New ‘area of interest’ named in connection to missing Kentucky woman Crystal Rogers
Law enforcement has released new information about an “area of interest” related to the disappearance of Crystal Rogers in Nelson County.
Rogers has not been seen or heard from since the night of July 3, 2015. The Crystal Rogers Task Force posted an update to its website Friday, asking people who might have been in the area of Poplar Flat Road and Farmaway Drive in Nelson County early July 4 to come forward with information.
“Based on some information received from the community, we are asking the public to take a moment and remember where they may have been in the early morning hours of July 4th. Were you in the vicinity of Poplar Flats Road and Farmaway Drive?” the update stated. “Can you remember what you saw, or what you may have heard? Do you recall anything unusual or out of place that morning near that location? Do you have surveillance cameras that capture this area? The FBI and the community is asking you to share such information if you were in that area at that time. Even if you do not believe your information is relevant, we still ask you contact us with any information from this time period and location.“
The Federal Bureau of Investigation recently said it has taken over as the lead agency investigating the case, which seems to have spurred a renewed public interest.
Last weekend, the FBI released surveillance photos of two vehicles related to the investigation. One photo shows what appears to be a white SUV and a red SUV driving near the My Old Kentucky Home campground.
A second photo taken at 3:45 a.m. July 4, 2015, shows an unidentified vehicle on Balltown Road close to the Paschal Ballard Road intersection.
Also last weekend, more background information was added to the newly-created website of the Crystal Rogers Task Force, as law enforcement said they had received an “overwhelming number of tips” related not just to Rogers’ disappearance, but also to other unsolved Bardstown cases. The site now includes information about the unsolved murders of Rogers’ father, Tommy Ballard, who was shot the year after Rogers disappeared; Officer Jason Ellis, who was shot in 2013; and Kathy and Samantha Netherland, a mother and her 16-year-old daughter who were killed in 2014.
The task force said Friday that the information it has received from the public since the new website went live just over a week ago has been “well beyond our expectations.”
On July 24, the FBI was called to Nelson County to investigate after possible human remains were found. Since then, there has been no update on whether the remains belonged to Rogers.
Earlier this month, state and federal law enforcement officers executed search warrants at properties belonging to Rogers’ boyfriend at the time of her disappearance, Brooks Houck, and his family. Houck was named a suspect in the case by the Nelson County sheriff’s office, which was previously the lead agency, FBI spokesman Timothy Beam has said.
The FBI is offering a $25,000 reward for information that leads to the conviction of the person responsible for Rogers’ disappearance.
This story was originally published August 15, 2020 at 1:34 PM.
