Later that day, Amber reached out to Lisa. There were questions as to whether that may have prompted her to leave. . Pearce wouldn't comment on the contents of the suitcase or whether anything had been removed. The comments below have not been moderated, by Chilling Crimes Case: Katelin was supposed to fly back to her home in Arizona. In March 2021, a foundation for missing people placed a billboard regarding Katelins case on the route James took to work. In fact, Katelin was so bright and hard working that she doubled up on her coursework and was able to graduate highschool at just 16 years old. You know, shes my sister but she is missing. She then proceeds to send another text that her battery is going to die. Not inside the suitcase were any of her phone, her clothes, or her high school diploma. Tabbing Tag Stringing Foil Stamping UV Coating Die Cutting General Foil Die Cutting Engraving General Mailing Fulfillment Mounting and Finishing General Business Printing The teen's wallet, identification, credit cards and plane ticket were reportedly among the items found in the luggage. Please note, I do not post these theories to negatively affect anyone or anything. Anyone with information about her disappearance is asked to contact the Spotsylvania County Sheriffs Office at 540-582-7115 or Spotsylvania Crime Solvers at 1-800-928-5822. stepfather lied about everything, never went to work, no video footage of him, etc where the hell is a grand jury making the decision to prosecute. At the time of her disappearance she was approximately 19 years old, 54, 120 lbs with blonde hair and blue eyes, and was wearing a dark gray fleece pullover sweatshirt with a Bass Pro Shop emblem, black pants and pink and black Vans shoes. The first big break in the case came on Monday when authorities discovered Akens' luggage discarded in a drainage ditch in Spotsylvania County near the Fredericksburg city limit. And that person was her stepfather James. He advised he would have to drop her off early though as he had to be in work at 3pm that day. They were talking about her cosmetology school, her high school diploma. 0. Sullivan's thoughts often drift back to Dec. 5, 2015, when her daughter, Katelin Akens, disappeared at age 19. So what happened when James dropped her off at the mall? The teen reportedly said she had wanted to visit a mall near the airport first to kill some time. Race. "It bothers everybody," Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office Captain Jeff Pearce told The . The sites/interviews with Lisa I have not seen this.). She has blonde hair, blue eyes and multiple tattoos. Her luggage was found five miles from where Heather's body was found. Neither of them knew what was going on and none of it made sense. 2023 Chilling Crimes. By Joey Fox, May 01 2023 5:28 pm. The Free Lance-Star reported Ciccone died as a result of a gunshot wound to the head. They combed through hours of this footage from multiple cameras, and there were no sightings of Katelin, James, or James car. The contents of luggage gave us some leads that were following actively as we speak, he says, adding that it didnt show any signs of being tampered with. Ruling out all connections to the Heather Ciccone case, the investigators went back to local field and aerial searches. They say they want to leave the door open for him to come forward with whatever information he has to clear up the discrepancies within his story. And to add to the uneasy feeling this was giving her family, Lisa says that the text messages simply werent sent in Katelins style of texting. His phone is encrypted and he will not give up the passcode. Police say missing teen made it to mall - Fredericksburg.com January 25, 2022, "The effects of abuse are devastating and far reaching. What happened to this missing woman, and are authorities close to finding her? There was a brief window where the rumor mill in Spotsylvania county worried there might be a serial killer among them, because right around the same time period the body of a young blonde woman was found locally. January 17, 2022 All FBI Email Updates. They also interviewed those closest to her. Pearce said the case is not connected to the murder of a young woman, Heather Ciccone, who was found shot dead in a car in Spotsylvania Sunday. https://www.facebook.com/HelpFindKatelinAkens/, https://www.spreaker.com/show/lost-souls-of-america, https://charleyproject.org/case/katelin-michelle-akens, https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/kidnap/katelin-michelle-akens, https://crimejunkiepodcast.com/update-katelin-akens/, Murdered in California- The Case of the Doodler Killer, Murdered in Kansas: The Case of Alonzo Brooks, Missing in Minnesota: The Case of Brandon Swanson, Murdered in DC: The Case of the Freeway Phantom, Unsolved in California: The Case of the Keddie Cabin Murders. Her last text message pinged off a cell tower in Stafford. Katelin told another friend that those two forced themselves on her and said that all three of them had sex. Lisa was confused due to texts from Katelins phone to her. The missing items are clothes, high school diploma and phone. Her clothes, phone and High School Diploma were missing. At 7.15pm that evening, Lisa receivedanother text message from Katelin: "I'm staying with a friend. Markham was a 21-year-old art student who lived in Fairfield, Ohio, and also worked two jobs in addition to her studies. Katelin Akens was last seen . Not one concerned call or text. They deserve justice. Her nose and navel are pierced and the right side of her lower lip is pierced. Friend of Katelin claimed she had told him that James was verbally abusive - never said if he was physically abusive. Lisa wasn't sure she would even know how to get the metro. Welcome back, everyone. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. They need answers and will continue to search for her. Pearce said police are investigating the case as a missing person under suspicious circumstances, but he said they haven't ruled out that she may have disappeared either by her own accord or for "any number of other reasons.". He didn't work for six months after Katelin's disappearance and after that six month period, he got a new job. You know, she was just there; like, she wasnt there, obviously, because she was in Arizona. She lived with her fianc, Amber. Detective Marshall feels he may simply be covering up for his step daughter- maybe he helped her. Police did not originally take their disappearances seriously as the two had run away together numerous times before. The hope was that he would change his mind about not cooperating with the police. I can't wait. Erin Donaghue reports and writes for CBSNews.com on topics including criminal justice, social justice and culture. Theyare in our work places, our friendship groups and sometimes even our homes. KATELIN AKENS - MISSING (My theory) Springfield, Virginia 19 years old Dec. 5th 2015. 35-Year-Old Man Arrested After Body of Missing Woman, 25, Found in Oregon Missing Pa. Woman, 76, Found Dead Along Trail After Going for a Walk Near Her Home, Suspect Arrested An Ohio Art Student . Sullivan told the news station that Branton also failed to show up for any of the events remembering Akens. I honestly, when hes like who or where is Katelin, Im like Katelin is your aunt. James told the detectives that he feared he was being looked at as a suspect and he ceased all cooperation with the investigation from that moment forward. First published on December 9, 2015 / 5:31 PM. Information recovered from her social media accounts and her cellphone records shows that [that may be case]., He adds: But until we can locate her, this is a missing persons case. "You dont know what to think. David Lohr. March 4, 2022. A 16-year-old girl from Sterling who was reported missing earlier this week has been located safely, authorities said. Were the two cases connected? To submit a case for consideration for next season, please see our google form here. About two days later, Katelins suitcase with her money, credit cards, and the plane ticket was found in a drainage ditch in Spotsylvania County. None of his testimony is corroborated. She was the reason why I was able to put up a Pack n Play because I had no idea what I was doing. However, authorities have confirmed that Katelin Akens stepfather is not a person of interest or a suspect in her disappearance. The Huffington Post reports that locals in the area are on edge, with some people commenting that there may be a serial killer in the area, preying on young pretty women. At this point, she is not a person of interest., But there are plenty of clues. An investigation would later show that the text message wasnt sent from the airport, but instead hit towers near Interstate 95 in Stafford County, Virginia. She died as a result of a gunshot wound to he head. She asked her ex husband, James Branton, if he could bring her instead. Neither the sheriff's office nor Akens' family responded to requests for comment from The Huffington Post on Tuesday. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Definitely the stepfather. This hobby had grown to a passion and Katelin had made a plan to go to cosmetology school. You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. His house and vehicle were searched. Disclaimer: the sources I used have a lot of variation in the order of this next group of incoming texts, which one came first, which one caused alarm first, when they realized she was missing. Privacy Policy. Her first course was scheduled to begin December 7th, 2015, and Katelin needed one final piece of paperwork to make her acceptance official- her high school diploma, which happened to be at her moms house all the way back in Virginia. I need some time alone.". They gathered that Lisa had dropped her off at James' house but they could not confirmthat James dropped Katelin off at the mall. Without his cooperation Detective Marshall was forced to execute a search warrant on James house being that it was Katelins last known location. I think all texts were made by him from Katelins phone. Lisa dropped Katelin off with James at 9:20 that morning before work, and they had a great chance to catch up at home for a few hours before they made the drive 60 miles out to the airport from Partlow where James lived. I know they searched James car, but was it looked at for blood? Katelins sister Gabi seems to think there is a strong possibility that James helped her meet up with someone shed been talking to online and that person turned out to be someone evil who hurt her. The police had to establish where Katelinwas last seen. The disappearance of 21-year-old student, Katelyn Markham Investigation Discovery's ' Disappeared . That was missing from the details. Gabriela had a new baby, a baby boy, and Katelin wanted to meet her nephew so she arranged to go back home to Virginia on a four day trip. They searched the home and land, as well as seized his technology and vehicles. She was constantly changing her hair and experimenting with different colors and styles. You need ALL 3 of those things to start new elsewhere. WUSA 9 News reports that evidence has been obtained from luggage belonging to the woman, which was found abandoned in a drainage ditch. I also think she was just venting to the friend about how he stated she doesnt want to be in Virginia or Arizona. A few minutes after she received a text from James, Lisareceived a text message from Katelin's phone at 2pm: "I'm at the airport. unusual and worrying text message from Akens phone: Im staying with a friend and I need some time alone, the messages read, according to the report. It is so sad that a person who was just about to start their life and do things that they migth have dreamt of their whole life. And this is, And Then They Were Gone. Anyone with information about the case is urged to call the Spotsylvania County Sheriffs Office at 540-582-7115.