In 2020 more than 540,000 people went missing in the U.S alone, thankfully, most of these
people are located and returned to their families, but some cases are so mysterious that they
continue to baffle experts to this day.
5 - Steven Robert Asplund In 1994, Steven Robert Asplund was getting
ready to marry his fiance and the love of his life, but before the two could get the
chance to walk down the aisle and say “I do”, Stephen vanished without a trace.
Steven’s case has baffled experts and armchair sleuths alike and 27 years later, we are still
no closer to discovering what happened to Steven Asplund.
On January 9th 1994, 32-year-old Steven was busy with a remodelling project at his Moline,
Illinois home, during which he realised he was missing several tools for the job.
Steven knew he didn’t need to buy these tools and that he would be able to borrow
them from a friend, so he hopped into his 1987 Ford Mustang and drove to his friend
Tim Miner’s house on 4th Street and 20th Avenue.
The pair briefly chatted and Miner gave Steven a caulking gun to borrow.
The visit was only brief and by 7:30 pm, Steven left Miner’s house and headed back home
to finish up his project.
But Steven never made it home, somewhere along the short drive back to his house, Steven
mysteriously vanished and has never been seen or heard from again.
Steven’s fiance settled in for the night, believing that he would return home during
the night or in the morning.
By 6 am there was still no sign of Steven and his fiance called the Moline Police Department
to file a missing person report.
Steven’s fiance and the Moline Police Department searched for him and a few days later they
discovered his 1987 Ford Mustang abandoned in a car park at the 13th street landing at
the base of the Interstate 74 Bridge in Bettendorf, Iowa and according to Google Maps Bettendorf
is 2.1 miles away from Moline.
In August of that year, Steven’s medical insurance card was found on a railway track
at the Loud Thunder Forest Preserve in Rock Island County, Illinois which is around 25
miles away from Moline, Illinois and 23 miles away from where his car was found, depending
on which route you take.
After this discovery, the river close to the railway line was searched but police found
no sign of Steven.
A forensic examination was conducted on Steven’s car, the Moline Police Department state that
“unspecificed forensic evidence” was recovered but have said that the tests were inconclusive.
Steven Robert Asplund was last seen on January 9th 1994 at his friend's house at 4th Street
and 20th Avenue in Moline, Illinois.
At the time of his disappearance, Steven was 32 years old and if still alive today, he
would be 60.
He is described as a white male with blonde hair and blue eyes, he is 6’0” and 180
lbs.
He was last seen wearing a Chicago Bears pullover jacket, a white sweatshirt, grey sweatpants
and trainers.
If you have any information about Steven’s disappearance you are urged to contact the
Moline Police Department on (309) 797-0401 or NamUs on (682) 347-8829.
4 - Crystal Kipper 18-year-old Crystal Kipper spent the evening
of February 24th 1997 ice skating with a friend.
Crystal had driven from her home in Kansas City to St. Joseph, Missouri to pick the friend
up before driving to the rink to enjoy their evening.
On the journey home, the low-fuel warning light began flashing on Crystal’s car and
according to the friend that was with her that night, Crystal refused to stop at a gas
station to fill up because her red 1989 Ford Probe XL “always had good gas mileage”.
This wasn’t the first time that Crystal had ignored the low-fuel light and according
to her family, she had called AAA at least 3 times because her car had run out of gas.
At around 2:00 AM, Crystal dropped her friend off in St. Joseph home and promised that she
would call to let them know that she had gotten home safely, but that call never came and
Crystal Kipper remains missing to this day.
According to eyewitness accounts, between 2:20 AM and 2:30, AM Crystal was seen on the
side of Interstate 29 near the Kansas City Airport flagging down traffic and looking
distraught.
One truck driver making his way down Interstate 29 noticed a woman fitting Crystal’s description
flagging down traffic, moments later the truck driver recalled seeing another car pulling
in behind the woman, presumably to offer their assistance.
Crystal’s friend had fallen asleep waiting for the phone call and it wasn’t until later
that morning when Crystal’s mother awoke that they realised that something was very
wrong.
Crystal’s mother retraced her steps and found Crystal’s car on the side of the road,
the hazard lights were on and the battery was low which matches up to the eyewitness
accounts from earlier that day.
The Platte County Sheriff’s Office was notified of the discovery and Crystal’s disappearance
and a missing person report was filed and an investigation was launched.
Apart from eyewitness accounts and Crystal’s car, there was little evidence to work with
and the case remained at a standstill.
That was until the end of 1997 when Crystal’s family were shocked to hear that a suspect
had finally been named in Crystal’s case.
When the home of John E. Williams was searched for another unrelated crime, authorities found
Crystals’ I.D card, paycheck stub, car keys and items of her clothing.
DNA tests confirmed that these were in fact Crystal’s clothes and William’s quickly
confessed that he had accidentally hit her with his car on February 24th 1997.
Disturbingly, William’s car windshield had been repaired on February 24th 1997 which
was consistent with his story.
If William’s had confessed, where was Crystal?
Williams claimed that he had disposed of Crystal’s remains in an unknown location as he had panicked
and was scared of the implications of what he had done.
William’s sent the Platte County Sheriff’s Office on a wild goose chase that ended with
them finding nothing.
Weeks after William’s confession, he recanted his statement and denied ever saying anything
of the sort.
Before he could be tried in Crystal’s case and the other unrelated case, William’s
took his own life in his prison cell.
Two cellmates told investigators that William had often bragged about the crime against
Crystal, but investigators have been unable to recover her remains.
18-year-old Crystal Kipper was last seen on February 24th 1997, she is described as a
white female with brown hair and brown eyes, she has a small scar on her right cheek and
is 5’5” and 125 lbs.
She was last seen wearing a dark green olive mock turtleneck, ‘Lucky U’ brand jeans,
a denim car coat, a diamond cluster ring and a gold band.
If still alive today, Crystal would be 43 years old and anyone with information is asked
to contact the Platte County Sheriff’s Department on 816-858-3452 quoting case number 97-003197.
3 - Deborah Deann Poe The mysterious disappearance of Deborah Deann
Poe has been the subject of news articles, podcasts, youtube videos and was featured
on an episode of ‘Unsolved Mysteries’.
Despite all of this media attention and awareness surrounding Deborah’s disappearance, her
case continues to baffle experts and has become one of the most mysterious disappearances
that cannot be explained.
On the evening of February 4th 1990, Deborah was working at her second full-time job at
the Circle K convenience store near Hall Road and Aloma Avenue in Orlando, Florida.
Deborah lived with a roommate, Lori Tillman and was working hard to make a better life
for herself after graduating from college.
Deborah worked the night shift alone 5 days a week at the Circle K which concerned her
boyfriend, Scott Iaggi.
Iaggi recalled saying to her “I told her I thought it was stupid that she was staying
there working that shift.
There were too many weirdos, too many guys flirting with her and too many drunks.”
Before Deborah’s mysterious disappearance, there were several instances of harassment
and troubling behaviour that scared Deborah, leading Scott to stay with her during her
shift to help keep her safe.
In one instance, a naked man came into the shop, climbed over the counter and chased
Deborah around the shop until she managed to run outside, run back inside and lock him
out.
Scott Iaggi told investigators that on the night of February 4th 1990 he went to the
Circle K at around 1 AM to check up on Deborah and she assured him that everything was fine.
At 3 AM a friend went into the shop and confirmed that everything was fine.
According to reports, between 3:15 AM and 3:30 AM, a customer went into the Circle K
and found a young man between the ages of 19 and 25 standing behind the counter.
The man wore a Megadeth t-shirt, a skull ring and a wire cross earring in his right ear.
The customer just assumed that he was the clerk and asked him for a packet of cigarettes
to which the mysterious man replied “You shouldn’t smoke ya’know.”
After this bizarre exchange, the customer purchased their cigarettes and left the store.
This customer did not recall seeing Deborah in the store and said that the unidentified
man was the only person inside.
Then at 4 AM, one of Deborah’s regular customers swung by the store and found it empty.
This set off alarm bells and the customer called the police, sensing that something
wasn’t quite right.
Upon searching the store the police found a cup of coffee, a carton of chocolate milk,
house plans and Deborah’s smock uniform neatly placed onto the counter.
There was no sign of a struggle and no money had been taken from the till.
Deborah’s car was still outside with her bag, paycheck and car keys inside.
As no trace of Deborah was found, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office brought in sniffer
dogs who followed Deborah’s scent to the back of the shop where it abruptly ended.
There was renewed hope for Deborah’s case in 2002 when the Orange County Sheriff’s
Office announced that there was a new suspect and that they were conducting searches near
the Chapel Hill Baptist Church.
The Sheriff’s Office has never released the name of the suspect and has also kept
very tight-lipped about what, if anything, was found near the church.
It’s important to note that Deborah’s boyfriend at the time, Scott Iaggi lived across
the street from the church and had also been a pastor at that church.
According to official records, Scott Iaggi has never been named a suspect in Deborah’s
case and to this day it remains cold.
26-year-old Deborah Deann Poe was last seen on February 4th 1990 at the Circle K Store
near Hall Road and Aloma Avenue in Orlando Florida.
She is described as a white female with blonde, streaked hair and blue eyes, she is 5’2
- 5’3 and 100lbs and has a burn scar on her left shoulder and wears 3 earrings in
each ear.
One of Deborah’s college friends and ex-roommates, Tanya wrote a letter to ‘Medium.com’ saying
how close the two were and how special Deborah was.
She closes her letter by saying “If anyone is out there that attended school, wrote letters
or had any phone conversations that might help it would be greatly appreciated.
There are several of us College buddies whom still keep in touch that would love to find
closure in this matter.
She was special”.
If you have any information you are asked to contact the Orange County Sheriff’s Office
on 407-836-3700.
2 - Heather Dawn Zimmerman 19-year-old Heather Dawn Zimmerman was last
seen leaving her home in Gifford, Illinois on May 26th 1997.
That evening, Heather grabbed a can of fizzy drink from the fridge and walked out of the
front door at around 8:30 PM, never to be seen again.
Her parents told investigators that they believed she was attending a party in a rural part
of Rantoul, Illinois and there are no details as to how she got to the party if that’s
where she was going at all.
According to the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office, Heather was dropped off near her home
at around 3 AM.
Her family insists that Heather did not make it into the home that night and the Champaign
County Sheriff’s Office later said that it had not been confirmed that Heather was
dropped off at 3 AM.
Heather’s parents began to worry as she had left all of her belongings at home and
failed to make contact with them on May 27th 1997.
She didn’t have cash or any cards with her on the night of the party as these had been
stolen before she disappeared.
For the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office, all signs point to foul play and in 2007,
Jamie Harper also mysteriously disappeared from rural Rantoul.
The Sheriff’s Office and locals have both noted that the cases share alarming similarities
and there is apparently a person of interest in both disappearances, although this person
has never been publicly identified.
Heather’s husband is also not considered a person of interest as at the time of her
disappearance he was stationed in Japan.
Heather Dawn Zimmerman was last seen leaving her family home in Gifford, Illinois on May
26th 1997, she is 5’6” and 115lbs and has several distinguishing characteristics.
Heather is described as a white female with blonde hair and green eyes.
She has an ankle tattoo of three roses, a mole on her neck and has 8 piercing holes
in her left ear and 6 in her right.
The Charley Project also mentions that Heather has “scars on her left arm, left wrist and
index finger and that her left ring finger doesn’t function properly.”
Heather’s family are desperate for information and closure and anyone with information is
asked to contact the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office on 217-384-1213.
Jamie Harper’s case also remains unsolved and anyone with information is urged to contact
the Paxton Police Department on 217-379-4315 or the Rantoul Police Department on 217-892-2103.
1 - Beverly Ann Cummings Mother and grandmother, Beverly Ann Cummings
was adored by her family and on July 18th 1990 they had no idea that in the blink of
an eye, their world was about to be turned upside down.
There are conflicting reports about the lead up to Beverly’s disappearance, some sources
state that she left her children with a babysitter whilst she went food shopping and went to
the post office.
Whilst others state that she left the house and told her family that she would be back
by 9 AM to babysit her granddaughter.
What we do know is that Beverly left her Federal Way, Washington home, hopped into her brown
1977 Toyota Celica hatchback, Washington number plate UKM-353 and presumably headed towards
the supermarket.
9 AM came and went and when Beverly failed to return home, her family went to the post
office and the supermarket only to find out that no one had seen her there.
Her family called the King County Sheriff’s Office and reported her missing and for months
her case sat cold.
That was until Labour day weekend in September 1990 when the police were alerted to Beverly’s
abandoned car on a forest service road off Highway 410 in Greenwater, Washington.
The residents of Greenwater told investigators that the car had been there since July and
that one man had even used the car to drive around, before returning it to the spot.
Since this discovery, there have been no more updates in Beverly’s case.
According to the King County Sheriff’s Office, the person who used Beverly’s car is not
a person of interest, nor are the people in Greenwater who saw her car sitting there for
months.
Beverly’s husband of 35 years, Donald Cummings told the Seattle Times “I look inside every
car that I drive by.
I’m still out there trying to trace down leads.
But nobody has heard a thing.
I’ve got to keep hoping she’s alive.
But I just don’t know.”
Beverly Ann Cummings is described as a white female with brown hair and brown eyes, she
has her ears pierced and wears glasses.
She was 54 years old at the time of her disappearance and if still alive today she would be 84.
If you have any information about the disappearance of Beverly Ann Cummings, you are urged to
contact the King County Sheriff’s Office on 206-205-7810.