Car possibly involved in Crystal Rogers disappearance analyzed
New information has been released in the disappearance of Crystal Rogers of Bardstown.
Investigators said they are analyzing a car that they believe might have been involved in her disappearance.
Rogers has been missing for nearly a year. The newest information could be a big break in the case, but one person is refusing to talk, authorities said.
"We got tips at the very beginning that there was a white car that was involved. We could never pinpoint that car, but they did find that car," Rogers' mother, Sherry Ballard, said.
Ballard hired a private investigator after her daughter disappeared in July 2015.
Witnesses told investigators that the night Rogers disappeared, a white Buick was parked in a strange place at a farm owned by the mother of suspect Brooks Houck.
According to court documents, Houck's grandmother, Anna Whitesides, owned a white Buick at the time but later sold it.
"She gave two full statements to the police. She was the one who showed them where to get the car that was in question," Whitesides' attorney, Jason Floyd, said.
Whitesides was subpoenaed to appear before a Nelson County grand jury in May, but didn't appear because Floyd suggested that she invoke her Fifth Amendment rights.
"As an 82-year-old woman who has health and memory issues, we felt it was best she did not testify for the risk of incriminating herself with something she might say," Floyd said.
Ballard isn't happy with the decision.
"I know it's her grandson and I know you're going to try to protect your family, but do the right thing and come forward. I mean, I raised my kids that if you did something wrong, you're going to have to pay the penalty for that," Ballard said.
Houck has not been charged, but he has been named a suspect.
Police said Whitesides isn't a suspect, and her attorney said that just because she won't testify doesn't mean that she has anything to hide.
"It's very clear that the Fifth Amendment is not a safe harbor for the guilty; it's a haven for the innocent," Floyd said.
Ballard just wants to know where her daughter is.
"I find myself saying, 'Crystal, just where are you? Just give me a sign, or any kind of little sign.' We've looked so many places. I told my husband, 'When we ever do find out where she's at, it's probably that we walked right over her and didn't know it,'" Ballard said.
Even if Whitesides never testifies, Ballard thinks the car could be the piece of evidence for which they've been waiting.
"I think eventually we will get there," Ballard said.
Whitesides is scheduled to be in court later this month.