“We’ll Always Be Waiting for You”: 30 Years without Karen

It’s been three decades since 7-year-old Karen Grajeda disappeared from her home in Tucson, Arizona. For her family, the hope of answers has never faded.

January 11, 1996, began as an ordinary afternoon at the Saguaro Crest Apartments. Children laughed, played and roller-skated outside the complex, waiting for parents to call them in for dinner.

Karen was among them, playing with friends and her younger sister, Alejandra.

“We played a lot together,” Alejandra told NCMEC. “She was very sweet and very talkative. She could get along with almost anyone.”

Later that evening, Karen went back into the apartment to drop off her roller skates. With dinner nearly ready, she asked her mother, Rosalba, if she could play just a little longer. Rosalba agreed, watching as Karen left the apartment and headed back toward the courtyard.

As night fell, Rosalba called the girls inside for dinner. Alejandra came home, but Karen did not.

“I remember Mom said, ‘Go back out and get Karen,’” Alejandra said. “But when I went to find her, she wasn’t there.”

Karen had vanished. Thirty years later, she is still missing.

Karen Grajeda. (Credit: Tucson Police Department)

The search for Karen began immediately. Within 24 hours, multiple law enforcement agencies and the FBI joined the Tucson Police Department in searching the area for any sign of what happened to her. A command center and task force were established, leads were pursued and community members and family joined the effort. But with no trace of Karen and few leads, days turned into months, and the case eventually went cold.

Rosalba and Alejandra at a prayer vigil for Karen. (Credit: The Tucson Citizen 1996)

With few answers, Karen’s family held tightly to memories of who she was.

“She was always very active,” Karen’s father, Andres, told NCMEC. “You remember your children as the best humans. She was only 7 years old. She was just an innocent child. That’s the memory I have of her, an innocent child who was always smiling. As her father, that’s the image I hold on to.”

Over the past 30 years, detectives at the Tucson Police Department have continued to investigate Karen’s disappearance as a non-family abduction. Multiple suspects have been considered, but no one has ever been charged.

“Karen’s case has stayed with our department and the community for decades,” said Detective David Miller. “Her disappearance left a lasting impact on Tucson, and we will never stop working to find answers for Karen and her family.”

Today, police and Karen’s family are urging anyone with information about what happened that day to come forward. To aid in the search, NCMEC has released an age-progression image showing what Karen may look like today at 37.

Karen as a child and NCMEC’s age progression. (Credit: NCMEC)

Even decades later, the impact of Karen’s disappearance has never faded for her family.

“I still hang our Christmas picture every year,” Alejandra said in a message to her sister. “My daughter is named after you. If you’re out there, if you’re alive, we’re here. Your whole family loves you and if you can come home, please do. We’ll always be waiting for you.” 

Karen and Alejandra. (Credit: Karen’s Family)

If you have any information on Karen or her disappearance, please call the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST or the Tucson Police Department at 1-520-791-4444. Tips can also be submitted anonymously here: https://88crime.org/.