TN TN - Karen Beard, 35, pregnant, Kingston, 16 Jan 1991

When Karen Farmer Beard disappeared in January 1991, she was 35 years old, locked in a custody fight with her ex-husband over their two daughters, and 7 1/2 months pregnant with a third child...

Karen Beard was last seen on Jan. 15, 1991, dropping her two daughters off at the home of her former in-laws: Dr. Carolyn Beard, director of the Roane County Health Department, and Dr. Craig Beard, a prominent Kingston dentist.

She did not show up for work at Shoney's in Lenoir City the next day. That day, a local wrecker service received a call from a woman identifying herself as Karen Beard and giving them directions to her car to tow. It is now suspected the caller was an imposter. The full circumstances of the call and tow remain unclear.

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Karen's lawyer reported her missing on January 23 after she missed an appointment. When the lawyer and the police went to her apartment in Harriman, Tennessee, they found it undisturbed with no indications of forced entry or a struggle. Her purse, wallet and car keys were at the apartment. Her car was found near the Center Ferry Bridge at the Clinch River, less than a mile from Karen's former in-laws' home...

Authorities believe Karen was taken to a house in Kingston and killed, and her body disposed of. They viewed several of Reece's friends as suspects in Karen's disappearance. Years later, as one of them was dying of cancer, he asked to speak with investigators. By the time the police arrived at the hospital to interview him, however, he had died.

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• Knowing who got custody may provide a possible motive.
• Opportunity (and possibly Means): Where was the estranged husband when she disappeared?