Karen Johnson Swift is 5 feet 5 inches tall with green eyes and
blonde hair. She weighs about 140 pounds. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Dyer County Sheriff's Office at (731) 285-2802.
Update 11-5-11: Supposedly Halloween weekend, Karen Johnson Swift
" went to bed with her daughter, and when the girl woke up around 6 a.m., her mother was gone." Karen's car was found near her home with flat tires. A neighbor, Marty Lamb, discovered her abandoned car. Police are investigating the possibility of a serial abductor or murderer in the central and west Tennessee regions. There have been other cases of missing women in the area. In any event, it is unlikely she willingly disappeared.
Karen's cell phone records indicate that someone apparently used her phone to access the Internet around 5:00 a.m. Her husband has been interviewed by police and isn't considered a suspect at this time. Karen Johnson Swift filed for divorce October 11, 2011 but was apparently still living with her husband at the time of the disappearance.
On the surface the case shares enough similarities with the disappearance of Sue Waller in Missouri that the husband is possibly a person of interest. Furthermore, Karen's husband has yet to address the media. In the interim, Karen's husband is presumed completely innocent and deserves to be treated as such.
Update 11-10-11: Police have found some of Karen Johnson Swift's clothing. Her Halloween costume was found in the car and a pair of jeans and a gray zip-up were found in some brush not far from her car. DNA from her mother confirms that the DNA on the clothes is Karen's. (The Dyer County Sheriff's Office has not publicly confirmed this information.) To date aerial helicopter searches have been unproductive. Her marriage has been described as "pretty volatile." David Swift has been interviewed by police, but is not officially a suspect or person of interest. A Facebook post recently indicates that David and family "...want her home and love her very much." WMC-TV. In what appears to be an unrelated matter, John E. Hogshooter, a neighbor of the Swifts was arrested on an outstanding felony warrant for animal cruelty. (Hogshooter is accused of poisoning two dogs.) Dyersburg State Gazette. Authorities have not found any items connecting Hogshooter to Swift's disappearance and do not consider him a suspect.
Karen Swift Update 11-29=11: So far, no luck in the search despite searches by:
. Dyer County Sheriff's Deputies, Sheriff's Investigators, Sheriff's Tracking Team
. Tennessee Highway Patrol Strike Teams, Aviation Unit, Cert Team, and many troopers.
. Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Special Agents, Crime Scene Unit, and Crime Lab.
. Tennessee Department of Corrections Fort Pillow Bloodhound Unit
. Lauderdale County Sheriff's Bloodhound Unit
. Scott County Missouri Sheriff's Search and Rescue Dogs including Cadaver Dogs
. Shelby County Tennessee Sheriff's Search and Rescue Unit with Dogs including Cadaver Dogs
. Dyer, Lake, Obion, Lauderdale, Gibson, & Henry Rescue Squads with sonar & drag equipment.
. Dyer County, Millsfield, Bogota, Lenox, Bonicord and Finley Fire Dept's.
. Dyer County Emergency Management
. Personnel on horseback and many other local volunteers.
If you have information, contact the Dyer County Sheriff's Department at 731-285-2802. Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward for information. 731-285-TIPS (8477).
Update 11-8-11 Sky Metalwala: Another disappearance is suspicious of being related to domestic turmoil.
Sky Metalwala, a two year-old who is the subject of a custody battle, has disappeared. (Sky is pictured up above on the right hand side.) The 2-year-old Washington state boy is missing after his mother allegedly left him in her stalled car on a city street. The boy's mother
, Julia Biryukova and her four year old daughter walked to a gas station leaving the child unattended in an unlocked car.
Sky Metalwala is apparently no stranger to being left alone. Sky had previously been left alone in a car when he was just 3 months old. Apparently his parents left him in their sport utility vehicle in a Target parking lot for 55 minutes. The parents retrieved him after police arrived and asked for the vehicle's owner to be paged. Redmond police cited both parents with reckless endangerment. Charges were recently dismissed after both parents completed 40 hours of community service and 10 weeks of parenting classes.
But the recent disappearance of the toddler from the Bellevue area comes on the heels of a custody fight between his parents, Julia Biryukova and Solomon Metalwala. They couple separated in March 2010 and since then have been the subject of protective orders, allegations of abuse and questions of sanity. A recent mandatory mediation provided for Metalwala to have some visitation with Sky and his older sister. Biryukova consented to have her vehicle and home searched. In the mean time, the daughter has been placed in protective custody.
The couple separated in March 2010. A couple month later,
Metalwala filed for divorce and
Biryukova filed for a protection order on behalf of herself and their two children.
Biryukova claims
Metalwala has anger issues.
Metalwala claims his estranged spouse has mental health problems and was involuntarily committed to a mental clinic in 2010. But a social worker with state Child Protective Services reported that
Biryukova is in good mental health and is an appropriate caregiver.
Update 11-9-11: Police apparently failed to find a gas can near
Biryukova's vehicle. Furthermore, they were able to start her car. Allegedly
Biryukova has refused to take a polygraph whereas
Metalwala submitted to a polygraph. So far, there are no official suspects but foul play is suspected.
Sky Metalwala Update 11-29-11: Police are suspecting that Sky may not have even been in the car the day his mother reported him missing. Sky's father openly questions whether
Julia Biryukova has their son hidden somewhere.