Because of my interest in true crime and real-life mysteries, I would like to use my platform to spread awareness and information on the people who need it the most. I like to write, research and discuss the smaller cases and especially the ones closer to home.
In the Summer of 1985, two young sisters went missing from their home in Bethany, Oklahoma. Rozlin Abell was 18 at the time and Fawn was 15 years old. The girls were reportedly going out to search for jobs when their brother heard them talking on their way out the front door. The girls have not been seen or heard from since. Their yearbook photos have been age progressed.
Bethany police Lt. Austin Warfield continues to work on the case over three decades later. Family members have said that the girls would hitchhike regularly and although there was no evidence to support the idea of foul play, the family suspects that Rozlin and Fawn were victims of a circumstantial crime. In 1985 in was not uncommon for young people to walk off and say they would be back later.
In March of 2010, the brother of the girls called Lt. Austin Warfield and asked if any bones or skulls had been found at the Stinchcomb Wildlife Refuge. When the brother was questioned about the strange inquiry, he brought up his two missing family members. Lt. Warfield found only one police report was on file from 1985. It included Fawn, but not Rozlin because she was no longer a minor.
Because the brother was the last person to officially see the girls, I imagine he must feel guilty for not watching them closer as most older brothers do. This tragic event took place in a pretty small town. In cases I have seen or read about the town teams up on searching for the missing person or persons, but after a while interest dwindles down sadly. It is unclear if any formal searches were conducted at the time of Rozlin and Fawn's disappearance. A family friend has set up a Facebook page to reignite the case in recent years in hopes someone out there has information.
Many times the police treat cases like this as if the missing persons are just runaways. Fawn was entered into the National Crime Information Center database as a runaway. Sometime later she was removed from the database and that is where the case stopped. Because there has been no activity with either girls' Social Security numbers since their disappearance, it is more than likely that they never successfully found a job as they had intended that summer day.
While 30 years seems like a long time and almost like there is no hope of finding Fawn and Rozlin, I have hope. New technology has been solving more cold cases recently which is exciting news in the true crime community. More often than not a case ends in tragedy rather than a happy ending, but knowing the truth is always better than the constant worrying.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has gotten involved and calls Lt. Austin Warfield every month to see if any updates or leads have been found, but he never has good news to report. DNA samples of the mother and brother are on file to test against any remains that may be found in the future. At this time, there has never been any reported sightings or remains. Anyone with information can call the Bethany Police Department at 405-789-2323.
