Katharina Buczek
Coy did find a damp towel had been hung up inside their bathroom. But, the rest of Elizabeth’s belongings were in their usual spots. The only bizarre thing Coy did notice was how $50 had gone missing from their home. So, he waited for his wife to get back. But, after the evening passed by, the following morning dawned, and Elizabeth never returned home, Coy started to worry. And finally, he reached out to the police and filed a missing person report.
Right after Coy filed the report, authorities immediately began to search for information. And though Elizabeth was officially labeled as a missing person, investigators still treated her case as though it was a homicide investigation because of the “suspicious circumstances” around her disappearance.
It remains unclear exactly when the 19-year-old vanished. However, authorities believe Elizabeth went missing at some point between 6:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. As the investigation continued on, though, one thing did become very clear– the sheer lack of evidence in the teen’s case.
“Sadly, in this case, there was just no evidence or no clue of where she had gone or what happened,” explained Lieutenant Jeremy Mathis of the Bay County Sheriff’s Office.
By 2007, the investigators decided to conduct a widespread search of a large two-acre region– containing a wooded area and drainage pond– located near Elizabeth’s home. Unfortunately, though, the search came up dry, and no new evidence was uncovered.
So, to this day, what happened to Elizabeth remains a mystery. But that does not mean the Prescott family or authorities have given up hope of finding answers.
“We don’t forget about these cases. They don’t go away. This is still an open case, and we would love to provide some closure to the family,” Lt. Mathis said.
At the time of her disappearance, Elizabeth was five foot two, weighed 110 pounds, and had blonde hair and blue eyes. Her and Coy’s home, from which she went missing, was located at 522 North Tyndall Parkway. Elizabeth would be 38 years old today. If you have any information regarding Elizabeth’s disappearance or whereabouts, you are urged to contact the Bay County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 747-4700.
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