AL AL - Karen Steed, 29, Piedmont, 25 Nov 1997

Steed was last seen at her residence in Piedmont, Alabama on November 25, 1997. Her 1982 beige Ford Fairmount with Alabama license plates 11DW289 was discovered abandoned on Interstate 20 in Cleburne County, Alabama on December 18, 1997, nearly three weeks after Steed's initial disappearance. There was no sign of her at the scene and she has never been heard from again.

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On Aug. 23, 1990, James Patrick Burrows, 23, disappeared. He was last seen driving his 250 Honda motorcycle at 8 a.m. from the home of Jimmy Steed, who is the husband of missing woman Karen Steed. Burrows’ motorcycle was found a year later in a pond near the spot where the remains were discovered Tuesday. The location where the motorcycle was recovered in 1991 is a mile and a half from Steed’s home.

Burrows allegedly disappeared after stealing marijuana plants from infamous drug kingpin David Ronald Chandler.

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Jeffery Scott McFry, 24, was last seen in his mother&#8217;s trailer on Sept. 5, 1990. After his disappearance, investigators received tips that McFry&#8217;s body was in a well. Several searches by the Piedmont Rescue Squad, the Alabama Bureau of Investigation and deputies yielded no sign of McFry. His disappearance is also thought to stem from stealing marijuana from Chandler.

Karen Steed, 29, was last seen leaving her Piedmont home on Nov. 25, 1997. She went missing seven years after Chandler was convicted, adding to speculation that her disappearance was due to something she knew regarding the other missing persons. Her husband, Jimmy Steed, is the brother of Chandler&#8217;s so-called &#8220;right-hand man,&#8221; Bobby Steed. Karen Steed&#8217;s 1982 Ford Fairmont was found abandoned on Interstate 20 eastbound near Heflin one month after she went missing.

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A Calhoun County judge today sentenced a Piedmont man to 105 years in prison in a six-year-old murder case.
Jimmy Ray Steed, 55, was sentenced this morning by Circuit Judge Brian Howell.
Steed entered a guilty plea in December to murder charges in the 2009 disappearance and death of Carla Michelle Fuqua.
He also pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance and manufacturing methamphetamine. Steed received 75 years for Fuqua's death and 30 years for drug charges.
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Calhoun County authorities have long suspected Steed in the disappearances of James Patrick Burrows, Jeffrey Scott McFry and Steed's wife, Karen Steed. All of them went missing within a geographic mile of Steed's home.

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"We certainly feel anyone who knows anything would be encouraged to come forward, as there's no danger of him getting out," Amerson said. "Someone may have been afraid to do so before."

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