GUILTY TN - Nina 'Karen' Owens, 47, Crossville, 8 Aug 2014

A family is seeking answers to the disappearance of a Cumberland County woman who was last seen Aug. 8. So far, all the family knows is that their loved one simply vanished without a trace. Family members are now asking the public for help in locating or providing any information as to the whereabouts of Nina Karen Owens, 47, whose address was on HB Farms Rd. For over 20 years, she lived on Potato Farm Rd. Sheriff's Investigator John Haynes confirmed that he is investigating the circumstances surrounding Karen Owens' disappearance. "We do have an active missing persons investigation going on and that is about all I can say at this time," Haynes said. He said the woman going missing is puzzling to investigators as well as the family. Karen Owens is described as being five-foot, four-inches tall, weighing about 160 pounds, with hazel eyes and red hair with black and bright red streaks. A missing person report was filed with the Cumberland County Sheriff's Department on Aug. 22. Owens' sister, Maggie Bisutti, a resident of New Jersey, recently relocated to Crossville to help care for her father and to seek answers to her sister's disappearance. Bisutti said it became very troubling to the family when her twin's birthday on Sept. 12 passed with no contact from Karen.

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After a two-day search in an extremely remote, wooded area some five to six miles from her H&B Farms Road home, searchers on Monday located what are believed to be her skeletal remains.

Owens' remains were found in a creek bed about a mile-and-a-half off Pugh Cemetery Road and 150 yards away from a four-wheeler trail, the sheriff said.

Cox said the condition of the remains and items found at the scene led investigators to strongly suspect murder. There's a suspect, he said, and an arrest is expected soon.

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Cumberland County Sheriff Casey Cox announced the discovery Wednesday and confirmed that investigators have talked more than once with a person of interest in the case.

Tips started coming in to investigators on Sunday, and a search was launched by upwards of a dozen officers over the course of the next two days. One of those tips led deputies to the large secluded and heavily wooded area off Pugh Cemetery Rd., which runs off Plateau Rd. On Monday, items that investigators believe may be tied to the disappearance were found and just before dark on Monday, remains were discovered...

"We are confident these are the remains of Karen Owens, but we are waiting for DNA to confirm that," Cox said.

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A Crossville man was arrested Thursday and charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife, officials said.

Matthew Owens, 39, was free on $500,000 bond pending an unspecified Cumberland County General Sessions Court hearing...

After a special grand jury indicted Matthew Owens Thursday morning, deputies and special agents arrested him at home in Crossville.

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The irony did not escape Maggie Busutti. The man who killed her sister last August pleaded guilty to a lesser offense and received 23 years in prison. Investigators only recovered 23 of the 206 bones in her sister’s body.

One year for every bone recovered.

Friday Matthew Dean Owens, 40, formerly of addresses on Potato Farm Rd. and HB Farms Rd., pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of second-degree murder in the death of his wife, Nina “Karen” Owens, 47, who disappeared on or around Aug. 8, 2014.

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