Karen Ann Spencer was a 17-year-old high school senior from Reading, Ohio, who disappeared on a cold December night in 1989. She was last seen in the early morning hours on Interstate 275 in Miami Township after stopping a car between the Montgomery Road and Route 28 exits during an argument about moving to Florida with her brother and sister-in-law, Christy Spencer. Christy says Karen got out and began walking north along the interstate; she later drove three miles to the next interchange, turned around and returned, and found Karen gone.

A man in his early twenties driving a red 1982 Datsun B-310 reportedly stopped and then left; he later gave inconsistent statements, had his car cleaned twice that day, and the vehicle disappeared. He passed a polygraph but was later questioned by FBI behavioral scientists; a friend said he spoke about Karen’s disappearance before she was reported missing. Other leads include a 1990 witness who saw a young woman matching Karen’s description walking southbound on I-275 and a 1993 trucker who said he saw a man burying a woman near Lake Isabella, but searches found no evidence. Karen had two uncashed paychecks and seven dollars when she vanished. Foul play is suspected and the case remains unsolved. Anyone who knew Karen or has information is asked to come forward.