cannot make ID from the border crossing tape, I cannot say 100% that it is my nephews. If there is not foul play at the house or in the car, there could be foul play elsewhere.”

If you have any information, please contact Crimestoppers: (888) 580-TIPS

Judy Forrest (left) Kanika Powell (right)

Kanika Powell’s case is still a Prince George’s County mystery….

Kanika Powell graduated from Largo High School in 1998, and enlisted in the Army two years later. She proudly served in Korea, and returned to her home in Prince George’s County after her tour. Trying to figure out the next steps in her life, Kanika decided to take on a job as a security contractor at Hopkins laboratory. She was very private about the work she was doing for the laboratory, and would sometimes travel for days at a time to handle work projects before returning home. Judy Powell, Kanika’s mom, said she always knew where her daughter was going, but her daughter was not allowed to discuss what she was doing when she got on location.

Kanika lived alone in her garden style apartment in Laurel, Maryland. On Saturday, August 22, 2008 she heard a knock at her door. Judy says Kanika told her she peeked through the hole and a man was holding up a badge claiming he was an FBI agent. Kanika wouldn’t open the door without seeing ID, and the mystery man left. She called 9-1-1 and police came to her apartment, but nothing was found. Judy says Kanika was planning to install a security system thereafter. The incident jarred her so much that she wrote this e-mail to share with her friends and family:

E-MAIL SENT FROM KANIKA: “I just wanted to share with you the scariest thing that happened to me this weekend. Saturday evening around 7pm a man was knocking at my door (as all of you may know I live alone). I asked who it was and he didn’t answer, so once I got close to the door and looked out of the peephole I saw a male figure that was not familiar to me at all. I asked who he was and all he stated was that he was from the FBI and that he was looking for Kanika Powell. It freaked me out completely because this man knew my name. He held a shield up but no picture ID and he never gave his name. He told me he was looking for me in regards to an investigation. I told him that I had no idea as to what he was talking about and that he would need to show me documentation as well as a warrant of some sort. So he left and I looked out my bedroom window and saw him walking. I also heard a voice tell him to walk in the opposite direction. The whole situation was scary and seemed so false. So because of this incident not only did I get NO sleep for the rest of the weekend but I am now trying to get an alarm system installed in my apartment. I had one in my old apartment, but I just hadn’t had it transferred over to my new one. As far as everything that happened with the guy. I did call the FBI and they told me that it was more than likely bogus because they never come to your door by themselves and they always leave a card of some sort so that you can contact them. I called the local police as well to give them a description just in case someone is out there trying to rape or harm single woman…pass this on ladies.. This is not a fake Forward this happened to ME Kanika…Who knows who these guys are and what they are doing and in what areas other than mine.”

Remembering Kanika Powell

A mere five days later on August 27, 2008, Kanika had another knock at her door. It wasn’t an FBI agent this time, but someone claiming they had a package for her. Again, Kanika wouldn’t open the door, and a package was never left. The very next morning, another knock at the door, the same routine, Kanika would not answer. Judy says the police were called again and an officer came out to speak with her, but again nothing was found.

After the police left, Kanika decided to leave to run errands. When she came back, the unknown person who had claimed to have the package was now waiting in the hallway. The suspect opened fire, shooting Kanika on the first landing of her apartment. She was transported to the hospital, but sadly Judy says her daughter never regained consciousness and died the next day.

On March 2, 2010, I spoke with Detective Kelly Rogers, the lead investigator on this case. She told me new information has come to light, and she is going to see how much value this information has. Detective Rogers says, “It was a surprise to get it, and something we are moving forward with.” This information may not break the case wide open, but could breathe new life into this mystery. She says they are again looking into original persons of interest in the case.

Kanika would have turned 30 on January 31, 2010. She wasn’t married and didn’t have children, but her mother Judy says, “What makes her so remarkable was that she was a donor. I signed the papers and two people in the metropolitan area were able to receive her kidneys. We also donated some tissue and bone and her liver was donated to a research lab.” Let’s find justice for Judy and Kanika Powell’s family.

Police are asking anyone with information to call the county’s Crime Solvers hotline at 866-411-TIPS (8477). Crimesolvers is offering a $25,000 reward in this case.

Aliayah Lunsford (police issued photo)