Name: Crystal Lynn Kipper
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: February 24, 1997
Location Last Seen: Kansas City, Platte County, Missouri
Date of Birth: April 17, 1978
Age: 18 years old
Race: White
Gender: Female
Height: 5'5"
Weight: 125 lbs.
Hair Color: Brown, straight
Eye Color: Brown
Nickname/Alias: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Small scar on right cheek
Dentals: Unknown
Fingerprints: Unknown
DNA: Available
Clothing: Dark olive green shirt with short sleeves and high neck, Lucky U blue jeans, denim coat
Jewelry: Diamond cluster ring and gold band
Additional Personal Items: Unknown
On February 23, 1997, Crystal drove to St. Joseph and picked up a few friends and headed to Crown Center, where they stayed until around midnight. At around 2:00 a.m., after she dropped her friends back at their homes, Crystal started back toward Kansas City. The low-fuel warning on Crystal's maroon Ford Probe had lit up on the way back to St. Joseph but she refused her friend's offer to buy gas, stating her car got good gas mileage.
Crystal was last seen at around 2:34 a.m. on the southbound shoulder of I-29 and Hwy 371 by a truck driver. The truck driver saw Crystal's car with its flashers on and Crystal flagging traffic and another car backing up on the on ramp toward Crystal.
The next morning, Crystal's mom found her abandoned car at that same location, its battery dying and hazard lights blinking. The car was locked and out of gas.
On July 5, 1997, Angela Amos was kidnapped, tortured, and raped over a 10-day period before she escaped. When police went to arrest John Williams for Angela's kidnapping they discovered Crystal's ID cards, a paycheck stub, jewelry, car keys, articles of clothing, and a missing person flier of Crystal. They also found pornographic videos he had spliced with television news reports of Crystal's disappearance.
According to Williams, he was driving along I-29 when something struck his windshield. When he returned, he found Crystal's body and disposed of it.
Williams had his car windshield replaced the day after Crystal's disappearance. Police believe the damage was caused by someone kicking it during a struggle and not someone having been struck by a car. Furthermore the condition of Crystal's clothes found in Williams' possession were consistent with a homicide.
On April 24, 1999, Williams hung himself in his jail cell. He left no suicide note. Williams is the only suspect in Crystal's disappearance and presumed murder. Despite extensive searches in Platte County and near where her car was found, Crystal's body has yet to be found.
Agency Name: Platte County Sheriff's Office
Agency Contact Person: Unknown
Agency Phone Number: 816-858-3521
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: 97-3197
NCIC Case Number: M-002954609
NamUs Case Number: 248
Namus
Kansas City Star - May 3, 1999
Ancestry.com
Added: 1/4/06; Last Updated: 11/20/22 - By: hb
Questions or comments? Please contact appropriate member of the Area Team
** Listed information is from the time of disappearance.
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