This episode is a case about a missing child and there is brief discussion of physical and sexual abuse in the episode.

Listener discretion is advised.

Karin Leanne Erstad was just five years old when she walked out her front door and disappeared in a matter of minutes.

Though a suspect was identified early on and a sensational trial followed,

Karin has remained missing for the last 28 years.

I'm Charlie and welcome to Crime Lines.

Welcome to Crime Lines. Today we are going to be talking about the disappearance of five-year-old

Karin Erstad, whose case is officially unsolved in spite of a solid suspect being identified early on.

Karin was born in February 1987 to Mona and James Erstad. They were a very young couple,

with Mona being just 20 years old and James being 24. Plus they already had two kids together

who were one and two years old when Karin was born. When Karin was still an infant,

Mona and James placed her and her brothers with their pastor's family while they both

sought inpatient treatment. James was in the hospital for two weeks to deal with severe depression

and Mona was in for 50 days for drug and alcohol dependency treatment.

However, the three tiny kids soon overwhelmed the pastor and his family.

But Mona and James were not yet in a position to take custody back. So the couple contacted

social services to seek temporary foster placement for the kids. The kids did spend time

with foster families, but at the initiation of their parents not the state. In 1988,

Mona and James were separated pending their divorce when Mona regained custody of the kids.

And aside from a stomach issue Karin had as an infant that did require some medical intervention,

she and her brothers appeared to be happy and healthy in Mona's care. Because the children

had been in foster care, Mona had a social worker who helped teach her about parenting,

...