Days after FBI takeover of Crystal Rogers investigation, her mother says the progress is 'overwhelming'

BARDSTOWN, Ky. (WDRB) -- It's been five years since Sherry Ballard last saw her daughter, Crystal Rogers, and five days since the FBI took over the investigation into her disappearance.

Now, Ballard says the progress she's seeing in her daughter's case is "overwhelming." Finally seeing agents in Bardstown working on her daughter's case has been a long time coming.

"To see them come in, I have begged for this. I've made it my mission in life to get more help for Crystal's case," she said Monday. "But at the same time it was like God answered my prayers. The fact that this was happening was kind of unreal to me."

The FBI's Louisville Field Office took over the investigation Thursday, but has since kept a tight lid on information surrounding the case.

Monday evening, FBI agents and the IRS canvassed a Bardstown neighborhood after the FBI received tips on its newly created Crystal Rogers Task Force website.

Agents served warrants and worked investigations Thursday at the homes of Brooks Houck, Rogers' former boyfriend and the only person to ever be named as a possible suspect in the case, on Glenview Drive; Houck's brother, Nick Houck, on Pulliam Avenue; and the Houck farm on Paschal Ballard Lane.

On Friday, agents towed Rogers' car from a storage unit belonging to Ballard, where it's been kept since her disappearance.

The agency has also released surveillance photos of vehicles whose drivers, the FBI says, "may have important information related to Crystal's disappearance."

FBI Louisville's takeover of the investigation comes more than a week after human remains were found in Nelson County, not far from its border with Washington County. The remains were sent to the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia, but results of forensic testing have not been announced.

Ballard said investigators have not given her, or anyone, a timeline on when those remains might be identified.

"It's been a while. At first, they told me a week, and then that week they didn't have answers, and they told me another week and they didn't have answers," she said. "I know this is gonna sound terrible, but, with everything that's been happening, I kinda pushed that back a little bit. Maybe deep down I'm scared of what I'm going to find out. But at the same time, I want to know."

Ballard's husband, Tommy Ballard, was shot and killed during a hunting trip in November 2016. She said he had searched the area where the remains were found, including the river.

"You have to realize five years ago it looked totally different. A lot of the water washed that bank out, and that's why those remains were found," she said.

During Monday evening's canvass of Lookout Court in Valley View Estates, agents went door-to-door talking to neighbors, spending about 15 minutes at each home. It's unclear what they discussed or what questions were asked. Neighbors, out of respect for Rogers' family and to not jeopardize the investigation, said they didn't want to discuss their conversations with agents.

Rogers has not been seen or heard from since the evening of July 3, 2015. The same day Rogers was reported missing, her car was found abandoned with a flat tire on the Bluegrass Parkway. Her keys, phone, and purse were still inside the car.

The FBI's Crystal Rogers Task force website was created so people can share information regarding the case. A $25,000 reward has been established for information leading to Rogers' whereabouts.

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