The audio recording is haunting.
In the background, you can hear the voice of a teenage girl, disoriented and afraid. She’s talking about demons, about people trying to hurt her, about not knowing what’s real anymore. Her stepmother’s voice is there too, soft and reassuring, trying to calm her down, telling her everything will be okay.
It was October 12, 2018, somewhere around midnight in the high desert of eastern California. Sixteen-year-old Karlie Gusé had just been picked up from a party where something had gone terribly wrong.
The audio—later released to show Karlie’s state of mind that night—would become one of the most crucial pieces of evidence in understanding what happened in the hours before she disappeared.
Because by sunrise on October 13, 2018, Karlie Gusé would be gone.
Not just missing. Vanished.
Three neighbors would report seeing her walking barefoot along Highway 6, headed toward the vast emptiness of the Mojave Desert. One said she was holding a piece of paper and looking up at the sky. Another confirmed it was definitely her—he knew Karlie, he was certain.
Then the sightings stopped.
Search dogs would track her scent to a spot near the highway, then lose it completely. Despite massive search efforts covering hundreds of square miles of desert terrain, despite helicopters and volunteers and trained tracking teams, no trace of Karlie Gusé has ever been found.
Seven years later, her family is still searching. The FBI is still investigating. And the questions that began that October morning in 2018 remain unanswered.
What happened to Karlie Gusé?
A Girl From the High Desert
To understand the mystery of Karlie’s disappearance, you have to understand where it happened.
Chalfant Valley sits in the White Mountain Estates area of Mono County, California—a remote stretch of high desert about 30 miles south of the Nevada state line. The landscape is stark and beautiful: sagebrush stretching for miles, mountains rising in the distance, endless sky overhead.
It’s the kind of place where everybody knows everybody. Where a teenager walking alone along the highway in the early morning hours would be noticed, would be remembered.
Karlie Lain Gusé was born on May 13, 2002. She was 16 years old in October 2018, standing 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing about 110 pounds. She had dark blonde hair and blue eyes, with her left nostril pierced—a small act of teenage rebellion.
She lived with her father, Zachary Gusé, and her stepmother, Melissa Gusé, along with her younger half-siblings. The family had moved to the area relatively recently, settling into the quiet rhythm of small-town desert life.
Karlie attended the local high school in Bishop, California, about 30 miles north of Chalfant Valley. By all accounts, she was working on getting her school life back on track in the fall of 2018. Like many teenagers, she had her struggles—school could be challenging, friendships could be complicated, and navigating adolescence in a blended family came with its own unique pressures.
Her biological mother, Lindsay Fairley, lived separately in Nevada. The relationship between Karlie’s two families—her father and stepmother on one side, her biological mother on the other—would become painfully complicated after Karlie’s disappearance.
But on October 12, 2018, Karlie was just a regular teenager with regular teenage plans.
She told her father and stepmother she was going to a football game at her high school that Friday night.
She didn’t go to the game.
Instead, she went to a party.
The Party
The details of what happened at that party remain somewhat unclear.
What we know is this: Karlie attended a gathering with friends where marijuana was being passed around. According to witnesses and later text messages found on her phone, Karlie smoked weed that night.
Karlie was a regular marijuana user—her friends confirmed she’d been smoking more frequently in recent weeks. So when she lit up that Friday night, she probably didn’t expect anything unusual to happen.
But something did happen.
At some point during the evening, Karlie’s behavior changed dramatically. She became paranoid, anxious, convinced that something was wrong. According to text messages she sent to her boyfriend, she believed the marijuana had been laced with something else.
Whether it actually was laced, or whether Karlie was experiencing a severe anxiety reaction or even a psychotic episode triggered by the marijuana itself, remains unclear. What’s certain is that by the time she called her stepmother to pick her up, Karlie was in distress.
Melissa Gusé arrived to find Karlie looking extremely pale and clearly under the influence. The teenager was frightened, disoriented, not herself.
Melissa brought Karlie home.
What happened over the next several hours would be scrutinized, analyzed, questioned, and debated for years to come.
The Long Night
When they arrived home, Melissa tried to help Karlie calm down.
But Karlie couldn’t calm down.
The audio recording that Melissa made that night—and later released to investigators and eventually to the public—captures the depth of Karlie’s distress. In the recording, you can hear Karlie talking about demons, expressing paranoia about people wanting to hurt her, struggling to distinguish between what was real and what wasn’t.
At one point, according to accounts of the recording, Karlie expressed fear that her stepmother was going to hurt her. This was clearly the paranoia talking—there’s no evidence that Melissa had ever harmed Karlie or threatened to do so. But the statement would later be used by skeptics to question what really happened that night.
Melissa stayed with Karlie, trying to reassure her, telling her she was safe, that everything would be okay. The audio suggests a stepmother genuinely concerned about her stepdaughter’s welfare, not someone with sinister intent.
But Karlie couldn’t sleep. The hours ticked by—midnight, 1 AM, 2 AM, 3 AM—and Karlie remained awake, anxious, trapped in whatever psychological state the marijuana had triggered.
Melissa, exhausted, eventually lay down in Karlie’s bed with her to try to help her feel safe. According to Melissa’s account, around 5:30 or 5:45 AM, she briefly woke up and saw that Karlie was still lying in bed, wide awake.
Melissa fell back asleep.
When she woke again between 7:15 and 7:30 AM, Karlie was gone.
The front door of the house stood slightly ajar.
The Witnesses
What happened between approximately 5:45 AM and 7:30 AM on October 13, 2018, is documented by three separate witness accounts.
The first witness was Richard Eddy, who lived near the Gusé home. Around daybreak that Saturday morning, he noticed a tall, slender female with long hair walking past. She was holding a piece of paper in her hand.
“She was looking up, looking around at the sky,” Eddy told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in 2018.
The second witness was Kenneth Dutton, a schoolteacher who lived a few doors down from the Eddy residence. He was out in his driveway when he saw Karlie walk by, still holding that piece of paper, headed in the direction of Highway 6.
“I know her,” Dutton said definitively. “I saw her”.
The third witness, whose identity has not been publicly released, reported seeing a girl matching Karlie’s description standing in the sagebrush near Highway 6. This location would prove significant—it was the exact spot where tracking dogs would later lose Karlie’s scent.
All three sightings occurred within a relatively short window of time, all described the same young woman, all placed her walking south along or near Highway 6.
After that, nothing.
No more sightings. No trace. No indication of where Karlie Gusé went after she reached that spot near the highway.
She had simply vanished into the high desert.
The Search Begins
When Melissa woke that Saturday morning to find Karlie gone, the initial reaction was likely confusion rather than panic.
Perhaps Karlie had gone for a walk to clear her head after the difficult night. Perhaps she was just outside, getting some fresh air. The door was open, not forced—Karlie had left of her own accord.
But as the minutes turned to hours, concern grew.
Karlie had left without her cell phone. She’d left behind all of her personal belongings. According to reports, she was likely wearing gray sweatpants or jeans, a white t-shirt, and Vans brand shoes when she walked out the door.
The family reported Karlie missing to the Mono County Sheriff’s Office on the morning of October 13, 2018.
The response was immediate. This was a 16-year-old girl who’d been experiencing a mental health crisis just hours before, now missing in one of the most unforgiving landscapes in California.
The Mojave Desert is beautiful, but it’s also deadly. October temperatures in that region can still climb into the 80s during the day, then drop dramatically at night. The terrain is rugged, with endless miles of sagebrush, rocky outcroppings, and very little water.
If Karlie had wandered into the desert in a confused state, time was critical.
Search and rescue teams mobilized quickly. Volunteers joined law enforcement officers in combing the area around Chalfant Valley. Helicopters were deployed to search from the air. Tracking dogs were brought in to follow any scent trail.
The dogs picked up Karlie’s scent and followed it to that spot near Highway 6—the same location where the third witness had reported seeing a girl in the sagebrush.
Then the dogs lost the scent.
It was as if Karlie had simply stopped existing at that point.
Theories and Questions
As the initial search failed to locate Karlie, investigators and the community began grappling with the question that would define this case: What happened to her?
Several theories emerged.
Theory One: Karlie succumbed to the elements. In her disoriented state, she may have wandered deep into the desert, becoming lost and eventually dying from exposure or dehydration. Her body, in this scenario, simply hasn’t been found—the desert is vast, and it’s entirely possible for remains to be overlooked even in organized searches.
Theory Two: Karlie was picked up by someone. The fact that the tracking dogs lost her scent near the highway suggests she may have gotten into a vehicle. This could have been voluntary—perhaps a passing motorist offered her a ride—or involuntary, in the case of an abduction.
Theory Three: Something happened before Karlie left the house. This darker theory, primarily pushed by Karlie’s biological mother Lindsay Fairley, suggests that Karlie never actually made it out of the house alive, and that the witness sightings were either mistaken identity or fabricated. This theory hinges on suspicion of Melissa and Zachary Gusé.
Theory Four: Karlie is alive somewhere. Some believe Karlie may have run away and is living somewhere else, possibly struggling with substance use or mental health issues. A 2021 reported sighting in Tonopah, Nevada, gave credence to this theory.
Each theory has its proponents and its problems.
The Family Divide
In the wake of Karlie’s disappearance, the already complex dynamics between her biological mother and her father’s household became a public conflict.
Lindsay Fairley, Karlie’s biological mother, has been vocal in her suspicions about what happened that night. She has questioned Melissa and Zachary’s account of events, accused them of hiding evidence, and suggested that Karlie may have died from an overdose that was then covered up.
Melissa and Zachary, for their part, have maintained their innocence. They submitted to polygraph tests, which they passed. They have cooperated with law enforcement. And they have consistently maintained that they have no idea what happened to Karlie after she walked out that door.
The conflict is painful to watch—a family torn apart not just by loss, but by suspicion and blame.
But investigators have been clear: there is no evidence of foul play by Karlie’s father and stepmother. Cadaver dogs found no scent of human remains at the house or in the family’s vehicles. Forensic analysis of items seized from the home found only marijuana, not other substances that might have caused a fatal overdose.
The Mono County Sheriff’s Office has stated plainly: they see no evidence of abduction and no evidence that anyone in the family harmed Karlie.
Yet the questions persist.
The Mystery of the Changing Story
One element that has fueled skepticism is the fact that Melissa’s account of that morning changed.
Initially, Melissa reportedly said that she woke up around 5:45 AM, as per their usual routine, and saw Karlie sleeping in bed. She then went back to sleep herself, waking later to find Karlie gone.
Later, Melissa clarified what actually happened: she had been lying in Karlie’s bed with her. She woke around 5:30-5:45 AM and saw Karlie lying awake. She fell back asleep and didn’t wake again until around 7:15-7:30 AM, at which point Karlie was gone.
Critics point to this change as evidence of deception. Supporters argue it’s simply the result of exhaustion and confusion—Melissa had been up most of the night with Karlie, and memories get fuzzy when you’re sleep-deprived.
The truth may be somewhere in between: not deception, but the imperfect nature of human memory under stress.
The Audio Recording
The decision to release the audio recording of Karlie’s distressed state that night was controversial.
Melissa recorded the audio to document how affected Karlie was by whatever she’d consumed at the party. When the case became public and speculation swirled, Melissa released the recording to show that Karlie was genuinely experiencing a mental health crisis.
The audio is difficult to listen to. You can hear a teenager in genuine psychological distress, afraid and confused. You can also hear a stepmother trying desperately to calm her down, speaking in soothing tones, telling Karlie she’s safe.
For many people, the recording dispelled suspicions about Melissa. It showed a woman genuinely concerned about her stepdaughter’s welfare, not someone plotting harm.
For others, particularly those who already suspected foul play, the recording raised more questions than it answered.
What Really Happened?
Seven years later, we still don’t have a definitive answer.
The most likely scenario, according to those familiar with the case, is that Karlie—still in a state of marijuana-induced paranoia or psychosis—walked out of her house in the pre-dawn hours and continued walking until she reached Highway 6.
At that point, one of two things probably happened: she either continued into the desert and succumbed to the elements, or she got into a vehicle—voluntarily or otherwise—and was taken somewhere else.
The 2021 reported sighting in Tonopah, Nevada—approximately 100 miles from Karlie’s home—suggests the possibility that she might still be alive. A rehabilitated individual who had been struggling with substance use came forward to say they’d seen someone matching Karlie’s description at a party in Tonopah sometime after her disappearance.
Investigators located a vehicle that may have been used to pick up Karlie from Highway 6 and transport her to Tonopah. The Mono County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI confirmed they are actively investigating this lead.
If true, it would mean Karlie is somewhere out there—possibly living on the streets, possibly struggling with addiction, possibly with no memory of who she is or where she came from.
It would mean there’s still hope.
A Mother’s Plea
Melissa and Zachary Gusé have remained in the public eye, giving interviews, appearing on true crime shows, keeping Karlie’s story alive.
In 2025, they appeared on Dr. Phil to discuss Karlie’s case. They’ve been featured on People Magazine Investigates and numerous other programs.
Their message is always the same: “We just want Karlie to come home”.
They remain hopeful that she’s alive somewhere, that the Tonopah lead might pan out, that one day the phone will ring and it will be Karlie calling to say she’s okay.
Lindsay Fairley, Karlie’s biological mother, continues to advocate for her daughter as well, though her focus remains on suspicion of what happened that night.
The FBI is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to Karlie’s location. Tips continue to come in. The investigation remains active.
But as 2025 approaches the seventh anniversary of Karlie’s disappearance, the questions remain.
Where is Karlie Gusé?
Is she alive?
Did she run away?
Was she taken?
Or is she somewhere in the vast Mojave Desert, waiting to be found?
The Investigation Deepens
In the days following Karlie’s disappearance, the Mono County Sheriff’s Office launched one of the most extensive missing person investigations in the county’s history.
Detectives interviewed everyone who’d been at the party that Friday night. They collected Karlie’s phone and analyzed her text messages, social media accounts, and call history. They examined the audio recording Melissa had made, consulted with medical professionals about what Karlie might have been experiencing, and worked to piece together a timeline of her final hours.
What emerged was a picture of a teenager who’d been struggling more than many people realized.
Text messages revealed that Karlie had been using marijuana with increasing frequency in the weeks before her disappearance. Friends told investigators that she’d been dealing with typical teenage stresses—school, relationships, family dynamics. Nothing that seemed out of the ordinary for a 16-year-old, but enough to suggest she might have been vulnerable.
The party itself appeared to be unremarkable until Karlie’s reaction to the marijuana. Multiple witnesses confirmed she’d smoked, confirmed she’d become paranoid and frightened, and confirmed that she’d contacted Melissa to come get her.
There was no evidence of anything more sinister happening at that gathering. No indication that Karlie had been assaulted, no suggestion that anyone had intentionally given her a dangerous substance.
Just a teenager who had a bad reaction and needed to go home.
The investigation at the Gusé household was equally thorough. Detectives obtained search warrants and went through the home meticulously. They seized items for testing, brought in cadaver dogs to search for any indication of human remains, and forensically examined the family’s vehicles.
The results were consistently negative. No evidence of violence, no evidence of hidden remains, no indication that anything criminal had occurred in that house.
Both Melissa and Zachary submitted to polygraph examinations. Both passed.
Law enforcement made it clear: Karlie’s father and stepmother were not suspects.
Searching the Desert
While detectives worked the investigative angle, search and rescue teams focused on the physical search.
The initial ground searches covered hundreds of square miles. Volunteers walked in grid patterns through the sagebrush, looking for any sign—a piece of clothing, a footprint, anything that might indicate which direction Karlie had gone.
Helicopters equipped with thermal imaging cameras flew over the area, scanning for heat signatures that might indicate a person. Drones were deployed to access areas too rugged for ground teams.
The tracking dogs were brought back multiple times, each time following Karlie’s scent to that same spot near Highway 6 before losing it. That consistent result suggested something significant had happened at that location—most likely, Karlie had gotten into a vehicle there.
But whose vehicle? And where had they taken her?
The Mojave Desert is unforgiving terrain. Miles of empty landscape where a person could easily become lost and disoriented. Deep ravines and rocky areas where a body might fall and never be found. Extreme temperature fluctuations that would make survival difficult for someone unprepared.
As days turned to weeks, and weeks turned to months, the likelihood of finding Karlie alive in the desert diminished.
But the searches continued.
The Community Responds
Chalfant Valley is a small, tight-knit community where everyone knows everyone else.
Karlie’s disappearance shook that community to its core.
Vigils were held. Missing person flyers appeared on every bulletin board, in every store window, on telephone poles throughout the region. Local residents organized additional search parties, combing areas that official teams might have missed.
The “Help Find Karlie Lain Gusé” Facebook page became a hub for information sharing and community support. Thousands of people joined, sharing theories, offering encouragement to the family, and keeping Karlie’s story visible.
But alongside the support came something darker: suspicion.
In small communities, rumors spread quickly. People began taking sides in the conflict between Karlie’s biological mother and her father’s household. Some believed Lindsay Fairley’s allegations that something had happened to Karlie before she left the house. Others defended Melissa and Zachary, pointing to the lack of evidence and their cooperation with investigators.
The divide was painful to watch—a community trying to come together to find a missing girl, but torn apart by competing narratives about what might have happened.
Going National
As 2018 turned to 2019, Karlie’s case began attracting national attention.
True crime podcasts picked up the story. YouTube channels dedicated to missing persons cases analyzed the evidence. Reddit users debated theories on the r/KarlieGuse subreddit.
The case had all the elements that capture public imagination: a teenage girl, mysterious circumstances, conflicting family accounts, and an unsolved mystery.
In October 2019, NBC News featured Karlie’s case on its “Missing” series. The segment brought renewed attention and tips from across the country.
People Magazine Investigates devoted an episode to Karlie’s disappearance, interviewing family members and detectives. The show highlighted both the investigative efforts and the family conflict that had developed.
With each media appearance, the Gusés hoped that someone, somewhere, would see Karlie’s face and remember something—a sighting, an encounter, anything that might provide a clue.
But as the first anniversary of Karlie’s disappearance came and went in October 2019, she remained missing.
The Tonopah Connection
Then, in 2021, came a potential breakthrough.
An individual who had been in rehabilitation for substance use issues came forward with information. This person claimed to have been at a party in Tonopah, Nevada—approximately 100 miles from Chalfant Valley—sometime after October 13, 2018.
At that party, the witness said, there had been a girl who matched Karlie’s description.
The witness described specific details about the girl’s appearance that aligned with Karlie. More importantly, this person had no obvious connection to the Gusé family and no apparent reason to fabricate the story.
Investigators took the tip seriously.
They began looking into whether a vehicle matching a certain description had been seen near Highway 6 on the morning of October 13, 2018. They investigated whether such a vehicle might have transported someone to Tonopah.
And they found something.
The Mono County Sheriff’s Office confirmed they had identified a vehicle of interest. The FBI became more heavily involved in the investigation.
If the Tonopah lead was accurate, it would completely change the narrative of Karlie’s disappearance. It would mean she didn’t die in the desert. It would mean she was taken somewhere.
And it might mean she was still alive.
The Search Expands to Nevada
Following the Tonopah lead, search efforts expanded beyond California into Nevada.
Tonopah is a former mining town with a population of about 2,500 people. It sits along U.S. Route 95 in the middle of the Nevada desert. Like Chalfant Valley, it’s remote and sparsely populated.
It’s also a place where someone could disappear into the margins of society relatively easily. There’s a transient population, people passing through on their way to somewhere else, individuals struggling with addiction or homelessness who exist outside the normal systems that would identify them.
If Karlie had been brought to Tonopah in a disoriented state, if she’d been left there or had run away from whoever transported her, she might have fallen into that transient world.
Investigators distributed flyers throughout Tonopah and surrounding communities. They interviewed people who frequented the same locations the witness had mentioned. They checked with local shelters, hospitals, and law enforcement agencies.
But Tonopah is not the kind of place where people readily talk to police. Trust is hard-won, and many of the people who might have information are wary of getting involved.
As of 2025, the Tonopah lead remains open and under investigation. The FBI has neither confirmed nor ruled out the possibility that Karlie was taken there.
The Age Progression Photos
In 2023, as Karlie’s 21st birthday approached, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children released age-progression images showing what she might look like as a young adult.
The images were distributed widely on social media and to law enforcement agencies across the country. They showed a young woman with Karlie’s features, but matured—the face she would have grown into if she’d lived to see her twenties.
For Melissa and Zachary, the age progression photos were both hopeful and heartbreaking. Hopeful because they suggested Karlie might still be out there, might still be alive. Heartbreaking because they were a stark reminder of all the birthdays they’d missed, all the milestones that had passed without their daughter.
Karlie would be 23 years old in 2025. If she’s alive, she’s a young woman now, not a teenager. She might look different, act different, even remember her life differently than it was.
But her family believes she’s out there somewhere.
And they’re not giving up.
The Ongoing Debate
Seven years after Karlie’s disappearance, the true crime community remains divided about what happened.
Online forums dedicated to Karlie’s case host hundreds of discussions analyzing every detail. Podcasters continue to revisit the evidence, interview new witnesses, and propose new theories.
Some believe Karlie died in the desert that morning—that she wandered off in a disoriented state and succumbed to the elements, and that her remains simply haven’t been found.
Others point to the Tonopah lead as proof that Karlie was taken somewhere and may still be alive.
A vocal minority continues to insist that something happened at the Gusé home before Karlie left, despite the lack of evidence supporting this theory.
The debate can be frustrating for those close to the case. Online speculation, while well-intentioned, can sometimes veer into unsubstantiated accusation. Family members who are themselves victims of a terrible tragedy find themselves defending against rumors and allegations from people who have never met them.
But the attention also keeps Karlie’s story alive. Every podcast episode, every Reddit thread, every YouTube video is another opportunity for someone who knows something to come forward.
What the Experts Say
Forensic psychologists who have studied Karlie’s case point to the marijuana-induced paranoia as a critical factor.
While marijuana is generally considered safe, it can occasionally trigger severe psychological reactions, particularly in adolescents whose brains are still developing. These reactions can include paranoia, dissociation, and in rare cases, temporary psychosis.
If Karlie was experiencing such a reaction when she left the house that morning, her decision-making would have been severely impaired. She might not have recognized danger, might not have understood that walking into the desert was life-threatening, might have been operating on pure instinct rather than rational thought.
This would explain why she left without her phone, without properly dressed for a journey, without telling anyone where she was going. She wasn’t thinking clearly.
The question then becomes: did she continue into the desert, or did she get into a vehicle?
The tracking dogs suggest the latter. The Tonopah lead supports it.
But without finding Karlie—or definitively identifying the vehicle that may have picked her up—it remains speculation.
The Family Today
As 2025 marks seven years since Karlie’s disappearance, her family continues to search.
Melissa and Zachary still live in the Chalfant Valley area. Karlie’s younger siblings have grown up in the shadow of their sister’s disappearance.
The family maintains an active presence on social media, regularly posting updates and appeals for information. They’ve appeared on Dr. Phil, on true crime shows, in documentaries—anything that might keep Karlie’s face in the public eye.
Lindsay Fairley, Karlie’s biological mother, continues her own advocacy efforts from Nevada. While her relationship with Karlie’s father and stepmother remains strained, her love for her daughter is unquestionable.
All of them share the same desperate hope: that Karlie is alive somewhere, and that one day she’ll come home.
The Investigation Status
The Mono County Sheriff’s Office continues to treat Karlie’s case as an active, ongoing investigation.
Detective Kyle Terry, who has been working the case, regularly follows up on tips and leads. The FBI remains involved, particularly regarding the potential Nevada connection.
A reward of up to $5,000 is offered for information leading to Karlie’s location. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children maintains her case file and distributes her information nationwide.
Tips continue to come in—not as frequently as in the first months after her disappearance, but regularly enough to suggest that people are still looking, still remembering, still hoping to help.
Every tip is investigated. Every potential sighting is checked. Every lead, no matter how tenuous, is followed until it either produces results or reaches a dead end.
The investigators assigned to Karlie’s case have made it clear: they will never close this file until Karlie is found.
Lessons From Karlie’s Case
Karlie Gusé’s disappearance has highlighted several important issues that extend beyond one missing teenager.
First, it’s brought attention to the potential dangers of marijuana use in adolescents, particularly the risk of severe psychological reactions. While such reactions are rare, they can be serious—and teenagers need to understand that “natural” doesn’t automatically mean “safe”.
Second, the case has demonstrated the challenges of searching for someone in vast, remote terrain. Despite extensive efforts by professional search teams, Karlie has not been found—a reminder that even in the age of advanced technology, nature can still swallow people without a trace.
Third, the family conflict that developed after Karlie’s disappearance shows how tragedy can fracture relationships and create divisions that make an already unbearable situation even worse. Finding common ground when emotions are raw and trust is damaged becomes nearly impossible.
Finally, Karlie’s case illustrates the power and the problems of social media in missing persons investigations. The internet can spread awareness rapidly and generate valuable tips. But it can also spread misinformation, enable harassment of grieving families, and create echo chambers where speculation hardens into unsubstantiated certainty.
The Unanswered Questions
Seven years later, the fundamental questions remain.
What happened to Karlie Gusé after she walked out of her house on the morning of October 13, 2018?
Did she wander into the desert and succumb to exposure, her body lying somewhere in the vastness of the Mojave, waiting to be found?
Or did she get into a vehicle near Highway 6—voluntarily or not—and get taken to Tonopah or somewhere else?
If she was taken somewhere, is she still alive?
Could she be living on the streets somewhere, struggling with trauma or substance use, with no memory of who she is or how to get home?
Or did something more sinister happen—an abduction by a predator, a fate too terrible to imagine?
The witnesses who saw her that morning placed her walking toward the highway. The tracking dogs confirmed she made it to that spot near the road. Everything after that is unknown.
Three neighbors saw her. Then she vanished.
How does someone disappear so completely in broad daylight?
A Mother’s Hope
In a 2025 interview for Dr. Phil, Melissa Gusé spoke about what it’s been like living with Karlie’s disappearance for seven years.
“Every time the phone rings, I think maybe this is it,” she said. “Maybe this is the call that tells us she’s been found. Maybe she’s coming home”.
She described the guilt she carries—the “what ifs” that plague every parent of a missing child. What if she’d stayed awake with Karlie all night? What if she’d called 911 instead of trying to help Karlie calm down on her own? What if she’d locked the front door?
But guilt, Melissa said, doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t bring Karlie home.
What might bring Karlie home is someone coming forward with information. Someone who saw something, knows something, or heard something that they haven’t reported.
“If you know anything—anything at all—please come forward,” Melissa pleaded. “We just want to bring our daughter home”.
The Search Continues
In October 2024, on the sixth anniversary of Karlie’s disappearance, volunteers organized another search of areas around Chalfant Valley.
Technology has improved since 2018. Ground-penetrating radar is more sophisticated. Drone capabilities have expanded. Thermal imaging has become more sensitive.
The hope is that tools which didn’t exist or weren’t available in 2018 might now be able to detect something that was missed before.
The searches are smaller now—not the massive mobilizations of those first days, but determined groups of people who refuse to give up.
Because giving up means accepting that Karlie might never be found.
And her family isn’t ready to accept that.
If You See Her
Karlie Lain Gusé would be 23 years old in 2025.
If she’s alive, she might not look exactly like her teenage photos anymore. She would have matured, changed, grown into adulthood.
She’s 5 feet 7 inches tall with a slender build. She has blonde hair that might be darker or lighter now, depending on whether she’s dyed it. She has blue eyes and a pierced left nostril.
She might be using a different name. She might not remember who she is. She might be somewhere far from California and Nevada, with no idea that thousands of people are looking for her.
If you see someone who might be Karlie, or if you have any information about what happened to her, please contact the Mono County Sheriff’s Office at (760) 932-7549.
You can also submit anonymous tips through the FBI’s website or by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI.
A family is waiting.
A daughter is missing.
And somewhere, the truth is waiting to be found.
An Unfinished Story
This is not the ending anyone wanted.
There’s no resolution here, no sense of closure, no final answer that makes sense of why a 16-year-old girl walked out of her house one October morning and never came home.
What we have instead is an ongoing mystery, a case that refuses to close, a family that refuses to give up.
Somewhere in the Mojave Desert, or the streets of a Nevada town, or anywhere in the vast expanse of the American West, the truth about Karlie Gusé waits to be discovered.
Someone knows something.
Someone saw something.
Someone can bring Karlie Gusé home.
Seven years is long enough.
It’s time for the truth.
Contact Information
If you have any information about Karlie Gusé’s disappearance:
Mono County Sheriff’s Office: (760) 932-7549
FBI: 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324)
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children: 1-800-THE-LOST (843-5678)
Anonymous tips can be submitted online at tips.fbi.gov
Reward: Up to $5,000 for information leading to the location of Karlie Gusé
Karlie Lain Gusé. Born May 13, 2002. Last seen October 13, 2018, in Chalfant Valley, California.
Still missing.
Still loved.
Still waiting to come home.
