Much of this article matches what other members have posted and highlighted. Although some is a repeat ‘I went ahead and decided to bold some clues that almost made me cry.’ The witness John is a hero,as is the cold case detective and of course Teekah’s mother. Please let this be the moment all our prayers for justice for our sweet Teekah and her loved ones are answered. Prayers for Teekah’s family.
Teekah Lewis: 21 years later, witness account could be key to solving case of missing girl
POSTED 7:55 PM, JANUARY 23, 2020, BY
OLIVIA LAVOICE,
Q13 NEWS STAFF AND
WASHINGTON'S MOST WANTED, UPDATED AT 08:01PM, JANUARY 23, 2020
For the first time, a witness from that night is telling his story publicly about a man he saw with Teekah.
Detectives feel this could be the lead that might break the case wide open.
The witness, who Q13 News is calling John, was 17 when he and his family spent their Saturday night at New Frontiers Bowling Alley in Tacoma.
<snip>This rude guy bumped into me, with this little girl, and he was white - the little girl was mixed ... I just thought it was a father rushing his daughter to the restroom.”
John says the man seemed to be in a rush. The
rest of the night went on and seemed normal until John and his family walked out to leave and noticed police in the parking lot.
But John says officers didn’t disclose what, or who, they were looking for.
A couple of days later, John saw the little girl from the bowling alley plastered all over the news. That was when he realized the man he’d seen with the child he’d later know to be Teekah Lewis was not her father.
Now the 2-year-old was gone and John felt helpless, but he knew he had to say something. He was interviewed by police in January 1999 but never heard anything after that.
It
wasn’t until two decades later that a cold case investigator combing through thousands of pages in the case file came across John’s information and instantly knew it was significant.
“This witness actually describes an encounter with Teekah by this individual and the description of the individual is not generic.
It’s specific and it’s detailed and unique enough that the description can maybe identify the last person who maybe had contact with Teekah,” says Det. Steven Reopelle.
In
addition to identifying the man with the pockmarked face, investigators are still trying to find more information on a '90s Pontiac Grand Am that was maroon or purple in color with a spoiler on the back. It was seen speeding out of the bowling alley parking lot around the time Teekah disappeared.
Investigators have never been able to find the car or tie anyone to
Teekah Lewis: 21 years later, witness account could be key to solving case of missing girl
