SheWhoMustNotBeNamed
Former Member
Missing Since: August 2, 1997 from Crestview, Florida
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of Birth: August 23, 1980
Age: 16 years old
Height and Weight: 5'3, 109 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian female. Brown to sandy-blonde hair, blue eyes. Rogers has a lazy right eye. Her navel is pierced and she has pierced ears.
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A dark-colored t-shirt and white shorts.
Medical Conditions: Rogers was suffering from a kidney infection at the time of her disappearance and was supposed to be taking medication for it. She left her medicine behind.
Details of Disappearance
Rogers told her family she was spending the night of August 1, 1997 at a girlfriend's home in Crestview, Florida. She stayed at her boyfriend's instead. This was the first time she had spent the night with him. The boyfriend, Mack Cawthon, told authorities Rogers departed his house on North Lloyd Street at approximately 5:00 a.m. on August 2. He asked her to leave early so his grandparents, who lived next door, would not know she had stayed there. She never arrived home. Cawthon's residence was located less than one mile from Rogers's family's Walnut Avenue house, about a fifteen-minute walk. Rogers has never been heard from again.
In February 1998, six months after Rogers's disappearance, a bag containing clothing belonging to her was found in a wooded area behind the Crestview Plaza Shopping Center. The area had already been thoroughly searched by investigators and cadaver dogs; they believe, therefore, that the bag was left there after the search. The contents included a shirt, shorties, underpants, a bra, socks, keys, and makeup, all belonging to Rogers. The bag was not hidden and the clothes inside appeared to be more weathered than the bag.
Unidentified female remains were located in a canal west of Boynton Beach, Florida in 1999, two years after Rogers vanished. Authorities incorrectly identified the body as Rogers in January 2001. Her loved ones finalized funeral arrangements by the time the mistake was corrected, but the burial had not taken place. Investigators initially believed that Rogers's dental records matched the victim. The error was reported less than one week after the incorrect identification was announced.
Police originally believed Rogers was a runaway, but later decided she met with foul play due to the long period of time that passed where she didn't contact anyone. At first they investigated her family, who have all since been ruled out as suspects. Cawthon has not been named as a suspect either, and investigators stated there were no inconsistencies in his story. They described his relationship with Rogers as "on-again, off-again." She was not having any problems at the time of her disappearance and she left behind all her belongings, including her kidney medication.
Authorities believe Rogers was abducted by someone she knew and trusted. Her case remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Crestview Police Department
850-682-2055
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