Missing Woman: Karen Adams - WV - 03/11/2007

[Guest Linda]

Local woman missing since Sunday

 

By: Michael Pound - Times Staff

03/14/2007

INDEPENDENCE TWP. - When Independence Township resident John Adams last spoke to his sister, he was lecturing her about blowing money at a West Virginia slots casino.

 

Since that conversation Sunday night, Karen Adams hasn't come home or gone to work.

"I'm hoping she thinks I'm mad at her and she just doesn't want to come home," John Adams said Wednesday. "But you also can't help but think something bad has happened to her."

The brother and sister share a home at 553 Service Creek Road. John Adams wasn't home when Karen, 54, called his cell phone Sunday night, asking whether he was at their house.

"I knew that meant she was taking some money that she shouldn't take and going to Mountaineer," John Adams, 44, said, referring to the slots casino and race track near Chester, W.Va. "I asked her when she was going to stop throwing her money away, but I knew she was going."

Adams said he didn't speak to his sister after that conversation, which took place around 8 p.m. Sunday, but he knows she was at Mountaineer at least for a few hours late Sunday and early Monday. A mutual friend told him she had seen Karen Adams withdrawing money from an ATM in the casino around 11 p.m. Sunday; casino officials also told John Adams that Karen used her player's club card there about 20 minutes later.

Finally, someone used Karen's credit card to make a $60 withdrawal there shortly before 2 a.m. Monday, John Adams said.

Beyond that - nothing. Not even the car Karen Adams was driving - a maroon Suzuki Forenza - has turned up.

"The thing that's kind of scary is her work," John Adams said. Karen works at Allegheny Valley School in Robinson Township and hasn't called off from work in three years, he said.

"They're really worried about her, because she just doesn't miss work for any reason."

Beaver County Times Allegheny Times - Local womanmissing since Sunday

[Guest Linda]

Family Searches For Missing Beaver County Woman

Adams Not Seen Since Sunday

POSTED: 3:45 pm EDT March 15, 2007

UPDATED: 6:14 pm EDT March 15, 2007

BEAVER COUNTY, Pa. -- A family is worried a missing Beaver County woman may be in danger.

Karen Adams, 54, of Independence Township, was headed to the Mountaineer Race Track and Casino in West Virginia on Sunday.

No one has seen Adams since Sunday night.

Family Searches For Missing Beaver County Woman - News

[Guest Linda]

Beaver County Woman Reported Missing After Trip To Racetrack

POSTED: 5:11 pm EDT March 15, 2007

UPDATED: 5:38 pm EDT March 15, 2007

Family, friends and Independence Township police are trying to find a Beaver County woman who went missing Sunday night.

Karen Adams was last seen at West Virginia's Mountaineer Racetrack.

Adams' brother said he is worried, because she hasn't gone to work, and she hadn't called off work in three years.

Beaver County Woman Reported Missing After Trip To Racetrack - News

[Guest Linda]

Family, Police Seek Missing Woman

Family Members Suspect Abduction

POSTED: 8:34 pm EDT March 17, 2007

UPDATED: 12:14 am EDT March 18, 2007

PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Police and a local family are searching high and low for a woman who's been missing for a week.

Karen Adams, 54, went missing Saturday night after leaving the Mountaineer Racetrack alone.

Her last contact was with her brother, who said he lectured her on blowing another paycheck at the track. After the lecture, her brother said she said what she always says.

"I think she said, yeah -- I know. That's what she says all the time. So I said OK, I'll talk to you later," said John Adams, the missing woman's brother.

Adams, who stands 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighs 110 pounds, was captured on video leaving the track around 4 a.m.

Friends and family are certain Adams would not stay away voluntarily -- they believe she was abducted.

"None of this fits Karen's character. Like I said, Karen is a family-oriented person. This just doesn't fit her character," said Victoria Adams, the missing woman's sister-in-law.

For the last week, the family circulated fliers -- giving them to truckers to bring as far as Illinois and North Carolina. They said they hoped someone, somewhere has seen Adams.

The family said they try her cell phone several times a day, only to get her voicemail.

Police said that according to records, Adams hasn’t been to another ATM nor has she returned any calls.

Her family said they don’t care where she is, as long as she's safe.

"I don't care how she comes back, as long as she's safe. I don't care how she contacts, just contact us in any way," said Teresa Tress, Adams' co-worker.

Family, Police Seek Missing Woman - News

[Guest Linda]

Woman still missing following trip to track

By The Tribune-Review

Monday, March 19, 2007

No progress was reported Sunday in the search for a missing Beaver County woman, her family said.

Karen Adams, 54, of Independence, disappeared the morning of March 12, a day after leaving alone for a trip to the Mountaineer Racetrack and Gaming Resort in Chester, W. Va.

Adams is 5-foot-6 and weighs about 110 pounds, has brown hair and green eyes and wears lightly tinted wire-rimmed glasses. She was last seen wearing a green coat, blue jeans, two dark-colored shirts and a baseball cap and was driving a maroon 2005 four-door Suzuki Forenza, with Pennsylvania plates EDT5587.

Independence woman still missing following trip to track - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

[Denise]

http://www.hsconnect.com/news/articles.asp?articleID=20199

Aerial search conducted for missing woman

By MICHAEL D. McELWAIN

NEW CUMBERLAND Missing since March 12, the search for a Pennsylvania woman took to the air Wednesday afternoon.

Independence Township Police Chief Robert P. Baron brought the resources of the Pennsylvania State Police to Hancock Countys Herron Airport for a helicopter search of the Ohio River shoreline.

The effort was put forth to try to locate 54-year-old Karen Adams, who went missing on March 12.

We contemplated doing this soon after she went missing and disappeared, Baron said. But now that the leaves are off the trees we thought it was a good time to take a closer look.

A four-person crew took to the air at approximately 1:30 p.m. Wednesday and searched for approximately two hours. There were no signs of Adams or her 2005 maroon Suzuki.

Baron said the search covered U.S. Route 30 near Chester, went along state Route 2 and included the area near the Pittsburgh Post Gazette Pavilion.

We covered a lot of ground, but there was nothing we saw out of the ordinary, Baron said.

Adams was seen at the local casino and was caught on video leaving the business at approximately 4 a.m., according to investigators. The last communication from Adams was traced to a call made on her cell phone that used a Steubenville communications tower.

But Wednesdays search coming nine months to the day of Adams disappearance yielded no answers.

Hancock County Sheriff Mike White said his department was at the search site and was ready to lend assistance if the vehicle was located.

Were doing everything we can to assist Pennsylvania authorities on the search, White said.

The case will also be investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigations, according to Baron, since the search area now involves several states.

She lived with her brother, John, along Service Creek Road in Independence Township, Baron said. The family is very concerned about her.

There are no suspects in the case which still remains open.

Baron said anyone with information is asked to contact his department at (724) 378-7774.

[Denise]

http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/kidnap/adams_ks.htm

March 11, 2007

Hancock County, West Virginia

KAREN S. ADAMS

DESCRIPTION

Date of Birth: January 10, 1953 Place of Birth: Pennsylvania

Sex: Female Hair: Brown

Height: 5'4" Eyes: Green

Weight: 120 pounds Race: White

THE DETAILS

Karen S. Adams was last seen at a popular gambling location in Hancock County, West Virginia. On the evening of March 11, 2007, Adams drove her red/maroon, four-door, 2005 Suzuki Forenza sedan with Pennsylvania license plate ETD5587 just across the Pennsylvania state line to the Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort to play bingo.

She was seen there and was known to have left the bingo area around 11 p.m. that evening, possibly headed to the gaming side of the resort to play the slot machines. She was observed on surveillance video at approximately 3 a.m. on the morning of March 12, 2007, leaving the gambling complex and she has not been seen nor heard from since that time. Her car has also not been located.

REMARKS

Adams worked at a local elementary school as a teacher's aide and at a local department store as a cashier clerk. She was not married, but did own a dog to which she was quite attached. Adams enjoyed playing local bingo. She lived in Independence Township, Pennsylvania, which is close to the West Virginia border.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Individuals with information concerning this case should take no action themselves, but instead immediately contact the nearest FBI Office or local law enforcement agency. For any possible sighting outside the United States, contact the nearest United States Embassy or Consulate.

[Denise]

http://www.nampn.org/cases/adams_karen.html

Karen Adams

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance

Missing Since: March 11, 2007 from Chester, West Virginia

Classification: Missing

Date Of Birth:N/A

Age: 54

Height: 5'4" - 5'6"

Weight: 110 - 120 lbs

Hair Color: Brown

Eye Color: Green

Race: White

Gender: Female

Clothing: 2 dark colored shirts, blue jeans, a ball cap and a green coat

Details of Disappearance

Karen, who shared a home with her brother, John, in Independence Township, Beaver County, PA, was last heard from by her brother at about 8pm, Sunday, March 11, 2007 when she called him on his cell phone. He wasn't at home when he got her call, but knew that the call meant she'd be taking money she shouldn't be taking and heading off to the Mountaineer Racetrack & Casino in Chester, WV. A mutual friend confirmed that Karen had gone to the casino. The friend reported that he'd seen Karen withdrawing money from an ATM at the casino at about 11pm. A casino official also told John that Karen had used her Player's Club card about 20 minutes later. Additionally, someone used Karen's credit card to make a $60 charge at the casino just before 2am. She was last seen, on video surveillance cameras, leaving the casino at about 4am, March 12. The cameras also showed that Karen did not interact with anyone while she was playing the slots, nor did she interact with anyone as she was leaving. Cameras do not show her at her vehicle, but both Karen and her car have disappeared.

Someone accessed her cell-phone voicemail at around 4:30am. That signal ran through a tower in Steubenville, OH. There is no way to know if it was Karen, or someone else, who accessed the voicemail.

There have been no further activities on her cell-phone or credit cards since she disappeared.

The Mountaineer Casino is about 30 miles west of Independence Twp, Beaver County. It also lies just across the Ohio River from East Liverpool, OH. With the possibility of foul play crossing state lines, the FBI is also involved in the search for Karen. On Wednesday, December 12, 2007, crews from Independence Twp Police and Hancock County Sheriff's Office launched another search for her. Some officers searched on foot and a helicopter was used for an aerial search. The search was concentrated on the New Manchester, WV area, which is just over the line from Beaver County, PA. No sign of Karen or her car were found.

Investigating Agency

If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:

Independence Township Police Department

(724) 378-7774

Source Information

Pennsylvania Missing.com

[Denise]

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/a/adams_karen.html

Karen Adams

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance

Missing Since: March 11, 2007 from Chester, West Virginia

Classification: Endangered Missing

Age: 54 years old

Height and Weight: 5'6, 110 pounds

Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian female. Brown hair, green eyes. Adams wears lightly tinted wire-rimmed glasses.

Clothing/Jewelry Description: A green coat, two dark-colored shirts, blue jeans and a baseball cap.

Details of Disappearance

Adams was last seen on March 11, 2007. She left her home in Independence Township, Pennsylvania and went to the Mountaineer Gaming Resort in Chester, West Virginia. She has never been heard from again. There was a charge on her credit card at the casino. Adams apparently left the casino at 4:00 a.m. She last accessed her cellular phone voice mail at 4:35 a.m. She never arrived home and has never been heard from again. Her maroon two-door 2005 Suzuki Forenza with Pennsylvania license plates numbered EDT5587 is also missing, and there has been no activity on her cellular phone or credit cards since her disappearance.

It is uncharacteristic of Adams to leave without warning and abandon her dog, whom she cherished. Her brother, who lived with her, stated she had a gambling problem at the time of her disappearance and he had begged her to stop spending money at the casino. Adams worked two jobs at the time of her disappearance: she was an aide at the Allegheny Valley School, and also was employed at a retail store. Her case remains unsolved. Pennsylvania police are investigating.

Investigating Agency

If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:

Independence Township Police Department

724-378-7774

Source Information

KDKA 2

WPXI Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

[Denise]

http://www.pennsylvaniamissing.com/adamskaren.html

Karen Adams

Missing since March 11, 2007 from Chester, WV

Vital Statistics

Age: 54

Height: 5'4" - 5'6"

Weight: 110-120 lbs

Hair Color: Brown, shoulder length

Eye Color: Green. She wears lightly tinted, wire rimmed glasses.

Clothing: 2 dark-colored shirts, blue jeans, a ball cap and a green coat.

Vehicle: 2005 Maroon, 4-door Suzuki Forenza with PA plates EDT5587

Circumstances of Disappearance

Karen, who shared a home with her brother, John, in Independence Township, Beaver County, PA, was last heard from by her brother at about 8pm, Sunday, March 11, 2007 when she called him on his cell phone. He wasn't at home when he got her call, but knew that the call meant she'd be taking money she shouldn't be taking and heading off to the Mountaineer Racetrack & Casino in Chester, WV. A mutual friend confirmed that Karen had gone to the casino. The friend reported that he'd seen Karen withdrawing money from an ATM at the casino at about 11pm. A casino official also told John that Karen had used her Player's Club card about 20 minutes later. Additionally, someone used Karen's credit card to make a $60 charge at the casino just before 2am.

She was last seen, on video surveillance cameras, leaving the casino at about 4am, March 12. The cameras also showed that Karen did not interact with anyone while she was playing the slots, nor did she interact with anyone as she was leaving. Cameras do not show her at her vehicle, but both Karen and her car have disappeared.

Someone accessed her cell-phone voicemail at around 4:30am. That signal ran through a tower in Steubenville, OH.  There is no way to know if it was Karen, or someone else, who accessed the voicemail.

There have been no further activities on her cell-phone or credit cards since she disappeared.

The Mountaineer Casino is about 30 miles west of Independence Twp, Beaver County. It also lies just across the Ohio River from East Liverpool, OH. With the possibility of foul play crossing state lines, the FBI is also involved in the search for Karen. On Wednesday, December 12, 2007, crews from Independence Twp Police and Hancock County Sheriff's Office launched another search for her. Some officers searched on foot and a helicopter was used for an aerial search. The search was concentrated on the New Manchester, WV area, which is just over the line from Beaver County, PA. No sign of Karen or her car were found.

If you have any information about this case, please contact:

Independence Township Police Department

724-378-7774

Sources

Beaver County Times

WPXI

WTAE

Tribune-Review

Ellwood City Ledger

KDKA

WTRF

[Denise]

http://www.timesonline.com/articles/2008/03/12/news/doc47d882092896f649546061.txt

Woman remains missing after one year

Karen Adams of Independence Township has been missing for one year.  

By Bill Vidonic, Times Staff

Published: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 9:34 PM EDT

INDEPENDENCE TWP.  Wednesday marked the first anniversary of the disappearance of an Independence Township woman who was last seen at a West Virginia gaming resort.

There has been no trace of Karen Adams, 54, since she apparently accessed her cell phone voice mail near Steubenville, Ohio, around 4:35 a.m. March 12, 2007.

Independence Township Police Chief Robert Baron said Wednesday that there is no new information about Adams. Her cell phone hasn’t been used in a year, there’s been no activity on her credit cards or ATM card, and the car she was driving hasn’t been found.

Adams was last seen on surveillance video leaving the Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort in Chester, W.Va., around 3 a.m. March 12. She wasn’t with anyone.

The last trace of her was when she accessed her voice mail some 90 minutes later, Baron added.

In December, an air and ground search for the car Adams was driving turned up nothing. Areas from Chester to Steubenville to Wheeling, W.Va., were searched.

Adams had been employed as a teacher’s aide at Allegheny Valley School in Robinson Township and also worked at the Big Lots store in Hopewell Township’s Green Garden Plaza.

Baron said Adams was featured Feb. 7 in the closing credits of the CBS-TV drama “Without a Trace.â€Â

Adams is also listed on the FBI’s Web site, at www.fbi.gov., under the section kidnappings/missing persons.

Bill Vidonic can be reached online at bvidonic@timesonline.com.

[LoriDavis]

http://www.wpxi.com/news/15574181/detail.html

Beaver County Woman On FBI Missing Persons List

Adams Last Seen At Mountaineer Casino Racetrack

POSTED: 11:00 am EDT March 12, 2008

UPDATED: 11:50 am EDT March 12, 2008

BEAVER, Pa. -- Wednesday marks the one-year anniversary of the disappearance of a Beaver County woman in West Virginia.

Karen Adams disappeared without a trace. She was last seen at Mountaineer Casino Racetrack in Chester, W.Va.

Crews searched by the ground and air for the 54-year-old woman but they turned up empty-handed.

Officials said there had been no activity on her credit cards and no communication.

Adams is currently listed on the FBI’s Web site as a missing person.

The case remains open.

[LoriDavis]

http://www.morningjournalnews.com/page/content.detail/id/501442.html?nav=5006

Step toward ID made

By JO ANN BOBBY GILBERT POSTED: May 2, 2008

WELLSVILLE — A body found in the Ohio River Wednesday afternoon near the Kenney Marina has been determined to be a white female between the ages of 45 and 65, according to Hancock County, W.Va., Sheriff Mike White.

The badly decomposed body was found by two people planning on fishing and was pulled from the river by members of the Newell Fire Department, which brought its river craft to the scene, White said Thursday.

New Cumberland Ambulance transported the body to Charleston, W.Va., where an autopsy was performed, with White saying no cause of death has yet been determined.

He said the results of other tests are being awaited. Those tests could potentially offer clues to the woman’s identity and cause of death, but may not be finalized for four to six weeks.

White said he is hoping to do a regional broadcast for missing persons to see if anyone matching the victim’s description has been reported missing.

The sheriff was asked whether the body could be that of Karen Adams, a 54-year-old Pennsylvania woman who was last seen March 11, 2007, at Mountaineer Race Track & Gaming Resort.

He said, “That’s been quite awhile ago. There’s nothing to show a relationship between the two,” but added that won’t be discounted until all tests are returned.

Adams’ family said she was seen on video leaving the casino at 4:01 a.m. May 12 and neither she nor her car has been found.

Wellsville police were called to the scene by those who found the body at the shoreline, and they in turn contacted Hancock County, which has jurisdiction over river-related incidents.

[LoriDavis]

2008 article

http://www.wtrf.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=34581

CBS Show "Without a Trace" to Feature Woman Last Seen in the Ohio Valley

Karen Adams missing for about one year.

Story by Dave Elias

Posted Thursday, February 7, 2008 ; 07:23 PM

Updated Thursday, February 7, 2008 ; 08:16 PM

CHESTER -- The story about a 55 year-old woman last seen leaving the Mountaineer Casino Race Track and Resort in Chester, West Virginia, will be featured Thursday night on “Without a Trace” seen on WTRF-7.

It's been almost a year now since Karen Adams, 55, Indiana Township, Pa., was last seen. The Federal Bureau of Investigations out of Pittsburgh talked about the case Thursday and is pleading for help to find Adams.

Adams was a teacher’s aide at a Pennsylvania elementary school. Surveillance video shows her leaving Mountaineer last March around 3 a.m. By all accounts there was nothing that would have prevented her from returning home, according to the FBI.

FBI Spokesman Bill Crawley said, “She was a family person. She had a dog that she was attached to. She lived with her brother. She worked at a department store nothing unusual.”

Cell phone records show that Adams went south on Route 2. FBI agents claim her phone records show that her phone bumped off of the Steubenville cell tower which has a three mile radius. The big mystery is why did Adams driver her 2005 Suzuki Forenza Seda with Pennsylvania license plate ETD 5587 anywhere near Steubenville and Weirton in the early morning hour?

Adams is describes at 5’4” weighing 120lbs. with brown hair and green eyes.

Anyone with information on this case should call 1(800)CALL-FBI.

[Guest La Vina]

Federal Bureau of Investigation Homepage-KAREN S. ADAMS

http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/kidnap/adams_ks.htm

[Guest La Vina]

http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/314998.php

Slide show: See the FBI's kidnapped and missing persons list

10.27.2009

Arizona Daily Star

The following people are listed as kidnapped or missing persons and their whereabouts are being investigated by the FBI.

Individuals with information concerning any of these cases should take no action themselves, but instead immediately contact the nearest FBI office or local law enforcement agency. For any possible sighting outside the United States, contact the nearest United States Embassy or Consulate.

[Jenn]

http://www.timesonline.com/bct_news/news_details/article/1373/2010/august/23/beaver-county-detectives-continue-search-for-missing-woman.html

Beaver County detectives continue search for missing woman

By: J.D. Prose Beaver County Times  Monday August 23, 2010 10:03 PM

It’s been more than three years since Independence Township resident Karen Adams left a West Virginia casino and vanished without a trace, but investigators have not forgotten her.

In fact, Beaver County detectives and emergency services personnel plan to use state-of-the-art sonar Wednesday to search for Adams’ car in several ponds along the route that she could have taken home.

Beaver County Detective Lt. Kim Clements said authorities have determined that five ponds — two along Route 30 in the county and three in Hancock County, W.Va. — are deep enough to hide a car and are not blocked by guardrails or other impediments. All the ponds are on private property, she said.

“You could easily veer off the roadway and go into one of these ponds,†Independence Police Chief Robert Baron said.

Adams, 54, was last seen leaving Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort near Chester, W.Va., alone around 3 a.m. March 12, 2007. The last time there was any activity on her cell phone was about 90 minutes later, when she accessed her voicemail near Steubenville, Ohio.

Baron said Monday that there has been no activity on her credit cards or bank card.

Investigators conducted an air-and-ground search for Adams’ car in December 2007, but found nothing. Baron said the last serious tip was received in May, when someone claimed to have seen Adams at a truck stop in Indiana.

Surveillance video was reviewed, though, and authorities determined it was not Adams, Baron said. “Anything we get on her we definitely follow up,†he said.

If searching the ponds does not yield Adams’ car, Clements said investigators have also identified a potential accident spot near the Newell Toll Bridge, which crosses the Ohio River between Newell, W.Va., and East Liverpool, Ohio.

Wes Hill, Beaver County’s emergency services director, said Wednesday’s search will include several of his employees as well as volunteer firefighters from New Brighton, where the sonar equipment is kept.

Hill said the sonar will be set on a tripod and lowered to the pond floor. It will then take a 360-degree scan of the underwater area.

“It’s very detailed,†Hill said of the image produced by the sonar.

Karen Adams went to Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort in March 2007 and never returned to her home in Independence Township. Now, Beaver County investigators are prepared to search ponds along her probable route home that are capable of hiding a car. Adams was driving a maroon 2005 four-door Suzuki Forenza with the license plate ETD5587.

Adams was a teacher’s aide at Allegheny Valley School in Robinson Township and also worked at Big Lots in Green Garden Plaza in Hopewell Township.

[Jenn]

http://www.wtrf.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=85022

Sonar Technology Will Be Used to Find Missing Woman

Posted Wednesday, August 25, 2010 ; 04:25 AM  Updated Wednesday, August 25, 2010; 08:47 AM By Stacy Rich

CHESTER -- It's been more than three years since Karen Adams, 55, walked away from Mountaineer Racetrack and vanished.

Now, detectives are using new technology to get the answers they need to solve this case.

Adams of Beaver County, Pa., was last seen on March 12, 2007 leaving Mountaineer Casino in Chester.

Adams and her car, a maroon 2005 Suzuki Forenza, then disappeared.

Three years and hours of detective work later, there are still no answers to Adams' whereabouts.

Beaver County District Attorney Anthony Berosh said cars don't just vanish, and Wednesday, they'll be searching the waterways in the area.

“People sometimes associate a cold case with a closed case. To show you that it isn't closed, we have access to a new sonar technology that we'll employ over significant bodies of water approximately in the last area where we believe she was in. So hopefully, we'll be able to explore those possibilities that the car, for example, is in a river or a large lake,†said Berosh.

Adams' family is also very hopeful that answers will be found.

Detectives will be in the areas of Hancock and Jefferson counties searching.

[Jenn]

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/24744156/detail.html

Search Resumes For Woman Who Left Casino, Went Missing

Karen Adams Last Seen 3 Years Ago At Mountaineer In West Virginia

POSTED: 1:50 pm EDT August 24, 2010 UPDATED: 6:53 am EDT August 25, 2010

BEAVER, Pa. -- A surveillance video from March 2007 shows Karen Adams leaving the Mountaineer Casino, just hours before she vanished.

Three years later, the search for the missing Independence Township woman is on again in Beaver County.

Channel 4 Action News' Keith Jones reported that county detectives and emergency personnel are using sonar technology to search three ponds on private property -- like one along Route 30 -- that don't have guiderails shielding them from the road.

"It allows us to put the apparatus into the water and, with a 360-degree beam, it gives us the capability to do searches on the water bottom," said Wesley Hill, the county's director of emergency services.

They'll also search the Ohio River, hoping to find Adams' car.

Police have a surveillance picture of Adams leaving the casino in Chester, W.Va., around 3 a.m. on March 12, 2007. She was 54 at that time, and she was alone when she left.

Police said the last activity on her cell phone was about 90 minutes later, when she accessed her voicemail near Steubenville, Ohio.

"We know that she did make a call. We do know what tower she pinged off of, so these ponds would be on that particular point, geographically," said District Attorney Anthony Berosh.

[LoriDavis]

http://www.timesonline.com/bct_news/news_details/article/1373/2010/august/25/search-continues-for-missing-woman.html

Nothing found in ponds

By: J.D. Prose

Beaver County Times

Wednesday August 25, 2010 12:15 PM

Officials have called off their search of five ponds in Pennsylvania and West Virginia for a woman who vanished three years ago while traveling home to Independence Township from Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort in Chester, W.Va.

Beaver County detectives and emergency personnel used state-of-the-art sonar to search ponds along Karen Adams’ likely route to see if they could find her submerged car.

But searchers determined the final two in Hancock County, W.Va., just south of the casino, were too shallow to hide her vehicle, a maroon 2005 four-door Suzuki Forenza with the license plate ETD5587.

Advertisement  This morning, they checked two ponds along Route 30 in Beaver County — one in Hanover Township and the other in Greene Township — without success. And then they eliminated the first of three ponds they checked in West Virginia by 12:15 p.m. as too shallow.

The last two ponds were eliminated as of 1:45 p.m.

Adams, 54, vanished on March 12, 2007. She was a teacher’s aide at Allegheny Valley School in Robinson Township and also worked at the Big Lots in Green Garden Plaza in Hopewell Township.

[LoriDavis]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10238/1082754-57.stm

Authorities seek woman missing for three years

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Authorities in Beaver County began using sonar equipment Wednesday morning to search several ponds for clues into the disappearance of a woman three years ago.

Karen Adams, of Independence, left Mountainer Casino, Racetrack and Resort in West Virginia early March 12, 2007, and never returned home. Authorities used cell phone records to determine that Ms. Adams checked her voicemail at about 4:30 a.m. near Steubenville, Ohio.

Beaver County detectives began searching off of Route 30 in Hookstown, along the route that the 54-year-old would have driven home to try to find her car. They say there are several ponds along the route that a car could have driven into and never have been seen.

[LoriDavis]

http://www.reviewonline.com/page/content.detail/id/534869/Ponds-reveal-no-trace-of-missing-woman.html?nav=5008

Ponds reveal no trace of missing woman

August 26, 2010 - By NANCY TULLIS

CHESTER - Pennsylvania law enforcement officers were in Hancock County on Wednesday using state-of-the-art sonar technology in the ongoing search for an Independence Township woman missing for three years.

Sgt. Lance Malobabich of the Independence Township Police Department said his department and Beaver County law enforcement continue to follow leads and tips in the March 12, 2007, disappearance of township resident Karen Adams.

Adams, 54, was last seen on video leaving Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort around 4 a.m. that day. Cell phone records from a Steubenville area tower show she used her cell phone to check her voicemail at about 4:30 a.m.

Malobabich said although people periodically call with leads, none have ever panned out.

"People call and say they think they've seen her at a grocery store or a gas station," he said. "Some people take videos. None of those leads turned out to be Karen."

He said Beaver County officials decided to do the search Wednesday with new sonar equipment at their disposal. They spent much of the day searching ponds along U.S. Route 30 and state Route 2, where a vehicle could easily go off the road and quickly sink. State Route 2 and U.S. Route 30 should have been Adams' route home from Mountaineer, he said.

Malobabich said Chief Robert P. Baron called him around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, stating although the new sonar equipment worked well, the search turned up nothing.

The ponds in Beaver County were only about three feet deep; ponds searched in Hancock County also revealed nothing.

In the three years since Adams went missing, Malobabich said there has been no sign of her 2005 maroon Suzuki, nor any activity on credit cards or her checking account.

There have been no reports of her license plate being used or the vehicle identification number showing up on a new registration.

"The FBI has ways to check VIN numbers to see if they are re-registered," he said.

Malobabich said the case remains open with Beaver County officials.

Anyone with information or who believes they may have seen Adams or her vehicle should contact their local law enforcement.

[LoriDavis]

http://www.timesonline.com/bct_news/news_details/article/1373/2010/august/27/submerged-vehicle-found-near-stuebenville-may-be-local-womans.html

Submerged vehicle found near Steubenville may be local woman's

By: J.D. ProseBeaver County Times

Friday August 27, 2010 10:25 AM

Beaver County detectives are headed to the Fort Steuben Bridge near Steubenville, Ohio, to see if a car found submerged in the Ohio River is that of missing Independence Township woman Karen Adams. 

TV station WTOV in Steubenville is reporting on its website that divers doing an environmental assessment in preparation for the bridge's demolition found the car and authorities were beginning to remove it at 9:30 a.m.

Adams, 54, has been missing since March 12, 2007. She was caught on surveillance video leaving the Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort near Chester, W.Va., at about 3 a.m. and her last cell phone activity was at about 4:30 a.m. when she checked her voicemail near Steubenville.

Advertisement  Beaver County officials spent several hours Wednesday searching ponds along Route 30, which would have been Adams' typical route home. Investigators searched ponds in Hanover Township and Greene Township and three in Hancock County, W.Va., but found nothing. All but one of the ponds was deemed too shallow to hide a vehicle.

[Jenn]

NamUs Profile for Karen: https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/3997

[Deborah]

Karen is still missing.

Anyone with information on this case should call 1(800)CALL-FBI.