Family Still Searching For Answers 18 Years After Sand Spring Woman's Disappearance

A family is still searching for answers after their loved one went missing more than 18 years ago.

They are holding out hope someone will still come forward and tell the police what they know.

Karen Heim’s family says right after Christmas is always the hardest time of the year for them because she went missing the day after Christmas in 2005.

They say each day that passes is one day closer to getting answers.

One day after Karen Heim went missing, her car was found abandoned near Clarksville, Texas, with her purse on the roof.

Heim’s son, Ryan Underwood, says he can still remember where he was and what he was doing when he heard the news she was missing.

"It's just the not knowing part that drags on with you,” said Underwood. “You can't ever just let it go completely. When you drive around, you see things that remind me of my mother. Then, it opens up those same wounds."

Because Underwood was 18 when she disappeared, and it’s now been 18 years, Underwood will soon have lived more of his life without his mother than with her.

He makes sure his kids know about their grandmother and what a happy and caring person she was.

"I want my kids to know about her,” said Underwood. “They know Grammy Karen. They see pictures of her, they ask questions. And I tell them. And one day, when they're old enough to understand some of the things, I'll tell them."

Heim’s sister, Kim Massey, says Heim was a good sister to her, and Massey loves her very much.

Massey says her job now is to make sure Underwood’s kids have a grandmother figure in their lives.

"I always think, what would Karen want me to do?” said Massey. “I'm always over there with his kids, trying to be Grammy and with him. I just want to do, what would Karen want me to do?"

Both Underwood and Massey hope anyone who knows anything about Heim’s disappearance will come forward and give them the answers they’ve been trying to find for 18 years.

"We're believers,” said Massey. “If we don't get justice in this life, I know God's going to handle it. But confession is good for the soul. Tell us. Just say what happened."

"And I hope that the memory of her face every night just haunts them until they come say something,” said Underwood.

Sand Springs Police and Tulsa Police are investigating the case.

If anyone knows anything about this case, call CRIMESTOPPERS at 918-596-COPS.