Updated: FBI searching a Kentucky farm in connection to Crystal Rogers’ disappearance

Christopher Leach

The FBI is searching a farm in Bardstown Monday morning as part of the agency’s investigation into Crystal Rogers’ disappearance.

The FBI announced the search in a tweet Monday, in which the agency said it was “conducting judicially authorized activity at 345 Paschal Ballard Lane.”

Records from the Nelson County Property Valuation Adminstrator’s office show the property is a farm belonging to the Houck family. Brooks Houck, Rogers’ boyfriend at the time of her disappearance, is believed to be the last person who saw her. Law enforcement named him a suspect early in the case, but he has never been charged with anything in connection to Rogers’ disappearance.

An FBI spokesperson said Monday that it’s unclear how long the search will last, but the agency is “planning for multiple days.” The FBI declined to comment on what it was looking for in this latest search. Local law enforcement officers were on-scene at the farm Monday to restrict access while the FBI searched.

The Bardstown Police Department blocks off access to a farm owned by the Houck family in Bardstown, Ky. The FBI was on the scene conducting a search in connection to the disappearance of Crystal Rogers.
The Bardstown Police Department blocks off access to a farm owned by the Houck family in Bardstown, Ky. The FBI was on the scene conducting a search in connection to the disappearance of Crystal Rogers.

FBI vehicles were also seen at the farm Monday afternoon.

Rogers, a Kentucky mother of five children, was reported missing by her mother, Sherry Ballard, on July 5, 2015, according to the FBI. She went missing two days prior and hasn’t been seen or heard from since then.

The day she was reported missing, her Chevrolet Malibu was found abandoned on the Bluegrass Parkway with a flat tire. Her keys, phone and purse were inside the car, according to the FBI.

In addition to an investigation into Rogers’ disappearance, the FBI is also investigating the death of Rogers’ father, Tommy Ballard.

In 2016 Ballard was shot and killed by an unknown subject while hunting with his grandson, according to law enforcement. He had been trying to get answers regarding his daughter’s disappearance and created “Team Crystal,” a group of community members dedicated to finding his daughter, according to the FBI.

The investigations into Rogers’ disappearance and Ballard’s death have involved several different law enforcement agencies. The FBI took over the case in 2020 and has since conducted searches at several properties in Bardstown.

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