Authorities began the preliminary stages of a search of 300 acres in the Elmore County community of Friendship related to the disappearance of Traci Pittman Kegley, last seen at a gas station on U.S. 231 on April 26, 1998. Kegley’s daughter was found unharmed in Kegley’s abandoned 1993 Geo Storm on Alabama Highway 170 the next day. Kegley’s personal belongings were also found in the vehicle.
On Sunday, law enforcement and other search-and-rescue resources from several states began gathering at the Friendship Fire Department in preparation for the search of the property. According to Elmore County District Attorney Randall Houston, the search could take up to five days.
Houston said the search grew out of a tip following a 2015 interview he did with Crimestoppers.
“In 2015, we participated in a Crimestoppers program that Mr. (Tony) Garrett (executive director of CrimeStoppers) set up with WSFA,” Houston said. “As a result of that interview, the chief investigator, the lead investigator in this case received some information. We have been tracking it down, ALEA has done a tremendous job following the leads and it’s led us here today. This is probably the best lead we’ve had in this case in a number of years, but it’s just another lead and when we finish doing this, we’ll check off the next box that comes up.
“We have secured the property. It was secured this morning. A search warrant was served. ALEA (Alabama Law Enforcement Agency) and the other law enforcement agencies that are involved in this operation have made sure that the property is secure. We’ve been on there. We’ve looked at it. We’ve got dog teams that are coming. They’ve looked at it and they feel certain that we can conduct this search within the time limits that we have. … We hope to have some good results, but if we don’t, all I can say is if there’s any evidence there we’ll find it. If there’s not, then we searched every bit of it.”
Linda Pittman, Kegley’s mother, said she was surprised when she heard about the search.
“I was absolutely surprised,” Pittman said. “I knew they had been working on this since Traci disappeared and of course it’s been 20 years or will be this April. So I was really surprised, as long as it’s been, that they would come up with something that might lead us to her.”
Houston would not be specific as to the location of the property being searched except to say that it was in the Friendship community.
But a source told The Herald the site was in the Chalk Hill area near Friendship.
“We have moved a great deal of equipment and resources from around the country” to assist in the search, Houston said. One van for a K-9 search-and-rescue unit had a Florida tag.
On hand for Sunday afternoon’s announcement were C.J. Robinson, chief assistant district attorney, ALEA’s State Bureau of Investigation incident commander Joe Herman and Criminal Division Chief Clay Barnes, Chief Deputy Ricky Lowery of the Elmore County Sheriff’s Office, former Elmore County DA Janice Clardy, who was DA at the time of Kegley’s disappearance, Garrett and Linda and Steve Pittman, Kegley’s parents.
According to a news release from the DA’s office, law enforcement agencies involved in the search include Autauga, Blount, Chilton, Elmore, Lee and Tallapoosa county sheriff’s offices, SW Panhandle Search & Rescue K9, ALEA SBI, Auburn, Opelika, Prattville and Wetumpka police departments, Prattville Fire Department, Alabama Emergency Management Agency, ESRI, Haynes Ambulance and Crimestoppers.
