By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Friday, July 10, 2015, 6 p.m. — The Nelson County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant early Friday afternoon at the Houck family farm on Paschal Ballard Lane as part of their investigation into the disappearance of Crystal M. Rogers.
Brooks Houck, Rogers’ boyfriend, was the last person to see Rogers while they were at the family’s Paschal Ballard Lane farm.
The 245-acre farm is located near the intersection of Loretto Road (KY 49) and Balltown Road (KY 46). Friday afternoon a deputy’s police cruiser blocked access to Paschal Ballard Lane, allowing only residents and law enforcement to enter.
Officers from the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office, Bardstown Police Department, Kentucky State Police and Nelson County Emergency Management Director Joe Prewitt were part of the group that searched the farm.
A law enforcement official leaving the farm at about 4 p.m. told the media that the day’s heavy rains had hampered the search, and that at one point crews returned to their vehicles to escape the stormy weather.
While the search was underway on the Houck family farm, a large group of Crystal Rogers’ family and friends gathered near the bridge over the Beech Fork River at Loretto Road’s intersection with Burba Road. Vehicles lined both sides of Loretto Road and spilled over onto Burba and Roberts roads. The entourage included ATVs, inflatable boats and even horses.
Her family and friends began Friday as they have most mornings this past week — searching for clues to Crystal’s whereabouts. The search was coordinated on social media, and on Friday the search began along the Bluegrass Parkway at the Bloomfield exit at the 34 mile marker and headed west.
Meanwhile, the reward for information leading to Crystal’s return is now $71,000.
Rogers, 35, has been missing since Friday, July 3, when she was last seen by her boyfriend, Brooks Houck.
Rogers’ car was found Sunday by her family, unlocked and abandoned in the westbound lanes of the Bluegrass Parkway Sunday near the 14 mile marker, with a flat tire. Her keys, diaper bag and cell phone were still inside.
A Facebook page titled “Pray for Crystal’s Safe Return” has already accumulated 7,600 likes, and signs asking people to pray for her return are visible all across the county.
When asked for an update Friday morning, Nelson County Sheriff Ed Mattingly would only say the investigation is ongoing, and he would call a press conference when there was additional information to share with the public.
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