Rhonda Fae Karren Missing 1987 UT
Human Remains Found in Well in Search for Missing Woman October 7th, 2006 @ 5:57pm SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Detectives in Uintah County investigating the disappearance of a Vernal woman 19 years ago have found what may be human remains buried in an old water well. A drilling company dug into the well on Wednesday to look for remains of Rhonda Fae Karren. She was 31 when she was reported missing in 1987. The site where the sheriff's office drilled Wednesday is in the area of Diamond Mountain in Colorado, about 30 miles northeast of Vernal. Investigators at the drill site found what equipment and cadaver dogs indicated to be human hair and bones. In 2002, investigators took cadaver dogs to the property, which was leased by Karren's husband's family, and found the well had been filled in. Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=548953

Detective Refuses to Give Up on 19-Year-Old Murder Case October 8th, 2006 @ 10:00pm John Hollenhorst reporting Investigators in Eastern Utah made a big effort during the past week to crack a 19-year-old murder case. It's questionable whether they made any breakthroughs. But the fact they tried is because one detective refused to give up on a very cold case. It will take scientific analysis in the crime lab before investigators find out if they obtained any new evidence this week. But Detective Bob Vanderbusse firmly believes it's only a matter of time before he gets his man. The theory behind this week's drilling effort is that a woman's body is buried deep underground on a ranch in Western Colorado. Detective Bob Vanderbusse believes a murderer dumped the victim in an abandoned water-well, which was later filled in. Bob Vanderbusse, Uintah County Investigator: "I truly believe there's something human down there. It only makes sense that it's Rhonda." Rhonda Karren mysteriously disappeared from her home just outside Vernal in 1987. The case went cold until 1995 when Vanderbusse began probing for new evidence. Bob Vanderbusse, Uintah County Investigator: "I promised her mother that I'm going to do everything I can to find her daughter, and that's what I'm going to do." Rhonda Karren's mother believes she is in what she calls "a dirty place" and hopes Vanderbusse can find her. Audrey Slaugh, Victim's Mother: "It, umm, I could give her some pretty flowers. She liked pretty things. She liked to be clean. And I'd know. I'd know for sure." Over the last decade Vanderbusse developed new witnesses and made one previous attempt to drill the old well. He wants a breakthrough before he retires three months from now. Bob Vanderbusse, Uintah County Investigator: "Well it kind of angers me. Murder's the ultimate, in my opinion, the ultimate crime. I think you should be held accountable for what you've done. Do the crime, you need to do the time. And unfortunately nobody's been charged in this." In dirt from the old well, investigators found tiny bits that glowed under laser and infrared light. They hope lab tests confirm they are remnants of a body. But so far there's no obvious evidence of human remains. Bob Vanderbusse, Uintah County Investigator: "There definitely is disappointment. I was certain we'd hit something. But we didn't and we're going to keep trying." The man who was the victim's husband at the time was taken in for questioning Thursday night. Investigators used a search warrant to collect his fingerprints, hair, and blood samples. But he denies his guilt, and investigators admit they don't have enough evidence to file charges. http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=550627

Details Emerge About Search Warrant in Vernal Murder Case October 13th, 2006 @ 7:09am (KSL News) There are new details about a search warrant issued in the investigation of a Vernal woman who disappeared 19 years ago. Last week, authorities took hair, blood and saliva samples from the ex-husband of Rhonda Karren. Authorities won't say why they wanted the samples from Mark Karren. A drilling company excavated a well near Diamond Mountain in Colorado last week and found what appears to be human remains. The property had been leased to the Karren family. http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=562862

New Theory Emerges from Drilling in Cold Case October 17th, 2006 @ 5:58pm John Hollenhorst Reporting Bob Vanderbusse, Chief Deputy, Uintah County: "Hopefully we'll be able to determine, one, if it's human, and secondly, if the DNA matchers are victim, Rhonda Karren." There's a new theory in the case of a missing woman from Eastern Utah who may be buried deep underground. Two weeks ago we brought you exclusive reports on efforts to drill deep for the body of Rhonda Karren. Detectives are now exploring the possibility her body was dissolved by acid 19 years ago after she was dumped in an abandoned well. The search for answers in this old, cold case came to Salt Lake City today. So far the results are not encouraging, but detectives hope lab experts can tell them just what it is they drilled out of the ground two weeks ago. Eartly this month a drilling company began probing deep into an abandoned water well. It was filled in with dirt almost two decades ago. Detectives think it may be the final resting place of Rhonda Karren. She disappeared from her home near Vernal in 1987. The drill found no obvious evidence of a human body, but when it reached about 65 feet down, a strange smell came up. Bob Vanderbusse, Chief Deputy, Uintah County: "Oh, there was at least a half dozen people or more that smelled that chemical smell." Detective Bob Vanderbusse has an armload of possible evidence drilled from the well. He hopes laboratories can identify small particles and objects as body parts. One mystery is a substance that flouresced, or glowed, under laser light, a possible signal of bone material. Bob Vanderbusse: "And it was just a white pasty substance, and it had the chemical odor to it. We don't know what it was. I don't understand why there'd be a chemical odor that deep in the ground." Last week a relative of the missing woman recalled seeing a drum of chemicals at the house she owned with her estranged husband. Bob Vanderbusse: "And then, after she was reported missing, they noticed that the container was gone. It's a possibility that was dumped in the hole after her." He speculates the killer poured in the chemicals, which destroyed the body over the last 19 years. Bob Vanderbusse: "Basically ate it away, turned it into mush." So far the pasty substance has not been analyzed. An expert here did analyze some small, hard fragments and concluded they were not bone. So far there seems to be more frustration than proof, but detectives haven't given up and they haven't ruled out more drilling. http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=573602