Hair similar to Crystal's. A cadaver dog hit. And the moment I learned the Houck family was talking about me on their jail calls, officials feared for my safety.


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April 28, 2016. Tommy Ballard posted on Facebook.

It was a simple post. Just a few sentences asking if anybody had knowledge about a white Buick in the Bardstown area. He included a photo of the type of car he was looking for.

"If you know anything," he wrote, "please message me."

Tommy had been searching for his daughter for almost a year. Following every lead. Chasing every tip. Refusing to give up.

What he didn't know: That Facebook post would become critical evidence in his daughter's murder trial nearly ten years later.

Four days after Tommy made that post, Nick Houck rushed to sell his grandmother's white Buick. And when investigators finally tracked down that car, they found hair similar to Crystal's in the trunk. And a cadaver dog hit indicating the scent of human remains.

Episode 5 of "Circumstantial: The Crystal Rogers Trials" is live now. And it's the episode about Tommy Ballard's investigation- and the moment this case became personal for me in a way I never expected.


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