Last seen playing outside of her residence at Saguaro Crest Apartments on the 100 block of west Valencia Street. She was roller-skating with her younger sister and friends and was last seen when she returned to her apartment to drop off her skates before going out again to play. Her mother reported her missing when she called her daughter inside for dinner around 6:30 p.m. that evening and noticed Karen had disappeared. She was last seen walking out of the courtyard of the complex. Neither her sister nor any of their playmates had seen her vanish or heard a scream or a struggle. Her right front tooth is larger than her other teeth. She has pierced ears and she has a pea-sized mole behind one ear. She is of Mexican descent and speaks both Spanish and English. She was wearing a faded purple or turquoise t-shirt with white lettering on the front, multicolored pastel floral-printed shorts, Guess shoes, a gold chain with a pendant reading "Little Angel", a ring with a red stone and another ring engraved with the letter K. She was 7 years old at the time.