Karen Kamsch - Missing/Possibly Murdered - 1976 - Maryland
Sep 5, 2007 3:37 pm US/Eastern Police Release Information Into Cold Case Suzanne Collins Reporting (WJZ) PASADENA, Md. Anne Arundel County police announce a murder investigation Wednesday involving a teenager who disappeared more than three decades ago. Suzanne Collins reports police are making a plea for the public's help in solving the case. They are looking for memories from winter of 1976 when Karen Kamsch, who was 14 or 15-years-old disappeared. Now new information leads them to believe its suspicious and she may have been murdered. They also said her brother contacted police asking them to investigate her disappearance. "Tate asked us to take a look into the investigation. He has not located his sister since 1976. Family members had always told him that she had been reported missing by her grandmother and her father, after she went missing one day," said Lt. David Waltemeyer. On Wednesday police excavated a backyard well at the home where Karen Kamsch had been living with her grand mother over 30 years ago. Other relatives live there now. A source says they didn't find human remains and now police want help from the public. They want someone who may have faded memories of the girl, who seemed to have disappeared with out a trace. A neighbor remembers Karen Kamsch. "I only saw -- actually saw her a couple of times. I saw her one time talking to my son, they were about the same age, I think," said Beatrice Hasenei. The teen moved in with her grandmother after having difficulty at home. One winter day in 1976 she was gone, but her coat and other belongings remained in the house. There are questions, whether a missing persons report was actually filled back then. Police say they can't find one. Though they say it was alleged the father and grandmother did file one. Police say they got a call in the spring raising questions about the old case and after interviews with family and friends they called the case suspicious. "Police connected me to let me know if my sister was alright. So we could put an end to all of this." said Tate Kamsch, victim's brother. Anne Arundel County schools say Karen Kamsch last attended Brooklyn Park High School in 1975-1976 school year. Anyone with memories of her or who knows about her disappearance at the time are asked to call police. The grandmother of Karen Kamsch died in 19999, nd her father and mother could not be reached for comment on this story. http://wjz.com/local/local_story_247181057.html

Police: Missing teen linked to well search 1 hr 58 ago » Sep 5, 2007 3:33 PM (1 hr 58 mins ago) by Carolyn Peirce, The Examiner Anne Arundel County (Map, News) - No one disappears without a trace. Anne Arundel County police confirmed a link between a recent search of a Pasadena water well and Karen Kamsch, who has been missing since 1976. “From information we’ve gotten from family members, we think this is not a simple missing persons case — that there’s foul play,” said David Waltemeyer, supervisor of the Anne Arundel homicide unit, at a news conference Wednesday. “We do have a person of interest, and that person is a close associate or family member of Karen.” Karen Kamsch was 14 when she disappeared from the Pasadena home where she lived with her paternal grandmother, Olga Kamsch, he said. Family members assumed Olga Kamsch filed a missing persons report, but in a recent investigation, Anne Arundel police could not find a report, leading them to believe Karen may have been murdered, he said. The investigation into Karen’s past began in May when Karen’s younger brother Tate Kamsch, 45, of Glen Burnie, contacted Anne Arundel police, because he couldn’t find a record of his sister’s disappearance. “I always wondered what ever happened to my sister,” said Tate Kamsch on Wednesday. “I was young then, about 12 or 13. I just believed what my parents told me.” Detectives found only a birth certificate for Karen and 1976 school records from Brooklyn Park Senior High School, Waltemeyer said. Karen, a straight-A student, moved in with her grandmother, because she “had some problems and ran away a couple times,” Tate Kamsch said. She may have been abused by someone close to her, Waltemeyer said, but declined to elaborate. Olga Kamsch died in 1999, but her house, which is now occupied by Karen’s uncle, was searched for more than 12 hours Aug. 29 by the Anne Arundel police and fire departments, along with a FBI evidence collection team. Baltimore County cadaver dogs zeroed in on the well, Waltemeyer said. Debris from the well was sent to a forensic anthropologist, but human remains other than small pieces of teeth and bones would have degraded after 30 years, he said. He would not confirm whether any objects or clothing particles were found, but said “it was interesting what we did find.” Karen’s parents George Kamsch, 63, of Glen Burnie, and Jean Lee, 62, who lives on the Eastern Shore, could not be reached for comment. Police say some family members are not cooperating with the investigation. “We think there is a person out there who knows what happened and probably has been living with a secret,” Waltemeyer said. “They can rest assured we’re not going to stop looking.” cpeirce@baltimoreexaminer.com http://www.examiner.com/a-917865~Police__Missing_teen_linked_to_well_search.html?cid=rss-Baltimore

New lead in case of missing Pasadena girl Police say they have 'person of interest' in three-decade-old disappearance By Justin Fenton | Sun reporter 2:10 PM EDT, September 5, 2007 Anne Arundel County police said they have a "person of interest" in the disappearance of a Pasadena girl more than three decades ago and are turning to the public for more information. At a news conference today, Lt. David Waltemeyer said a "close associate or family member" was being questioned about the mysterious disappearance of 14-year-old Karen Beth Kamsch in the winter of 1976. Family members long believed that the girl ran away but apparently never filed a missing-person report, police said. An investigation began only in May after Kamsch's brother, Tate, contacted police after a Web search produced no signs of an investigation, police said. "I just really want to know what happened to my sister," Tate Kamsch, 44, of Ridgely, said today. He said a family member "more than likely" has lived with a secret for years, but would not speculate about who he believes is responsible. After conducting interviews with family, friends and schoolmates, detectives determined the girl's disappearance was suspicious and "fear she was the victim of a homicide," the news release said. On May 15 of this year, police formally filed a missing-person report. The investigation prompted a daylong search last week at a home on Wishing Rock Road, in which police removed five feet of debris from the bottom of a dug well. The debris is being tested for possible human remains. School officials apparently notified Olga Kamsch that her granddaughter had not come to school, and personal belongings such as a winter coat were still in her bedroom, police said. Though police were told Kamsch's grandmother, who died in 1999, and her father, George Norman Kamsch, called authorities and filed a missing-person report, no report could be located. George Kamsch, who police said is a Glen Burnie resident, could not be reached for comment. A birth certificate shows the girl was born Jan. 19, 1962, and police say school officials told them she attended Brooklyn Park Senior High School through at least June 1976. After obtaining a search warrant, officials from the Anne Arundel County police and fire departments, along with an FBI evidence response team and Baltimore County canine unit, searched the Kamsch property for more than 12 hours on Aug. 29. The couple who now lives at the home was identified as the aunt and uncle of Karen Kamsch. They have declined to comment, saying police instructed them not to speak while the investigation is continuing. Anyone with information is asked to call Anne Arundel County Police at 410-222-3415. justin.fenton@baltsun.com http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/annearundel/bal-kamsch0905,0,5153429.story?track=rss