My sister vanished 23 years ago and the police never looked for her - but I'll never give up

The sister of an Arizona teen who vanished without a hint astatine the property of 17 successful 2001 is much determined than ever to bring her slayer to justice. 

Sarah Turney, present 36, has tried everything to find retired what happened to her older half-sister, Alissa Turney, but she believes her ain begetter Michael Turney is solely liable for her death. 

'I'll ne'er forgive my father. He's 1 of the worst radical retired there,' Sarah told People Magazine of her dad. 

But Michael Turney, 76, a erstwhile sheriff's lawman and electrician, called successful a missing persons study that evening. He was acquitted of each charges successful the execution successful 2023 based connected a deficiency of grounds successful the case. 

Turney stood proceedings for second-degree execution charges in the presumed decease of his stepdaughter Alissa who vanished successful May 2001 aft she reportedly near a enactment that she was moving distant to California. Alissa has ne'er been found.

'Even to this day, there's ne'er been a azygous hunt for Alissa, contempt the Phoenix Police Department telling the media precisely wherever they privation to search,' Sarah told People. 

'When I've asked, I'm repeatedly told that the country is excessively immense and it's excessively dangerous. At this point, I'll settee for conscionable 1 search. Just one.' 

At the trial, prosecutors argued that Turney and Alissa had a turbulent narration and that helium had hundreds of surveillance tapes of her successful an effort to power her life. But the defence pushed back, saying determination was nary grounds that she was adjacent dead. 

'I ever thought increasing up that Alissa had behavioral problems and that my dada [and Alissa's stepfather] didn't similar that and was rather controlling,' Sarah explained noting however her begetter intimidated Alissa and would besides surveil her portion utilizing intelligence and carnal maltreatment against her. 

Sarah who was a cardinal witnesser successful the proceedings and whose societal media run for justness helped pb to his apprehension successful 2020, pieced unneurotic achy memories from her puerility successful Phoenix and gathered chilling evidence.  

Alissa was past seen successful May 2001 astatine her Phoenix location connected the past time of her inferior twelvemonth astatine Paradise Valley High School. 

Sister, Sarah, who was 12 astatine the time, said she remembers Alissa being excited for summertime and readying to be a graduation enactment aboriginal that evening - but Alissa ne'er showed up. 

She had told her fellow astatine schoolhouse that her stepfather was picking her up for lunch. 

Michael Turney antecedently told authorities that helium picked Alissa up from her past time of schoolhouse astir 11am and took her retired to lunch. 

He said they got into an statement implicit Alissa's tendency for much freedom. 

When they returned home, helium said Alissa was inactive aggravated and went to her room. 

Stepfather Michael Turney reported her missing, but told authorities that she near a enactment saying she was moving distant to California.

While Sarah said that it seemed plausible, she near her compartment phone, wealth and constitution down - each elements that investigators recovered strange.

'Alissa was redeeming her wealth and readying to determination retired erstwhile she turned 18, not to tally away. But a handwriting adept did corroborate it was her writing,' Sarah said to People.

'I thought Alissa had abandoned me, and I was very, precise hurt, truthful I wasn't truly looking for different motivation. My dada fundamentally convinced maine that she was unhappy and that she left.' 

In 2008, investigators re-interviewed witnesses and ended up serving hunt warrants connected Turney's home. 

The hunt led to the find of much than 2 twelve unregistered tube bombs belonging to Turney. He served clip for those crimes and released successful 2017. 

Sarah has tried to support attraction connected the lawsuit done her societal media and her podcast 'Voices for Justice'.

During the 2023 proceedings she testified against her ain begetter telling the tribunal however helium allegedly brainwashed her into reasoning that Alissa was a rebellious teen who ran distant to California.

But implicit the years, Sarah said she grew suspicious of her ain begetter and that arsenic his renditions of what happened that time changed each time, it led her to hunt for her ain answers.

He has continued to support his innocence passim the investigation, and continues to bash truthful to this day.

When she met up with her begetter successful 2017 astatine a section Starbucks and pushed him for an explanation, helium wouldn't springiness it to her.

'He told maine helium would archer maine connected his decease bed,' Sarah recalled, adding that helium said helium would confess to everything if the authorities agreed to springiness him a lethal injection wrong 10 days.'

Sarah says that erstwhile she spoke to him, it yet erased immoderate uncertainty of him being liable for Alissa's decease successful her mind. 

'I knew that helium wasn't going to beryllium kind, and I knew that helium wasn't going to archer maine the truth, but it was the archetypal clip I was capable to talk to him successful truthful galore years extracurricular of a recorded situation enactment oregon without immoderate detention serviceman watching him, and I was hoping that helium would gaffe up. And helium surely did with galore of his statements. It was atrocious and truthful shocking.   

'It erased the 0.01% of uncertainty I had successful my caput that helium could person been innocent. It sealed everything for me.'

Sarah besides spoke successful tribunal astir the troubled narration betwixt Turney and Alissa.

During the trial, audio of a telephone telephone betwixt Turney and Michael Seth was played for the assemblage wherever Turney could beryllium heard calling her an a**hole and b****h.

When constabulary executed hunt warrants astatine the location backmost successful 2008, they recovered videotapes dating backmost to the 1980s, including surveillance footage from the house, but did not find immoderate videos from the time she disappeared.

In tribunal it was revealed however Turney had been filming Alissa successful their location and however helium had hundreds of surveillance videos of her.  

Sarah besides dug done aged location videos successful the hunt for clued and recovered footage of her sister calling their begetter a pervert. The twelvemonth was 1997. 

'I was freaked out. I was terrified erstwhile I archetypal saw it. I was like, 'Oh my gosh.' My archetypal thought is however did the constabulary miss this? And past my 2nd thought was, I request to stock this with people,' Sarah said.

Turney also tapped Alissa's telephone and allegedly made her motion a declaration successful which she stated that helium ne'er sexually assaulted her, the prosecution claimed. 

But proceedings fundamentally fell isolated aft the defence argued that determination wasn't immoderate DNA oregon humor grounds to beryllium that Turney killed Alissa. 

They besides pointed retired that without a body, determination is nary definitive impervious that Alissa isn't inactive alive.

'When my fellow told maine that everyone thought that my sister was killed by him, that was evidently truly immense for me,' Sarah said to People. 

'It became precise evident that I was the lone idiosyncratic who didn't judge this, I was successful denial. He was my lone surviving genitor and my full beingness was shattered.' 

In 2019, Sarah she started her ain podcast, 'Voices For Justice,' which elaborate their household history, events starring up to Alissa's disappearance and a timeline of what has happened successful the years since.

In May 2020 she besides began making videos connected TikTok that focused connected the case. She present has much than 1.1 cardinal followers.

'Believe it oregon not, it has go an important outlet for Alissa's story,' she told NBC. 'This is not going distant and I'm going to marque definite it ne'er does.

'I inactive deliberation of her arsenic my pugnacious older sister who taught maine to beryllium tough. Now, I request to proceed to beryllium pugnacious and usage that to combat for the justness she deserves. She deserves her time successful court. And I'm determined to springiness her that,' Sarah said.

'I've mislaid idiosyncratic relationships implicit it. I've destroyed my employability — and it's each for her. Unfortunately, determination is nary existent transgression amusement without trauma. It's highly hard and painful, and I person fixed up genuinely my full beingness for her. I volition ne'er springiness up.'