How would the parents of a two-and-a-half-year-old baby girl would feel when they come to know that they have lost their princess? It’s been more than 20 years since the disappearance of Teekah Lewis, and her case is still under mystery without any lead or suspect? Her case was “America’s Most Wanted” case that attracted everyone. Let us know in brief the case of “Teekah Lewis”.
Who Was Teekah Lewis?
Born on July 4, 1996, Teekah Lewis or Teekah Latres Lewis is a shy, caring, and self-oriented baby girl to Theresa English and Robert Lewis. She had four siblings, and, unfortunately, her father could not be a large part of her life, as being convicted of theft and was sentenced to 4 years in jail.
She was a multiracial child and had both black and white ancestry due to her parents. She was very much attached to her mother and did not like to be picked up by the people she did not know or barely knew. She would start crying if she could not find her mother and blankie. But unfortunately, she had the destiny to be with her family until she got abducted in 1999.
How Was Teekah Lewis Disappeared?
January 23, 1999, was the worst day of the life of the family of Teekah Lewis. In New Frontier Lanes, Bowling Alley, she was carrying a child’s purse with a fish design, which she had just purchased with some Christmas money. There were several favourite candies of hers in the purse.
Nearly dozens of people gathered inside the bowling alley, with several of Teekah’s relatives. She remained unsuccessful in winning a teddy bear from a coin-operated claw machine. Her mother recalled that she last saw her in the arcade playing a “Cruisin World” racing game.
“Incidents happen in just a little period”, and the same happened with this family. As her mother and the rest of the family members were switching to supervising Teekah, it was just a time of seconds that she switched over to her brother, and “something” happened at that time. Dawn Czapiewski, Theresa’s sister, recalled that the mishappening occurred in just 10 to 15 seconds.
When her mother turned her head, she could not find her daughter there because she was not there. While speaking to the reporters, she stated that Teekah was a mommy’s girl, and would not wander here and there without her, but that day was different.
Her mother looked for her daughter everywhere, crossing from the crowd to the nearby bathroom where she hoped she would find her, but nobody except her cousin, who was changing her own baby’s diaper. Her family and friends started looking for Teekah, from the lanes to the nearby places.
As time passed, the number of searching individuals began to increase, including the on-duty police officer who had searched the entire premise and alerted the other employees. Teekah was not the girl who could wander here and there just for fun or to tease her family and friends, especially her mother, without whom she did not go anywhere.
Investigation In Disappearance Case of Teekah Lewis
After finding her for long hours with no proper evidence, the Tacoma Police Department filed a case of abduction of a young girl. Her case was listed as the “endangered missing” the next day. Several days later, the FBI and NCMEC (National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children) officials also made their helping hand to find the toddler.
The helicopters, armed with an infrared device and sniffer dogs, were also used to scan and locate the girl. The investigation happened in every corner of the city, from the plains to bushy areas.
On January 26, after several days after the disappearance of Teekah, the police discovered some pieces of evidence; some men’s clothing. The sniffer dogs led the investigators to a brushy area across the street from the bowling alley, where they found a pile of men’s clothing compiled up in a ball.
The clothes, including off-white Lee brand jeans, a navy blue peacoat with a shirt of Columbia brand, had no mould or mildew on them, indicating that they were at the place for just some days. This was the primary evidence for the police, as it could lead them to some more evidence.
The police moved to suspect the family members and close friends, and they first began with the parents. They make their suspicion on Theresa first due to her calm nature at the time of her daughter’s disappearance, whom she loved the most.
The police suggested that this was a scarce case of abduction from a stranger, as they have cleared the close friends and family members from the suspect list.
As time passed by, the police started getting leads and some witnesses. One lady witness claimed to doubt a man who had hit a lady from his car, while the other witness claimed that it was a teenage boy challenging a man in his 30, who was following a child from his entry in the alley.
Challenges In The Investigation
A blonde-haired man, commonly called Husky, came into the picture from the witnesses. Before the disappearance of Teekah, this man assaulted many children and tried to abduct them too, but did not get into the eyes of the police because no parent had ever complained about him.
After knowing the case of Teekah, many parents came forward with their different stories, leading that man to the suspect list. However, after so many tryings and details, the police could not find that man.
As time passed, Teekah’s case started to disappear from the headlines of the newspapers, and after coming till 2001, the case was at the point of closing.
As the investigation was in progress, many other cases were linked to this case. A dead body found without a head in Missouri, which later turned out to be Erica Michelle Marie Green from the DNA testing, a living girl found in Dallas, whose personality and details exactly matched with Teekah’s, but the DNA results came out to be negative.
A 3-year-old Lenoria Jones went missing from Tacoma in July of 1995, the murder of 10-year-old Adre-Anna Jackson from nearby Tillicum, who was murdered in December of 2005 and whose body was found in April of 2006 with the murder of 12-year-old Zina Linnik, a Ukrainian immigrant, were some cases that were linked with Teekah’s case.
Did Police Ever Found Teekah?
Well, it has been so many years now, but the investigators could not find anything for the family of Teekah. They could not trace anything about her disappearance nor the person behind it. Theresa and Robert, till now, hope for the good that one day they will meet with their princess.
The thing that did not go the same in those 22 years was the celebration and anniversary of Teekah done by her parents. Her parents have tried and done everything on their terms to locate their daughter, but the destiny remains the same. Teekah’s case is still under mystery, and the investigators don’t know whether she is alive or dead.
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