The search for Sarah Elizabeth Kinslow, who went missing on May 1, 2001, at the age of 14, continues.
Sarah, who grew up in a loving family with three siblings, took a rebellious turn during her teenage years when she began dating an 18-year-old with a troubled reputation for drugs and crime. On the morning of her disappearance, Sarah's father, John, dropped her off at Greenville Middle School, unaware that it would be the last time he saw his daughter.
Despite being dropped off at school, Sarah never attended that day, leaving her family in distress. Police dogs traced her scent to a location just two blocks from the school, but the trail abruptly ended. Witnesses reported seeing her in an older model light blue Ford truck near the school, driven by a Caucasian male in his thirties. Another sighting placed her at a phone booth in Caddo Mills, Texas, after her disappearance.
Sarah's relationship with her 18-year-old boyfriend, Curtis Wayne Bell of Quinlan, led to his arrest a week after her disappearance, charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child. Investigations revealed Sarah's consensual involvement with Bell, but she was not of legal age to give consent.
Two months before she went missing, Sarah had entered into a relationship with Bell. In her diary, she expressed a desire to marry him and detailed plans of running away to Mexico if her parents opposed their relationship. Bell acknowledges that he and Sarah did discuss the idea of running away, but he maintains that it was not a serious consideration.
In 2012, Bell had probation on a charge of sexual assault of a child revoked and was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Despite numerous efforts and sightings, Sarah's whereabouts remain unknown. She was possibly seen the Tualatin, Beaverton, Tigard, and Portland areas of Oregon in 2004 and may have been spotted in Surrey, British Columbia later that year.
Sarah is described as a Caucasian female with blonde hair and blue eyes. She has distinctive features, including a tattoo of the letter "I" on the inside of her ankle, chicken pox scars on her left cheek, and overlapping front teeth. Authorities believe she may have altered her appearance, possibly dying her hair brown or cutting it short.
The Greenville Police Department urges anyone with information about Sarah Kinslow's disappearance to contact them at 903-457-2900. Those who wish to remain anonymous can reach out to Crime Stoppers at 903-457-2929.
