What happened to Crystal Rogers?
KENTUCKY native and beloved mother Crystal Rogers went missing in 2015.
Over eight years later, the FBI made an arrest in relation to the case.
Who is Crystal Rogers?
Rogers is a mother of five who in in 2015 after a Fourth of July celebration.
She was from the close-knit community of Bardstown, which is about 40 miles south of Louisville.
An investigation was launched into her whereabouts, and the FBI used drones and scanners throughout her hometown in an effort to find clues.
What happened to Crystal Rogers?
The mother was spotted by her cousin walking out of the day before she went missing.
obtained a copy of her Walmart shopping receipt, which shows she was at the register at 4.36pm.
Relatives said Rogers had a date with her boyfriend, Brooks Houck, one day before she went missing. But he told the cops that they went to his mother's farm to feed cows, and when he woke up the next day, Rogers was gone.
Houck said she didn't answer her phone when he, and Rogers' mother, Sherry Ballard, called him.
A missing person's report was filed on July 5, 2015.
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That day, her dad, Tommy Ballard, found Rogers' keys, purse, uncharged cell phone, and a diaper bag inside her maroon Chevy sedan – which had a flat tire – on the side of the Bluegrass Parkway.
Sixteen months later, Ballard, 54, was fatally shot by an "unknown subject" as he prepared for a hunting trip with his 12-year-old grandson.
What did the FBI say about the Crystal Rogers case?
Despite a police investigation, a $25,000 reward for any information, and repeated volunteer searches, Rogers was never found.
On August 6, 2020, the FBI and other state agencies .
The FBI launched an informational about Crystal’s case to share any relevant information relating to her disappearance.
However, on September 27, 2023, the FBI arrested Rogers' boyfriend, Brooks Houck, in connection with the case.
Who is Brooks Houck?
Brooks was Crystal's boyfriend and was named the prime suspect in her disappearance in 2015.
Back in August 2020, the FBI searched the homes of Brooks, his brother Nick Houck, and their mother, Rosemary Houck, reported.
Brooks – who shares one child with Rogers – always denied his involvement in the case.
Houck never offered to help look for his missing girlfriend, her family claimed.
In October 2015, Sheriff Ed Mattingly announced Rogers was officially presumed dead.
Mattingly said: "There are certain things that people do when they're on this earth and she has vanished from Earth.
"I think it's safe to say that she's dead."
Upon his arrest, Brooks is facing charges stemming from the investigation.
Who is Nick Houck?
Nick Houck, the eldest brother of Brooks Houck, was a Bardstown police officer at the time of Rogers' disappearance.
Brooks was first interviewed by police at the Nelson County Sheriff's Office in July 2020.
Detective Jon Snow asked Brooks about the days leading up to his girlfriend's disappearance. Brooks implied that the couple had a disagreement about their kids.
Nick then interrupted the interview, telling his brother to leave, which he did.
Nick was then ordered to complete a police interview by Bardstown Police Chief Rick McCubbin.
Further, Nick was fired from the Bardstown Police Department within the first year of Rogers' disappearance for interfering with the investigation.
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Brooks's handyman, Danny Singleton, was arrested in December 2015 after an attorney said he lied to a grand jury about his whereabouts on the night that Rogers vanished.
Singleton was initially charged with perjury, amended to the lesser charges of false swearing. He was released early from his one-year prison stint and let off on probation.