Karen Sue Laird

Laird, circa 1994

  • Missing Since 08/05/1994
  • Missing From Tampa, Florida
  • Classification Endangered Missing
  • Sex Female
  • Race White
  • Date of Birth 11/03/1960 (63)
  • Age 33 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'6, 150 pounds
  • Medical Conditions Laird is an alcoholic. She also suffers from a chronic illness and requires medication to control it. She is classified as disabled.
  • Associated Vehicle(s) 1984 Pontiac 6000 (accounted for), Black Chevrolet Blazer
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Red hair, blue eyes. Laird's spleen has been surgically removed and she has a resulting scar on the lower center portion of her chest. Her ears are pierced. She wears a full set of dentures.

Details of Disappearance

Laird was last seen during the evening of August 5, 1994, at her residence near the 10600 block of Nebraska Avenue in Tampa, Florida. She was last seen getting into a black Chevrolet Blazer with a companion, described as a 35- to 45-year-old white male, 5'4 to 5'6 in height, with thinning hair. The man presented himself as a long distance trucker.

Laird has never been heard from again. The circumstances surrounding her disappearance are unclear, but her family believes she may have met with foul play. Her parents last spoke to her shortly before her disappearance and describe the conversation as normal.

She has not refilled her prescriptions or cashed any of her monthly Social Security disability checks since her disappearance, and she left $1,000 in her bank account and her 1984 Pontiac 6000. Her clothes and her collection of Miami Dolphins memorabilia disappeared with her, however.

Laird was arrested for drunk driving in May 1994 and was scheduled to appear in court on that charge twelve days after she disappeared, but her loved ones do not believe she disappeared in order to avoid prosecution.

She had a troubled life in 1994, which included an alcohol-related arrest record and employment instability, but her family stated she would not have left them without warning and without taking her car or any of her money. Laird's case remains unsolved.

Investigating Agency

  • Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office 813-247-8667

Updated 2 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated August 16, 2006; medical conditions and details of disappearance updated.