Michelle Lois Prasek was 12 when she was last seen by her mother on the morning of December 19, 1997, in Spring, Texas. She was due to catch the school bus for Knox Junior School in The Woodlands; some friends said they saw her that morning but she did not attend classes. At disappearance she wore a tan Calvin Klein t-shirt, jeans, and Nike sneakers.

Several personal items were missing from the home after she vanished, including a green sleeping bag, a handmade quilt, and her orange tabby cat, which has led investigators to consider the possibility she left voluntarily. Michelle had no history of running away, though she had expressed interest in traveling to the Conroe area and had been in counseling amid family tensions after her parents’ divorce. A family acquaintance, Marc Seguin, who had dated Michelle’s mother, was named a person of interest; he failed a polygraph related to the case and was later convicted on unrelated indecency-with-a-child charges.

Michelle’s whereabouts remain unknown and the case is classified as endangered with foul play suspected. If anyone has information about Michelle or her cat, please contact the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.