BARDSTOWN, Ky. — FBI Louisville announced it is conducting a search in Coxs Creek, Ky., related to the Crystal Rogers case. The search is being conducted at 3505 Whitesides Road, a property previously owned by the grandmother and brother of Brooks Houck, who was arrested and charged with Rogers' murder.
“FBI Louisville is conducting a search in Cox’s Creek, KY as a follow-up to tips received related to the Crystal Rogers investigation,” they said in a social media post.
Nelson County sheriff Raymond Pineiroa said,“We’re here with the FBI conducting a investigation in connection with the Crystal Rogers case. They’ve been here since yesterday and will be here through tomorrow.”
Coxs Creek is about five miles away from Bardstown, where Rogers went missing in 2015. According to a court document released in June from the Nelson Circuit Court, Steven Lawson said he saw his son, Joseph Lawson and another man digging on July 4, 2015, which was the day after Rogers disappeared. Steven Lawson said they “burning and digging” further down Thompson Hill Road in Coxs Creek with construction equipment.
Pineiroa added, “You guys know the drill, this is still ongoing, we have not found a body and it’s what we’re here to do.”
Three people have been arrested and charged in connection with her disappearance: Houck — who was Rogers’ boyfriend at the time — as well as Steven Lawson and Joseph Lawson.
The three men are scheduled to be tried together in Feb. 2025. A motion has been filed to determine if the cases should be tried separately. A hearing to resolve several motions is set for Oct. 4, 2024.
Rogers was reported missing by her mother, Sherry Ballard, on July 5, 2015. Her abandoned car was found in Bardstown. Since 2020, the FBI has conducted several searches related to the case. They’ve searched Houck’s home, a farm in Bardstown where Rogers was last seen and other areas around Bardstown.