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Prasek, Michelle 12/19/97; Spring Texas
Topic Started: Apr 13 2006, 08:24 PM (674 Views)
Gaelle
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http://www.khou.com/news/local/houstonmetr...o.31512e00.html

Woodlands mother holds onto hope 9 years after daughter goes missing

06:25 PM CDT on Thursday, April 13, 2006
By Amy Tortolani / 11 News

Click to watch video


For a family in the Woodland’s, a 21st birthday party is bittersweet -- the day a daughter should become an adult.

Memories and pictures are all Beth Prasek has.

Her daughter Michelle vanished December 19, 1997 and was only 12.

While the years have passed, for this mother it’s like time has stood still.

“I have good days, I have bad days,” Prasek said.

Friday was one of the bad ones because it is Michelle’s 21st birthday.

“I still have hope to bring her home,” Prasek admitted.

Because this mom has hope she shared plans for a party.

“I picked a place like I would probably take her to,” she said.

Beth Prasek said she is having her daughter’s birthday party at an area restaurant, not just to remember the past, but to let everyone know Michelle, now an adult, is still missing.

11 News has covered the case from the beginning, watching as crews printed up flyers and looked for clues.

There will be no flyers this time, but a picture collage remembering the happy times.

“If she were here with us at age 21 we would be going through the memories, what she was like when she was little. And I don’t want to lose that. I don’t want to lose the memories just focusing on that day she went missing.”

Now on the day that wishes were meant to be granted, Beth Prasek has two: her daughter will come home and she’ll finally learn what happened.

If you have any information about Michelle Prasek please call The Montgomery County Sheriff’s department at 281-356-6119.

There is a $1,000 reward for information about this case.
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monkalup
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http://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/pag...01/missing.html

6:18 PM 2/27/1998



Curtain of suspicion still surrounds disappearance


By PAUL McKAY
Copyright 1998 Houston Chronicle

THE WOODLANDS -- Her cheerful demeanor -- the bright-blue eyes and cherubic smile -- were at odds with the preteen anguish that afflicted Michelle Prasek.

By the time she disappeared a week before Christmas last year, the 12-year-old Montgomery County girl had been through months of counseling, coping with growing pains and struggling to come to grips with a topsy-turvy home life.

In a missing-person case shrouded in suspicion, she has not been seen since the morning of Dec. 19. That was the final, very hectic day of classes before the Christmas break at Knox Junior High School in The Woodlands, where investigators say Michelle told a friend she was planning to run off to the Conroe area.

Initially, others among her young friends told sheriff's detectives they also had seen her at school that morning, but they have since conceded that they were confused about which day they saw her, investigators said.

"One girl tells us that Michelle told her on that day, Dec. 19, that she was planning to run away to the Conroe area," Lt. Dan Norris said. "The girl says Michelle gave no indication where, exactly, she was going in Conroe, or who she was going with.

"The girl who told us that still maintains it, so we think Michelle was at school that morning. But she was marked absent from every class by her teachers that day, and no adults -- no teachers or staff members -- can recall Michelle Prasek being at school that day."

While investigators have no physical evidence indicating foul play, Norris said the girl's disappearance, which originally had all the markings of a runaway case, is being handled as a criminal investigation.

"Twelve-year-old girls like Michelle don't just disappear without a trace," Norris said.

Beth Prasek, Michelle's mother, noted that three of her daughter's possessions are missing: a green sleeping bag, a quilt and an orange cat named Froggy that the girl cherished.

"She would have had to come back home from school to leave with all that stuff," said Prasek, a 34-year-old divorcee who has another daughter, Becky, 7.

"She'd probably have had a ride, probably with an adult. Michelle was a little naive, but I don't think she would ride with a stranger or ride with anybody she hadn't at least been introduced to by somebody. I still think somebody at the school knows something and isn't talking."

Investigators, however, grumble that Prasek and her live-in boyfriend, 43-year-old Mark Seguin, have not been altogether talkative in helping them and FBI agents who have joined in the investigation.

Sheriff Guy Williams said detectives administered, or tried to administer, lie-detector tests to three people close to Michelle, though he refuses to name them.

"Of those three, one of them failed by showing deception, one of them refused to take it and another one passed it," Williams said. "We have some people we feel are being deceptive. I wish they would cooperate fully with us."

Prasek won't say if she or Seguin -- a computer draftsman from Freeport who moved in with her last year -- have taken or were asked to take polygraphs. But sources say it was Seguin who failed a lie-detector test, and Prasek who refused to take it.

Michelle's father, Richard Prasek of Kingsville, is the one who passed, the sources say.

Asked if she and Seguin were in fact the people who refused or failed the tests, Prasek said: "I don't think I should comment on those things. I think I should leave that to (investigators). I don't think it would be smart for me to get into any real specific stuff like that.

"They (investigators) look at relatives and people that are closest in these things," she said. "You'd be surprised if they didn't do that. But I don't see any benefit in discussing polygraphs or anything like that. In fact, I can see some negatives. People might get implicated unnecessarily. I don't see that talking about stuff like that is going to get Michelle back."

Prasek insists she had nothing to do with her daughter's disappearance, adding that "I don't think any relatives or anyone close to me had anything to do with it.

"Obviously, I'm doing anything I can to find her," Prasek said.

Prasek, a product development chemist for an oil company, said she is compiling letters to mail out with fliers, which have Michelle's photo and description, to hundreds of middle and junior high schools across Texas.

"I know it's a long shot, because there's something like 2,500 of these schools just in Texas," Prasek said. "But maybe somebody has moved her to another location and enrolled her in a school somewhere. Maybe somebody at a school, somewhere, will recognize Michelle's picture.

"The odds aren't very good, but it keeps me busy. I get frustrated, so I do things like that. I can't just shut down. I won't do Michelle any good if I shut down, or Becky either."

On the morning Michelle disappeared, Prasek said, Seguin left the house at 6:30 a.m., as usual, before she and her daughters were stirring. She said she was leaving around 7:30 a.m. to take her younger daughter to school when she last saw Michelle.

Michelle, who routinely caught the bus down the street by 8:15 a.m., was getting ready to go and did not appear to be distressed, Prasek said. She acknowledged, however, that Michelle had been through a series of difficulties.

Prasek and Michelle's father were living in north Harris County four years ago when they divorced.

Prasek moved with the girls to Lafayette, La., but says Michelle "very much hated" her life away from the Houston area. Last August, the mother and daughters moved to The Woodlands area.

Then, in November, Seguin moved in -- much to the annoyance of Michelle, Prasek said.

"She was upset about him living here," she said. "I think she felt like she wasn't getting attention."

On the day before Michelle disappeared, Prasek said, the 12-year-old was unhappy that her mother was too tired to take her shopping for Christmas presents for her friends. There also was a somewhat contentious phone conversation that night between Prasek and her ex-husband over whether Prasek would drive the two children to Kingsville for their Christmas visitation.

"She heard some of that conversation, and she was already upset that I wouldn't take her shopping, but she was OK that next morning," Prasek said. "Michelle was moody. It was mostly just the kind of moody stuff that's typical of kids that age.

"But I had been getting her counseling at Montgomery County Youth Services, mainly because she'd get real angry. Everything was a big deal. I thought she needed to learn some coping skills."

In what turned out to be their last conversation, Prasek said, Michelle asked to spend the night with a friend. Prasek said she did not say yes or no, urging Michelle to find out more about who the friend was, where she lived, who her parents were.

When Michelle failed to return from school, Prasek said, she assumed her daughter was spending the night with the friend.

"I was concerned, but not enough to call the police," Prasek said. "I figure she went off to spend the night with this kid, who I've since met and talked to. At that time, I only knew her first name. I figured Michelle would do one of those kid things and say, `Well, you said I could go.'

"I was worried, but I didn't think she was likely to run away."

Prasek called police around 12:30 p.m. the next day, a Saturday, the start of the Christmas break.

Richard Prasek said he was disturbed when his ex-wife called that next morning and asked what he thought she should do.

"She should have called the police right off the bat," he said.

Michelle's father, a 44-year-old truck driver, said his ex-wife has been a good mother, considering that all of her relatives live out of state and she has no one to help raise the children.

He noted, however, that Michelle was "very disturbed" about Seguin moving in.

"Both of the girls would have come and lived with me if they could, but I'm a truck driver and there was no way," Richard Prasek said.

"Michelle is a good girl," he said. "She didn't hang with any wrong crowd. She wasn't wild or adventurous. If there's been some foul play -- if somebody's done something to hurt that girl -- the district attorney's going to have to hold me back."
Lauran

"If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better for people coming behind you, and you don't do that, you are wasting your time on this earth." The late, great Roberto Clemente.


In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment for non-profit research and educational purposes only.
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monkalup
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The Old Heifer! An oxymoron, of course.
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http://www.corpuschristi.bbb.org/texas/tex2448.html

Monday, Mar. 2, 1998
12-year-old girl still missing after two months
Child whose father lives in Kingsville told friends she planned to run away; police investigating
Associated Press

THE WOODLANDS - More than two months after a 12-year-old girl disappeared, telling friends she was planning to run away, police are treating the case as a criminal investigation.
And as authorities continue their search for Michelle Prasek, they complain that her mother and live-in boyfriend have not been all that helpful with the investigation.
Montgomery County Sheriff Guy Williams said detectives attempted to administer lie-detector tests to three people close to Michelle.
``Of those three, one of them failed by showing deception, one of them refused to take it and another one passed it,'' Williams said. ``We have some people we feel are being deceptive. I wish they would cooperate fully with us.''
Although Williams would not identify the three people, sources told the Houston Chronicle they were Michelle's mother, Beth Prasek, her boyfriend, Mark Seguin, and Michelle's father, Richard Prasek of Kingsville.
The sources said Seguin failed the test, and Beth Prasek refused to take it. Richard Prasek passed, the Chronicle reported in Sunday editions.
Beth Prasek declined comment on the tests, but insisted she had nothing to do with her daughter's disappearance.
``I don't think any relatives or anyone close to me had anything to do with it,'' she said. ``Obviously, I'm doing anything I can to find her.''
The Associated Press was unable to reach Seguin on Sunday. Neither he nor Beth Prasek had a telephone listing in the Woodlands.
Michelle disappeared the morning of Dec. 19 after telling a friend she was planning to run off to the Conroe area. Prior to her disappearance, Michelle had been through months of counseling to help her cope with her home life, according to friends and family. Her parents divorced four years ago. Seguin moved in with the family last year.
While investigators initially viewed Michelle's disappearance as a runaway case, they said it is now being treated as a criminal investigation.
``Twelve-year-old girls like Michelle don't just disappear without a trace,'' said Lt. Dan Norris.
But Beth Prasek notes that three of her daughter's possessions are missing: a green sleeping bag, a quilt and an orange cat named Froggy.
``Michelle was a little naive, but I don't think she would ride with a stranger or ride with anybody she hadn't at least been introduced to by somebody,'' Prasek said.
Prasek, 34, who works for an oil company, said she is mailing out fliers with Michelle's photo and description to hundreds of middle schools and junior high schools across Texas.

Lauran

"If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better for people coming behind you, and you don't do that, you are wasting your time on this earth." The late, great Roberto Clemente.


In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment for non-profit research and educational purposes only.
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monkalup
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The Old Heifer! An oxymoron, of course.
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Lauran

"If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better for people coming behind you, and you don't do that, you are wasting your time on this earth." The late, great Roberto Clemente.


In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment for non-profit research and educational purposes only.
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monkalup
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The Old Heifer! An oxymoron, of course.
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http://www.find-missing-children.org/Posters/poster149.htm
Lauran

"If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better for people coming behind you, and you don't do that, you are wasting your time on this earth." The late, great Roberto Clemente.


In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment for non-profit research and educational purposes only.
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oldies4mari2004
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http://z13.invisionfree.com/PorchlightUSA/...opic=8950&st=0&
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oldies4mari2004
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Michelle Lois Prasek
Missing since December 19, 1997 from Spring, Montgomery County, Texas
Classification: Endangered Missing



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vital Statistics

Date Of Birth: April 12, 1985
Age at Time of Disappearance: 12 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'3" (160 cm); 135 lbs (61 kg).
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Blonde hair; blue eyes.
Marks, Scars: She has a birthmark on the palm of her hand.
Clothing: Last seen wearing a tan t-shirt with the initials CK, blue jeans, and Nike tennis shoes.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Circumstances of Disappearance
Prasek was last seen by her mother at 7:30 AM in in their home in Spring, Texas on December 19, 1997. This was less than an hour before she was to leave home to get on a bus for school. Michelle may have been on the school premises that day, but she did not attend classes.
The next day Michelle's mother reported her missing to local authorities in Montgomery County, Texas. Investigators are treating her case as a criminal case and state that the mother and her live-in boyfriend have not been as cooperative as they would hope.
Michelle has had no prior history of running away and no trouble with the law or school. She was a good student academically. Michelle's parents are divorced and, prior to her disappearance, she was looking forward to spending the Christmas holidays with her father in Kingsville, Texas.
Michelle may have a sleeping bag, a handmade patchwork quilt and her cat with her. She may have left the state. Foul play is suspected in Michelle's disappearance.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:

Montgomery County Sheriff's Office
Detective Chris Smith
936-760-5800
Email Form

Agency Case Number: 97-A016936

NCMEC #: NCMC841540

NCIC Number: M-O84467461
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source Information:
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
Laura Recovery Center
Child Protection Education of America, Inc.
Texas Department of Public Safety
Montgomery County Crime Stoppers


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Ell
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Heart of Gold
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Case # 97A016936
Missing Person (Foul Play) – Michelle Prasek
December 19, 1997 – Valerie Lane, Spring, Texas
SYNOPSIS: On December 19, 1997, Michelle Prasek (12 yoa) was last
seen at her residence on Valerie Lane in Spring, Montgomery County,
Texas. On December 20, 1997, Prasek was reported as a Missing Person
and items missing from the home included an orange Tabby cat and a
blanket. Prasek is described as follows: White female, 5’03”, 135 lbs,
Blonde hair / Blue eyes, birthmark on the palm of her hand. MCSO
Cold Case Detectives have submitted DNA from family members to the
Missing Persons / Unidentified DNA database. NIC# M084467461
http://www.woodlandsonline.com/dbs/sheriff...le/COLDCASE.pdf
Ell

Only after the last tree has been
cut down;
Only after the last fish has been
caught;
Only after the last river has been
poisoned;
Only then will you realize
that money cannot be eaten.
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Ell
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Arrest evokes memory of local missing child

Arrest evokes memory of local missing child

Posted: Friday, May 25, 2012 11:04 pm

By Howard Roden

A break in the 33-year disappearance of New York City youth Etan Patz brings back the memories of a child missing from Montgomery County.

Michelle Prasek was last seen when she was 12 years old in her home in the 3000 block of Valerie Lane in South County on the morning of Dec. 19, 1997. Prasek’s mother, Beth, said her daughter was in the house at 7:30 a.m. as she left for work.

However, Conroe Independent School District records show Michelle, a 5-foot-3, 135-pound Knox Junior High School student, did not attend school that day, MCSO Cold Case Detective Tommy Duroy said.

“Over the years, we’ve had dozens of leads, including possible sightings in other years, but nothing inclusive,” he said. “It’s a case that always stays close to our desks.”

In this case, the FBI, the Texas Rangers and the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Special Crimes have been “heavily involved” in the search for Michelle Prasek.

A green backpack and an orange Tabby cat also were missing from the Prasek residence in the Timber Lakes/Timber Ridge subdivision.

Other identifying marks on Prasek is blonde hair, blue eyes, and a birthmark on the palm of her hand.

MCSO Cold Case Detectives have submitted DNA from family members to the Missing Persons/Unidentified DNA database. In addition to her photograph as a 12-year-old, Cold Case Detectives have included an “age progressed” photograph on the department’s website of Prasek, who would be 26 or 27 years old today.

Prasek is the only missing child in the county and the city of Conroe, according to law enforcement.

Etan Patz’s disappearance was similar to that of Prasek. Patz was walking to a school bus stop on May 25, 1979, when he seemed to vanish into thin air.

His disappearance transformed Patz into a symbol of missing children. May 25 has become National Missing Children’s Day, but on Friday – the 33rd anniversary of Patz’s disappearance – New York City police arrested Pedro Hernandez, who confessed to Patz’s murder.

Hernandez was 18 when he allegedly killed Patz, then 6 years old.
http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/courier/new...3e41106be3.html
Ell

Only after the last tree has been
cut down;
Only after the last fish has been
caught;
Only after the last river has been
poisoned;
Only then will you realize
that money cannot be eaten.
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tatertot
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http://www.khou.com/news/local/missing-pie...rasek/442427552

Missing Pieces: Where is Michelle Prasek?
Grace White , KHOU 10:53 PM. CDT May 23, 2017

SPRING, Texas -- This year marks the 20th anniversary of the disappearance of Michelle Prasek in Spring. All these years later, her family is still desperate to know what happened to their 12-year-old girl.

It's a time of year families are supposed to be happy, but a week before Christmas in 1997, Michelle vanished.

"I really do, I really do believe she is still alive,” said Beth Prasek, her mother. "I didn't believe anything bad had happened because those things don't happen...not to real people.”

Her mom left the family's home on Valerie Lane to take her younger daughter to daycare. She expected Michelle to catch the bus to school, but it's unclear if she ever made it.

"She was mad at me because I hadn't let her go shopping and I hadn't let her go stay with a friend,” Beth Prasek said.

It wasn't until the next day Michelle's mom called the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.

"They were looking at this initially as a potential runaway because things seem to add up to that,” said Captain Bryan Carlisle with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.

A backpack, blanket and Michelle's 6-month-old kitten "Froggy" were also missing. When detectives visited Knox Junior High, a student told them Michelle was on campus and talked about running away. However, attendance records show she was never in class.

Over the years, volunteers passed out flyers, and Michelle's mom made public pleas. The parents are divorced. Michelle's dad lives out of town, and her mom admits her daughter was seeing a counselor, but never before ran away.

"It's our prayer that she is still alive, but we have to treat this in the manner that she's not,” Carlisle said.

When we asked Carlisle if the disappearance could have been staged, he said, “We don't rule anything out."

One person never ruled out Marc Seguin, who dated Michelle's mom at the time and lived with the family.

"We're still considering him a person of interest at this point,” Carlisle said.

Seguin left the house first that morning, but neighbors say he came back. Investigators told us he failed a polygraph.

"There were some subsequent tests that were administered where he didn't do well when it comes to, could her body be located somewhere, but beyond that, beyond having any other physical evidence our hands were tied," Carlisle said.

However, then came a twist. In a separate case, a jury convicted Seguin in 2005 for indecency with a child. Now, a registered sex offender he lives in west Texas.

"Detectives have met with him, they met with him immediately after him getting off probation and I'm going to tell you, at some point we are going to be talking to him again," Carlisle said.

Investigators have chased other leads. There were several attempted abductions reported near school bus stops in the month's following Michelle's disappearance, but there was no connection. All these years later, they're still looking for witnesses to come forward.

"It's still our contention there are people out there that know, that saw something, maybe had a conversation with her, it may not sound important to them but any detail helps," Carlisle said.

If Michelle is alive, she would be 32 years old with a birthmark on the palm of her hand. A daughter this mother hopes her voice can reach.

"We're still trying to find you, we still love you, and we still want to bring you home,” Beth Prasek said.

We talked to that person of interest, Marc Seguin, on the phone. He told us he had nothing to do with Michelle's disappearance and helped search for her. He says he still prays Michelle will come home. If you have any information about the case, please call Montgomery County Crime Stoppers.

Thursday is National Missing Children’s Day. KHOU 11 is raising awareness about missing children in Texas with the help of the National Center For Missing & Exploited Children. Michelle Prasek is one of a hundred missing kids we are featuring on our website.
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