Where is Sarah Collins Missing? I don’t like to talk about what happened 15 years ago. I don’t even like to think about the fact that on January 7th, 2008, Sarah Collins, a beloved member of the community left home to run an errand and was then never seen again. It was a huge case back then. Everyone seemed to want to know what happened to her, but no one was more desperate for answers than I was.
Sarah and I had been married for five years. I knew as soon as I met her that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. She had one of those smiles that just lit up a room. That’s why it was so hard to believe that such a beautiful, successful woman had seemingly disappeared.
They hadn’t even recovered her body. 15 years later and they still didn’t have a shred of evidence. Not a tire track, or even a fingerprint. Nothing. The police put out an appeal, but no one came forward. Somehow, not a single person had seen her. It was like she had just vanished without a trace.
I think about Sarah a lot. I could never quite bring myself to take down the photos of her from around the house. Sarah’s bright face still smiles down at me from every room. There’s one photo of her, from our wedding day that I love. Looking at it is like looking straight at her. It captured her perfectly.
Kelsey Collins: Is Sarah Collins Missing?
Kelsey Collins was a teen with a promising future, but she found herself caught up with the wrong crowd. At just three years old, her parents divorced, leading her, her mom, and her siblings into a tough situation with a violently abusive stepfather. Thankfully, when Kelsey was seven, her mom took a brave step by changing their names and leaving that situation behind. However, a safe home doesn’t always guarantee a smooth journey.
Kelsey’s mom, Sarah Collins, soon discovered that her husband had harmed her daughters, and Kelsey started running away from their Everett, Washington, home. She got mixed up with drug trafficking and skipped school often. By the age of 12, she was already drinking and having relationships. Like many young girls, Kelsey met an older guy who seemed nice but later suggested ways for her to earn money that were far from ideal. Initially, Kelsey refused the idea of sex work, but by 16, she found herself involved. That’s when she was first arrested for solicitation.
Forced Into a Tough Situation
Kelsey was forced to work in Seattle and Portland, Oregon, and her mom frequently saw her with bruises, believing she was harmed by her pimps. In 2008, she bravely agreed to testify against Donnico Johnson, a suspected trafficker. Reports stated Johnson was charged with interstate sex trafficking of a minor, and Kelsey courageously stepped up to testify.
According to The Seattle Times in 2010, Kelsey, known on the streets as “Lady Dollars,” was picked up by police while working. Feeling worn out and mistreated, the 16-year-old was ready to share everything with the authorities. Sadly, the support and protection she needed were lacking.
Relatives Believe Police Failed Kelsey Collins
“They had a moral and ethical responsibility to my sister when they asked her to come into court and testify against a pimp,” said Dominique Hicks, Kelsey’s older sister. “That’s what hurts so much — that she was used, and used in a way that probably cost her her life,” Hicks said. “How can you ask these girls to do what they do, and then send them on their way?”
Regardless of Kelsey’s troubles, Dominique said her sister “was the sweetest, sweetest child in the world.” She added, “She would help you out, she went to school, she never even swore.” Further, Kelsey was a special needs high school student with a fifth-grade reading level.
Kelsey Continued To Be Trafficked, Even After Testifying
Kelsey Collins continued to operate as a sex worker even after her arrest, often being beaten and trafficked by several individuals operating as pimps. Weeks after taking the stand in the grand jury trial, on Mother’s Day in 2009, Kelsey’s mother Sarah reportedly awoke to find that Kelsey hadn’t contacted her. The 18-year-old had left at 5:30 p.m. the previous day, May 9, to travel from her home in Everett, Washington, to reportedly meet up with her new boyfriend in Seattle, about an hour away. Kelsey traveled using public transportation, “either the Sound Transit #510 or Metro #101/358,” reported The Charley Project. According to Justice For Native Women, Kelsey arrived at her destination but has never been seen or heard from again.
Portland police Sgt. Doug Justus spoke at length with Kelsey about the Johnson case, so when he heard that she’d gone missing, he wanted to get involved in the search. Justus claimed in 2010 that he called a detective in Everett to check on the status of the case. “‘She’s 18. She’s a prostitute. So what,’ they told me,” said Justus.
Charges Dismissed Against Trafficker
Two months after Kelsey testified, Johnson was indicted by a grand jury. However, because she wasn’t available to take the stand at trial, charges against him were dismissed. Yet, that wasn’t Johnson’s only case. Months later, he reportedly pleaded guilty to trafficking a 14-year-old and was tacked with a 15-year sentence. His co-defendant, Lisa Miles, also pleaded out and was sentenced to probation.
“I don’t care about what she did or didn’t do,” said Mariah, another of Kelsey’s siblings. “She was my sister.”
Meanwhile, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kemp Strickland previously claimed that his office wasn’t aware that other pimps harmed Kelsey Collins.
“There’s not one iota of information that a criminal defendant we had charged was a danger to her,” Strickland said. “If we had any indication of threats, we would move her and move her fast.”
There reportedly wasn’t any discussion regarding witness protection options for the teen. Kelsey’s mother claims that it wasn’t until Kelsey had turned 18 that she learned authorities had options for the testifying minor, but the Collins family wasn’t notified of those resources. At 18, because she was technically an adult, those options were no longer available to Kelsey.
