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College Art Student Disappears, Launching "Massive Search" Before Case Takes Deadly and "Surprising" Turns
Dave Markham knew something "did not feel right" when his 21-year-old daughter Katelyn Markham suddenly vanished in the summer of 2011.
Gifted college art student Katelyn Markham mysteriously disappeared in August of 2011 from her home in Fairfield, Ohio, but it would take years for her determined family to get answers.
Her case is the focus of an all-new Dateline, kicking off Friday, September 27 at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on NBC.
“The Season 33 premiere of Dateline investigates the case of a young Ohio woman who vanishes one summer night, prompting her community to conduct a massive search,” the synopsis for episode, titled “The Butterfly,” explains. “When she’s found dead, investigators question her friends and family to uncover her killer.”
What happened the day Katelyn Markham vanished?
Katelyn’s younger sister, Ally Markham, was just starting high school when her sister vanished without a trace.
“My dad called me and asked if I had talked to Katelyn or knew where she was,” Ally recalled to Dateline of the terrifying moment, as seen in a preview of the episode.
Their father, Dave Markham, wasn’t sure what could have happened to his 21-year-old daughter.
“I didn’t know what to think, but it did not feel right,” he said.
Her disappearance soon made national headlines. Katelyn’s family and her fiancé, identified by Cincinnati, Ohio TV station WLWT as John Carter, pleaded with the public for her safe return.
“Katelyn is the love of my life,” Carter told the press after Katelyn's disappearance. “...We’ve been engaged for a year.”
Katelyn Markham's family began to lose hope
But as the search continued with no answers, Dave began to feel helpless.
“I hoped that she was still alive. I didn’t really feel that way,” he told Dateline.
Dave’s worst fears came true after Katelyn’s body was discovered — but there was a surprise in store for investigators.
“The most surprising moment was when another young woman was found not far from the first murder also with a bag over her head, and it appeared there could be a connection,” Dateline correspondent Andrea Canning told NBC Insider of the case.
A quest for justice
As investigators tried to sort through the evidence, Dave was determined to get Katelyn the justice she deserved, even as the months turned into years.
“Viewers should take away the immense love of a parent and the lengths they will go to, to not give up on finding their child," Canning said of Katelyn's family. "That was a very strong theme in this Dateline."
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Investigators would ultimately get a “big break” that took the case in a whole new direction, Canning says in the preview.
“It was very surprising to me,” Brad Burress, an assistant prosecuting attorney for Butler County, told Dateline.
Along with Dave and Alley, Dateline spoke with investigator Paul Newton and reporter Karin Johnson.
“The most difficult aspect to covering this story was the time frame,” Canning told NBC Insider. “Many years went by with many persons of interest and many agencies and people trying to solve the case. It was challenging to solve with a controversial ending.”
To find out more about how the case came together, watch Dateline’s Season 33 premiere Friday at 9/8c p.m. on NBC or stream it the next day on Peacock.
And for even more Dateline, sign up for the show's official newsletter and check out its podcast.
