Crystal Rogers FBI Search Updates / August 2021
NOTE: This is an ongoing story that will be updated. Last Update Friday August 27, 2021
Massive news in the case of Crystal Rogers, a 35 year old missing mom-of-five from Kentucky. After taking over the case almost exactly a year ago, the FBI made a sudden return to Crystal’s hometown of Bardstown, Kentucky… and they brought search warrants with them!
On July 5, 2015, Rogers’ 2007 Chevrolet sedan was found abandoned on the side of the Bluegrass Parkway with a flat tire. The keys were still in the ignition, and her purse and cellphone were located inside the vehicle. Two and a half months later, Crystal’s boyfriend, Brooks Houck, was named by then-Sheriff Ed Mattingly as the prime suspect in her disappearance. While police have confirmed they believe she is dead, her remains have never been located.
Upon arrival in Bardstown on Tuesday August 25th, FBI teams began searching three properties in Woodlawn Springs, a 250-acre subdivision in the rural town. A cadaver dog and ground penetrating radar were brought on scene. Sherri Ballard, mother of Rogers, said her family searched the area years prior during an independent investigation into her daughter’s whereabouts. Houck was involved in a construction project in the neighborhood that lined up with the timeframe Crystal went missing.
By the morning of Wednesday August 25, the FBI appeared to narrow their range of focus onto one home on N. Howard Street; more specifically, a section of driveway and bordering gravel drainage ditch. Tents were set up on top of the driveway, shielding agents as they dug up the area with shovels and ran dirt through handheld sifters.
Louisville reporter Shay McAlister (who has been covering the case for years and does a phenomenal job — I highly recommend following her on Facebook, as she provides live-on-the-scene updates throughout the day) stated she saw a flatbed truck haul away massive slabs of concrete and gravel.
WHO OWNS THE PROPERTY SEARCHED BY THE FBI IN THE CRYSTAL ROGERS CASE?
Local media outlets are reporting that Brooks Houck owns the Bardstown home in question. That’s not accurate, but he did own it in the past.
Today we combed through public tax and property records. Houck is associated with two companies: Houck Rentals LLC, which buys properties and rents them out, and Select Quality Homes LLC, which handles building & development.
Ownership History of Home Searched in Crystal Rogers Case
Owner #1: Schuler Family
Lets take a look at the history & sales of the property: Bar and JoAn Schuer created the Woodlawn Springs subdivision. The Schulers borrowed money from Your Community Bank to finance Woodlawn Springs infrastructure (ie; utility lines/roads). The loans were secured by mortgages on several properties in the subdivision, including the one in question.
Owner #2: Your Community Bank 2010-2013
Mr. and Mrs. Schuler both died in early 2010 while still indebted to Your Community Bank. Ten months later, the Schuler’s estate executed a deed in lieu of foreclosure which gave this lot (and 50 others) to the bank.
Owner #3: Brooks Houck (Crystal Rogers’ Boyfriend) 2013-2015
Brooks (under the Houck Rentals company) purchased the parcel in March of 2013 from the bank, and facilitated the building process. He sold the property/home to the current owner for $199,990 in November of 2015, just four months after Crystal’s disappearance.
Houck Rentals still owns and rents out three other properties on the street, including the two homes that are next door to the house presently being searched/driveway excavated by the FBI.
Aerial parcel map shows layout & ownership of Bardstown properties near the Crystal Rogers FBI search site. Houck’s company owned the home the FBI is focused on from 2013-2015, & still owns the 2 next door.
Interestingly, the current proprietor owns another house (I’ll refer to it as ‘House #2’) three miles away … which is also next door to a Houck-owned home. This double-neighbor detail is likely just a coincidence due to the sheer amount of real estate in Houck’s portfolio as the FBI said none of the property owners are suspects in the case. But I noticed another strange twist of small-town-fate when looking at ‘House #2’s history. The original owners and builders? Tommy and Sherry Ballard, Crystal’s parents.
Because the current owner almost certainly has nothing to do with Crystal’s disappearance and is now a secondary victim themselves (imagine how it would feel if the FBI showed up with a warrant and began searching your home and ripping up your driveway under the presumption a missing woman — or evidence in her case –may lie beneath!), we are refraining from using names/addresses or identifying details. But broadly speaking, the home is a two story, four bedroom ranch, which was still under construction when Crystal went missing.
Crews wrapped for the day on Wednesday evening, and returned early Thursday a.m. The truck is back, and has removed multiple loads of dirt and large concrete pieces. Shay McAlister reports that it is being dumped at a nearby park, so it’s safe to say what’s being removed is just excess soil/fill that is not of evidentiary value, or else the lorry would be bringing debris to a secure facility, escorted by police.
What was originally supposed to be a one day search has now stretched to three. A relative of Crystal Rogers told WHAS something about this time “just feels different”.
Crystal Rogers FBI Press Release / Statement – August 26, 2021
On Thursday August 26, FBI Louisville released the following statement regarding the ongoing search for Crystal Rogers:
FBI FIND ITEM OF INTEREST IN CRYSTAL ROGERS SEARCH – DAY 4 UPDATE
In what may be the biggest news yet in the Crystal Rogers FBI search, FBI Louisville just released a statement, announcing that on Friday August 27, 2021, they recovered “an item of interest”, presumably as they continued excavating the driveway of a home built by Brooks Houck, boyfriend of Crystal Rogers.
The statement reads: “As FBI Louisville begins Day 4 of the search at the Woodlawn Springs subdivision, we have recovered an item of interest. This item is being further evaluated, and we will release additional information as it becomes available. We know there are individuals in the community who have information on Crystal’s disappearance. Now is the time to come forward. Visit CrystalRogersTaskforce.com/tips or call 502-263-6000. Thank you for your continued support in our pursuit of justice for those responsible for Crystal’s disappearance. “
We will continue to update as the story as the Crystal Rogers FBI search progresses.
