Karen Young, 52: Woman & Boyfriend Went Missing In 2011
The disappearance of a Detroit couple has stumped authorities for over a decade. Two families have been searching for answers after Karen Young, 52, and her boyfriend, 50-year-old Randall Childs, disappeared from Detroit, Michigan on June 7th, 2011. This is a mystery that has garnered several theories and speculative opinions as to what could have happened to the pair. Is one of them at fault? Or did they suffer some accident or tragedy where both Karen and Randall are possible victims?
Although the circumstances regarding this case are unclear, it has been shared that Karen Young and her boyfriend Randall were at his apartment with his roommate. They reportedly got into an argument and Karen decided to leave, so she called her daughter to come pick her up at around 11:30 p.m. She left the apartment to go downstairs to wait for her ride, but because they were on the sixth floor and it was dark outside, Randall decided to walk her out. They haven’t been seen or heard from since that time.
What happened to the couple after that is unknown and if the streets of Detroit have any idea of what occurred, they aren’t telling—at least, not publicly.
“Somebody has to know something,” said Randall’s sister Sharon Murray all those years ago. “We’re not looking to punish you, persecute you. We just want to know where Randall is. We deserve some answers… But they told us there haven’t been any tips yet. It doesn’t make sense: [Karen] left her purse and all her belongings behind. My brother left all his toiletries in his apartment. There’s nothing to indicate they were planning to leave. It’s going on four months now, and there hasn’t been a trace.”
Randall reportedly worked in Royal Oak at Pasquale’s restaurant and was said to have loved to sing and write poetry, and he also acted as a neighborhood handyman for those who needed help. Although not much has been shared about Karen’s personal life, it was reported that she worked at Detroit’s Parks and Recreation Department before being laid off.
Leesha Young, Karen Young’s only daughter, told a news station back in 2011, “As the other family said, how hard it is to lose a loved one. But just to be in limbo and not knowing one way or the other … at this point, it’s been over three months and I just need closures.”
Reports have stated that members of both families have done as much searching as they could, calling hospitals, morgues, shelters, and anywhere hoping that they would find answers. Their efforts have not brought on any helpful results and years ago, police stated that they were only receiving false leads.
Both families insist that Randall nor Karen would leave without contacting someone.
At the time of her disappearance, Karen Young stood 5 feet 2 inches to 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighed 130 pounds. She had brown hair and brown eyes. She wore prescription glasses, had a dark birthmark on front of her neck, and a scar on her arm near her elbow. Karen was last seen wearing a cream top, black pin-striped pants, and a black necktie. Her middle name is “Vanessa” and she would be 63-years-old at the time of this publication.
Anyone with information about this case is urged to contact the Detroit Police Department at (313) 596-2221, Crime Stoppers of Michigan at 1-800-SPEAK-UP, or they can also text tips to CRIMES (274637). A $1,000 reward is being offered for information that helps police locate Karen Young or Randall Childs.
Please share this story about Karen Young to help reignite the investitgation into her and Randall Childs’s disappearances. She is our sister and her life matters.
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