Missing
Karen Denise Steed
Karen, approximately 1997
Date and time person was reported missing : 11/25/1997
Missing location (approx) :
Piedmont, Alabama
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Female
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 09/08/1968 (52)
Age at the time of disappearance: 29 years old
Height / Weight : 5'7, 120 pounds
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian female. Blonde hair, green/blue eyes. Some Age at the time of disappearance: ncies spell Karen's name "Karren."
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Karen was last seen in her Piedmont, Alabama residence on November 25, 1997. On December 18, three weeks after her disappearance, her beige 1982 Ford Fairmont with Alabama license plate number 11DW289, was found abandoned on Interstate 20 in Cleburne County, close to Heflin, Alabama. There was no signs of foul play at the scene. She has never been heard from again.
Karen was employed as a certified nursing assistant at the time of her disappearance. Her husband, Jimmy Steed, stated she was not behaving unusually prior to going missing. She left behind a young daughter.
In December 2014, Jimmy pleaded guilty to the murder of another woman. He was sentenced to 105 years in prison and will almost certainly never be released. Authorities have stated Jimmy is a suspect in his wife's disappearance and in the disappearances of James "Patrick" Burrows and Jeffery McFry, who went missing within two weeks of each other in 1990. Both men were involved in drug activity.
David Ronald Chandler was convicted of ordering Burrows and McFry's murders, but authorities believe Jimmy Steed was involved as well. He hasn't been charged in connection with any of the three disappearances, and Karen's case remains unsolved.
Other information and links : ncy
Calhoun County Sheriff's Office
256-236-6600
September 2021 updates and sources
Missing Persons in Calhoun County
Alabama Department of Public Safety
The Cleburne News
The Anniston Star
October 12, 2004. March 6, 2015; Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : updated.
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
