Karen was last seen at a now-defunct bowling alley in Bordentown Township, New Jersey on October 23, 1979. Her parents reported her missing a short time later. Foul play is suspected in her case. There were rumors that she had gone to a nearby lagoon with two or three men, then in their early twenties, who used it as a party site, but the stories have not been confirmed. Karen was last seen wearing coveralls and a brown and yellow zip-up sweatshirt. She has a scar on her right ear from previously implanted plastic shield.