Detectives Andrew Houghton & Matt Vartanian from the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit interview members of Karen's family, her close friends, & her co-workers to get a sense of who Karen was as a person and to evaluate Theory #1, that Karen made a desperate choice to either run away or harm herself.

Detectives Andrew Houghton & Matt Vartanian from the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit begin their investigation into the 1983 disappearance of Karen Schepers by interviewing the people who knew her best, members of her family.

On Friday, April 15th, 1983, Karen Schepers, a vibrant 23-year-old woman from Elgin, Illinois, went to see a live band and socialize with a group of co-workers at a bar called P.M. Bentley's in Carpentersville, Illinois. Karen danced, drank, and enjoyed what she believed would be just another Friday night out with friends.  Then, in the early morning hours of April 16th, 1983, Karen and her car vanished without a trace. Her case remains unsolved over 40 years later. Detectives Andrew Houghton & Matt Vartanian from the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit introduce Karen's case, interview several co-workers who were among the last people to see her, & discuss the 6 theories of what could have happened to Karen that they will investigate throughout Season 1 to try to answer the question, "Where Is Karen?"

In May of 2024, Chief Ana Lalley created the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit to review cold case homicides, missing persons, sexual assaults, and unidentified remains cases in Elgin, Illinois.  In this episode, Chief Lalley  provides some background on the Elgin Police Department, the City of Elgin, and she discusses why she felt this unit was necessary and what she hopes to achieve with it.  Detective Andrew Houghton and Detective Matt Vartanian from the newly created Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit, who will host this podcast, also introduce themselves, discuss the creation of the unit, and select the first case that they are investigating for Season 1.