BARDSTOWN, Ky. — Despite years of investigation, authorities have come up short with answers in any one of the unsolved murder cases that have gripped the tight-knit community of Bardstown.
Federal investigators believe answers in one unsolved case could lead to answers in others.
On Wednesday, the FBI and Kentucky State Police seemingly wrapped up their latest search for evidence in at least one of three high-profile cases -- ambushed police officer Jason Ellis, missing mother of five Crystal Rogers or her father, Tommy Ballard, who was shot and killed on a hunting trip one year after Rogers' disappearance.
Special Prosecutor Shane Young, who has been assigned to all three cases, wouldn't say which case the new search was connected to. It's also unknown if any evidence was uncovered.
Neighbors said authorities had been working in a wooded area off Thompson Hill Road in Coxs Creek since Monday. There is a home on the property, but neighbors said it's been vacant for a while.
It's believed this is the first time authorities have searched the property in connection to any of the cases, but it's certainly not the first multi-day search for evidence in Nelson County.
Although it's unknown if there have been any public searches over the years in regards to Tommy or Jason's cases, there have been several search warrants executed in connection to Crystal's disappearance.
History of searches in Crystal Rogers case
Following Crystal's disappearance in 2015, police searched her storage unit and her car, which had been found with all of her belongings left inside. In 2016, police then searched a 245-acre farm owned by the family of the main suspect in her disappearance: her former boyfriend, Brooks Houck.
The farm is reportedly the last place anyone saw Crystal alive.
In August 2020, the FBI took over Crystal's case and federal agents executed search warrants at the homes of Brooks and his brother Nick, a former Bardstown Police officer.
A year later, federal investigators returned to Bardstown. Authorities searched properties owned by Brooks’ company and found “items of interest” under a driveway in the Woodlawn Springs subdivision.
In October 2022, investigators conducted a second five-day search of the Houck family farm. Authorities said evidence was collected and sent to the FBI’s lab in Quantico to be analyzed, but they didn’t release what they found.
What about the Netherlands?
Kathy Netherland, 48, and her 16-year-old daughter Samantha were found brutally murdered inside their home in 2014.
The Netherlands case is not among the unsolved cases Young is prosecuting. But just as with Tommy and Jason's cases, it's unknown if authorities have conducted any public searches in connection to their deaths.
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