Posted by Travis Uresk | Jan. 2nd, 2023 | Murdered Or Missing |
By Travis Uresk
1/2/23
Investigators Serve Warrants in 19-Year Old Murder Case
Posted - Oct. 5, 2006 | KSL
Investigators in Eastern Utah served a search warrant tonight on the prime suspect in a 19-year old murder mystery.
Mark Karren has to give up hair, blood and fingerprint evidence that investigator say may connect him to the disappearance of his wife. Tonight's developments cap an extraordinary week of investigative work to crack the case.
The theory is Karren's wife is buried close to a 100 feet underground. This week, detectives started drilling to try to find her.
A convoy of investigators headed out before dawn into remote ranch country near Dinosaur National Monument. Just across the Colorado line they focused on an old water well that was filled in years ago. 11 cadaver dogs picked up a scent directly on top of the well in 2002.
Bob Vanderbusse, Uintah County Investigator: "There's something definitely human down in that hole. These dogs, I've never seen them hit on animal scent."
Rhonda Fae Karren vanished 19 years ago. When she failed to turn up for work at the Vernal K-Mart, her mother went to Rhonda's house and found signs of a struggle.
Audrey Slaugh, Victim's Mother: "Her purse and cigarettes were on the counter. That girl wouldn't even go to the bathroom without her cigarettes."
From the first moment, Audrey Slaugh believed her daughter was murdered. She's waited 19 years for proof.
Audrey Slaugh: "It matters a lot. I think of it every day. I need to know."
This is the second attempt by detectives to drill into the well. The prime suspect's family had property in the area. Investigators say he was seen in the same area the night of Rhonda's disappearance.
The following year, new owners tried to pump water from the well, but noticed a foul smell.
Bob Vanderbusse: "When they pulled the intake out, it was matted with hair, long hair. And they figured it was an animal down there so they covered it up."
A drilling company donated its services to detectives.
Lori Martin, Co-Owner, Pete Martin Drilling, Inc.: "Her family deserves the closure if we can, hopefully, find her."
The drilling produced no obvious indications of human remains, but some dirt and hairs found in the well seemed to be of interest to cadaver dogs.
Chief Deputy Wally Hendricks, Duchesne County Sheriff's Office: "It's not a strong indication, but it is an indication."
After dark they started using the latest crime scene technology, ultraviolet and infrared light and special goggles that can see what the naked eye can't see. They pointed a laser down the hole.
They scanned piles of dirt, hoping to see body parts that illuminate, or glow.
They found many tiny glowing objects, but it will take lab work to show if they're of interest.
Charles Ilsley, Forensic Investigator: "Curious, not confident because a lot of different things illuminate.
The Salt Lake Tribune 1952
UPDATE: 7/21/2022
Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office PRESS RELEASE BODY OF MISSING WOMAN FOUND
The body of a woman who had been missing for more than a decade has been found in Duchesne County. These human remains were sent to the Utah Office of Medical Examiners for identification and were identified as those of Amy Louise Westreicher.
Westreicher was reported missing in 2010. She was around 32 years old at the time she vanished and had been living in the Roosevelt area a short time. It was reported that Westreicher went missing from a residence in the Duchesne County area.
Detectives with the Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office have searched for leads and information and Westreicher had been listed on missing person sites since then. Westreicher remains were found in the Duchesne County area by a landowner.
The circumstances of Amy’s disappearance is currently being investigated. If there is any known information about Amy’s disappearance, please call the Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office at 435-738-2015 or send an email to sheriff@duchesne.utah.gov.
DUCHESNE COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) – After over a decade of searching, the body of a missing Utah woman has been found.
Back in 2010, 32-year-old Amy Louise Westreicher had been living in the Roosevelt, Utah area when she was reported missing from a home in Duchesne County.
Detectives with the Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office had been searching for information on the disappearance of Westreicher ever since.
That is until Her remains were recently found in the county by a landowner.
The circumstances of her disappearance are still under investigation.
Finding Amy Westreicher
There are more than 450 cold cases throughout Utah which include homicides, missing persons, and unidentified deceased persons. Last legislative session, Utah lawmakers passed Senate Bill 160 which required all law enforcement agencies in Utah to enter their cold cases and missing persons cases into the database. The Utah Department of Public Safety (DPS) is spearheading the effort and has been provided funding for the database and for a fulltime cold case analyst.
Four divisions within DPS will support the database and its goal of bringing justice to victims and their families. The Department’s Crime Lab, State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), State Information and Analysis Center (SIAC) and the Bureau of Criminal Identification (BCI) will all have a hand in supporting cases entered into the database.
As part of the requirements of Senate Bill 160, cases that remain unsolved at least 3 years after the crime occurred, or any homicide that has gone unsolved, must be submitted into the database.
Along with the support from Senator Weiler, the development of the database was a collaborative effort between the Department of Public Safety, the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office, Salt Lake City Police, Unified Police Department, the Chiefs and Sheriffs Association, the Utah Cold Case Coalition, Statewide Association of Prosecutors among others.