First, I went through all the above links, reading those that have not gone dead. Then I Googled Karen's name, and traced down all the news I could. The basic facts of her disappearance have been widely spread. However, there isn't much depth of fact to these reports.
Many victims are exposed to crime by their high risk lifestyles. However, such was not the case with Karen. She was a high school student anticipating her 17th birthday in five more days when she vanished. She had left her aunt's shoe store in the Bayshore Mall, and was last seen across the street from the mall's food court.
There has been considerable discussion concerning any involvement by notorious serial killer Robert Durst. He supposedly visited the shoe store in drag on several occasions. Durst also apparently frequented a homeless shelter where Karen volunteered. There is at least one report saying he met her there.
To counter this, another account says Durst was cleared because he was not in the Eureka area at the time. Other investigators have pointed out that Durst's known homicides were in furtherance of his family's fortune, and that abducting a teenage girl is a sexual crime, not a financial one.
Donald Wayne Ford is another serial killer suspected of snatching Karen. However, although Ford easily confessed other murders, he denied killing Karen.
