Right 2: Age-progressed by NCMEC to age 18 years; 24 years
Right 2: Age-progressed by NCMEC to age 18 years; 24 years
Name: Kirsten Renee Hatfield
Case Classification: Non Family Abduction
Missing Since: May 14, 1997
Location Last Seen: Midwest City, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma
Date of Birth: February 12, 1989
Age: 8 years old
Race: White
Gender: Female
Height: 4'2"
Weight: 55 lbs
Hair Color: Light brown, long
Eye Color: Brown
Nickname/Alias: Kurdle Burdle
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Stutters when she talks fast; pierced ears; mole on bridge of nose, close to left eye
Dentals: Her front teeth are permanent.
Fingerprints: Unknown
DNA: Available
Clothing: She was wearing an adult-size white t-shirt with lettering imprinted on the front.
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown
Kirsten was last seen inside her family's residence in Midwest City, Oklahoma on May 14, 1997. She was a second-grader at Traub Elementary School . She was in her bedroom with her sister at approximately 23:30, when her mother last saw her. Her mother checked the bedroom again at approximately 06:00 on May 14 and discovered that Kirsten was missing. The bedroom window was unlocked but closed with no evidence the window had been forced. Her underwear was located in the yard. Tracking dogs picked up the scent and followed it south for about three blocks before losing it at Adair Boulevard.
Small amounts of blood were discovered on the room's window sill and on the backyard's fence. DNA tests determined the blood found in the room was not hers. Authorities suspect that Kirsten was abducted from her bedroom sometime during the overnight hours.
In October 2015, Anthony Palma was arrested after new DNA testing connected him to blood found on Kirsten's bedroom windowsill and on her underwear. Palma lived two doors down from Kirsten's family in 1997 and hadn't moved. He was convicted of her murder and killed in prison in 2019.
Agency Name: Midwest City Police Department (Oklahoma)
Agency Contact Person: Missing Persons Unit
Agency Phone Number: 405-739-1317; 405-739-1389
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: 9704243
NCIC Case Number: M-025098930
NamUs Case Number: 6160
NCMEC Case Number: 832698
NamUs
NCMEC
The Polly Klaas® Foundation
Tulsa World - May 15, 1997
Oklahoman - Jan. 13, 2019
Added: 06/12/2006; Last Updated: 01/01/2024 - 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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