The missing: Indiana woman’s family moves to Kentucky hoping to find her body

There are roughly 1,140 missing persons cases in Indiana, according to the Missing Person Bulletin run by the Indiana State Police. About 280 of these cases are under the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. IndyStar looked into some of those cases the 1990s and early 2000s to see where they stand. As of December, more than 185 people reported missing in Indiana a decade or more ago remain on the state’s bulletin.

Karen Jo Smith’s ex-husband is convicted of murder, but her body remains missing.

Karen Jo Smith’s then-14-year-old son last saw her sleeping on the recliner in their living room. Her former husband, Steven Halcomb, was sitting with her.

That was Dec. 27, 2000. The next morning, she was gone.

Before her disappearance, Halcomb had threatened Smith and said he’d harm her family and children on multiple occasions. Her stepmother Patti Bishop said Halcomb had physically abused Smith.

Smith’s case was a rare instance where despite the absence of a body, Halcomb was convicted of her murder. He was sentenced to 95 years in prison in January 2005.

Since then, the family has continued searching. According to her stepmother, Halcomb said Smith’s body was in Kentucky.

Bishop, who moved to Kentucky and has searched for her stepdaughter with the help of family and friends, fondly remembers Smith’s loyalty and her love of family.

“When Karen Jo loved, you knew it,” Bishop said. “She had a loyalty that was fierce.”

Bishop now volunteers at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and formed IN Hope in 2006 as a support system in Indiana for families with a missing person.

“There’s so many people I know that are still searching, and we don’t have the final answer. When you have a missing you will do just about anything to find them,” Bishop said.

Cold cases: Decades later, what happened to these Indiana missing persons cases?

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana woman’s family moves to Kentucky hoping to find her body

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