In the pre-dawn hours of September 11, 1991, the life of 25-year-old Carolyn Elizabeth Lawson was irrevocably altered by a deceptive phone call. A recent graduate of the University of Alabama's law school, Lawson, known to friends and family as Carrie, had just passed the bar exam and was beginning a promising career with a law firm in Jasper, Alabama.
That morning, a woman claiming to be a nurse from a local hospital called the home she shared with her husband of just two years, stating that a relative was seriously injured. As Lawson and her husband went to their vehicle to rush to the hospital, a masked man armed with a gun confronted them in their yard. The assailant forced Lawson to tie up her husband before abducting her in her own 1991 Ford Explorer and disappearing into the night.
The kidnapping soon evolved into a ransom case when a demand for $300,000 was made for her safe return. Lawson's loved ones followed the instructions, leaving the money in a designated dark culvert. The ransom was picked up on September 13, two days after the abduction, but Carolyn Lawson was never released and was not heard from again. Her Ford Explorer was discovered over a week later in a wooded area in Winston County, Alabama. The investigation quickly identified two suspects: Jerry Bland and his distant cousin, Karen McPherson. Before he could be apprehended, about three weeks after the kidnapping, Bland took his own life as law enforcement surrounded his home. Authorities discovered most of the ransom money hidden in his attic.
Karen McPherson was arrested and later pleaded guilty to her role in the kidnapping, receiving a life sentence. She maintained that she was only an accomplice and that Jerry Bland was the person who orchestrated the abduction and kidnapping. McPherson claimed she last saw Lawson alive a day or two after she was taken, and that Bland later told her Lawson had escaped into a remote wooded area. Despite extensive searches over the years, which have included abandoned coal mines, and numerous tips, no trace of Carolyn Lawson has ever been found. Several individuals have falsely confessed to her murder, adding to her family's suffering. Although she was declared legally dead in 1993, the case remains a painful mystery. The prevailing belief among many investigators is that Lawson, who was apparently chosen at random, was a victim of a kidnapping for financial gain that ended tragically, her final resting place still unknown.Last Seen: Sep 11, 1991
