The Missing
Karen Denise Wells
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Karen Denise Wells was 23 years old, on her way to visit her friend’s house in Bergen, New Jersey on April 12, 1993 or 1994. (Sources differ.) Karen is from Haskell, Oklahoma, but her family was not worried about the 20 hour trip because Karen had often traveled to South Dakota by herself in the past. She was only miles away from her destination in NJ but was almost out of gas, so she turned around and went back to PA. She eventually checked into a motel on the 1100 block of Harrisburg Pike in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Karen was in contact with her friend Melissa, whom she planned on seeing along the way. At 8:00 p.m. that night, she told Melissa she was planning on grabbing some McDonald’s to eat and then heading to her room for a nap. They decided to meet around midnight inside Karen’s room. By the time midnight rolled around and Melissa had gotten to the motel room, Karen was not there. The room key was still in the room, along with a suitcase that belonged to her, was open on the bed with some clothing lying beside it. There was a magazine and a pack of cigarettes on the bedside table, but the bed did not appear to have been slept in. Her purse was nowhere to be found. Melissa called the police and reported her friend missing.
During the initial investigation, the front desk clerk at the motel says Karen asked them for directions to the nearest McDonald’s. The Staff member reported seeing Karen get into her rental car, a White 1993 Plymouth Acclaim with Oklahoma license plates. She drove away and that is the last confirmed sighting.
The rental car she was driving was found over 5 hours later, abandoned on a desolate road in Perry County, Pennsylvania near Tuscarora State Park, which is around 35 miles away from the motel. The vehicle appeared to have stopped suddenly in the westbound lane, and it was muddy and scratched with both front doors ajar. The vehicle strangely had 600-700 miles over the expected odometer count. The hazard lights were switched on. The car had no fuel and the battery was dead. There were wrappers from a Hardee’s fast food meal including some French fries being left, soda bottles, a pair of shoes, maps, a small amount of marijuana, cocaine, and a pipe inside the car.
The area was thoroughly searched with scent dogs and helicopters, which led to the discovery of Karen’s Purse. It was discovered next to a bag of fish guts off the side of the road in a ditch near the car. There was still cash inside.
Around Thanksgiving in 1994, Karen’s married boyfriend’s wife claimed to have received a call from Karen, stating she had gotten married and did not plan on coming back home. This call was never confirmed and investigators don’t think it was Karen who actually made that call.
Karen is described as a white female with blonde hair and blue/green eyes, standing at 5’6” and weighing 120 lbs. at the time. She often went by her middle name, Denise. She normally wore glasses and she has a quarter to a half inch scar on her forearm. She was unemployed at the time and was a single parent.
Karen’s son William did a DNA mouth swab for investigators, but there has been no public movement in the case. William believes there was someone else with her in the vehicle that night. He says he may not remember his mom, being only 16 months old when she vanished, but he still would like closure. He was raised by his grandparents.
Karen was declared legally dead by her family in 1994. Her case remains unsolved.
If you have any further information, please contact the FBI at 800-634-4097 or the Pennsylvania State Police at 717-243-4121.
Sources:
https://uncovered.com/cases/karen-wells
https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/vicap/missing-persons/karen-denise-wells
https://namus.nij.ojp.gov/case/MP5386
https://int-missing.fandom.com/wiki/Denise_Wells https://charleyproject.org/case/karen-denise-wells
The Lost & The Taken 
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