Account
Aug 30, 2009
Aug 24, 2023
Kelsey
Collins
33
18
65 inches
66 inches
139 lbs
170 lbs
Other
Female
On May 9, 2009, a day before Mother's Day, 18-year-old Kelsey Emily Collins left her home in Everett, Washington, with a plan to meet a friend in downtown Seattle. She was expected to take public transportation for the journey. At the time she was last seen, around 5:30 p.m., she was wearing a distinctive red, white, and black Echo athletic jacket, a pink t-shirt, blue jeans, and black Jordan sneakers. She carried only a small black purse containing her identification, a hairbrush, and her cell phone. Kelsey, who had just celebrated her 18th birthday nine days earlier, never arrived at her destination and has not been heard from since. Her cell phone was either turned off or the battery died around 8 p.m. that evening, severing her last potential link to communication. Kelsey's life leading up to her disappearance was fraught with challenges. She was a student at Mariner High School enrolled in special education classes due to a learning disability, reading at a fifth-grade level. Described as a biracial young woman of Black, White, and Native American descent, she had striking green eyes and naturally curly light brown hair that she often straightened. Her physical appearance was also marked by several distinct scars: a surgical scar on her lower right rib cage, another across her lower abdomen, and a two-inch scar on her left hand and index finger. She also had piercings in each earlobe and on the right side of her nose. Kelsey had a history of running away from home and had become involved in the dangerous world of sex trafficking, working the streets in Seattle and Portland, Oregon. In 2008, she made the courageous decision to testify against her alleged pimp, Donnico Tyrel Johnson, before a federal grand jury, leading to his indictment on sex trafficking charges. The investigation into Kelsey's disappearance has been complex and filled with heartache for her family. They firmly believe her disappearance is connected to her testimony against Johnson, fearing she was targeted for her cooperation with law enforcement. Tragically, without Kelsey's testimony, the case against Johnson and his co-defendant was dismissed in March 2010. Johnson was later convicted and sentenced in a separate sex trafficking case involving another minor. Despite her tumultuous lifestyle, Kelsey's family insists it was uncharacteristic of her to be out of touch with them. In November 2012, authorities received a tip that led them to conduct a search in a wooded area near the Jefferson Park Golf Course on Beacon Hill in Seattle, but the search yielded no clues. The Everett Police Department, along with other agencies, continues to investigate her case. The case of Kelsey Collins is a tragic story of a vulnerable young woman who fell into a dangerous world, and her disappearance after bravely speaking out remains a painful, unsolved mystery.
May 09, 2009
Everett
Washington
Snohomish County
98204
No
1554
Everett Police Department
Everett
Washington
Snohomish County
98201
Allen Crocker
Detective Sergeant
3002 Wetmore Avenue, Washington
4252578400
Local
Law Enforcement
09-9852
2009-05-12
Everett Police Department
Brown
Green
Green
06/14/2026
