Investigators with the Marion County Sheriff's Office are seeking help from the public in the July disappearance of a Whitwell, Tennessee, woman, and a $7,000 reward remains available to anyone who can provide information on her whereabouts.
Sheriff Ronnie "Bo" Burnett said by phone that lead detective Chad Johnson has collected a considerable amount of case evidence and conducted numerous interviews as recently as Monday afternoon, but so far nothing solid has materialized in the disappearance of Stacy Annette Crawford. A tip from the public could be the lead authorities need, Burnett said.
Investigators hope that with families and friends gathering together over the holidays, helpful information might come up that could help the case, Burnett said.
Some of the evidence is still being analyzed at the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's crime lab in Nashville, Burnett said. Burnett acknowledged it can be frustrating for families who have to wait for evidence already filed in other cases to be analyzed. The TBI crime lab serves every law enforcement agency in Tennessee's 95 counties, he said.
Marion County Sheriff's Office / Stacy Annette Crawford, 44, of Whitwell, Tenn.Crawford, 44, of Whitwell, Tennessee, is believed to have gone missing July 21 somewhere in or around her hometown in the northeast portion of the county, according to Marion County investigators. Detectives' initial information was that Crawford disappeared in August, but phone records showed she vanished three weeks earlier.
Since the investigation began, authorities have conducted six ground searches using a cadaver K-9 team from Rhea County without success and conducted other searches that produced electronic and physical evidence investigators believe will be valuable to the case, according to Burnett. Evidence collected so far has been submitted to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's crime lab in Nashville for analysis.
In September, Marion County detectives arrested Ronnie McFalls, 49, of Guild, Tennessee, charging him with theft of Crawford's vehicle, a Chevrolet K1500 Tahoe, and tampering with evidence. McFalls allegedly had Crawford's vehicle and sold it. Burnett said McFalls remains a person of interest but hasn't been named a suspect.
Marion County Sheriff's Office / Stacy Annette Crawford, 44, was last seen July 21 and is the subject of an ongoing missing person investigation.(READ MORE: Search for information ongoing in 2020 Grundy missing person case)
Crawford is described as a white woman, 5 feet, 4 inches tall, 130 pounds with blonde hair and blue eyes, according to authorities.
Crawford had lived at various locations in the county and was reported missing by her sister after she didn't call Crawford's son on his birthday, something she never failed to do before, Detective Gene Hargis said in an October phone interview.
Burnett said investigators have received numerous tips but no link to Crawford's whereabouts.
Anyone with information related to the missing person investigation should contact the Marion County Sheriff's Office at 423-942-2525.
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.