'You never forget it' | Sunday marks 7 years since disappearance of Crystal Rogers | Local News

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Sunday marks seven years since a Bardstown mother disappeared.

Crystal Rogers was last seen on July 3, 2015. The next day, her car was found on the side of the Bluegrass Parkway with her purse, phone and keys still inside. But there was no sign of the mother of five.

Her boyfriend at the time, Brooks Houck, was the last person to see her alive. He's been named the main suspect but has never been charged in relation to the case.

The FBI took over the investigation into Rogers' disappearance two years ago. Since then, the agency has executed multiple search warrants in Bardstown.

Rogers' mom, Sherry Ballard, said the Fourth of July holiday weekend is never easy.

Sherry Ballard 6-29-20.jpg — Sherry Ballard, the mother of Crystal Rogers, speaks with WDRB News in June 2020.

"When you're living your everyday life, you never forget this. You never forget it," Ballard said. "But when stuff happens, it brings it all right back to the surface again, and you're stuck like it just happened again. And it's very emotional and very hard on my whole entire family."

Typically, a community prayer service or balloon release has marked July 3, calling for answers in the case. This year, Ballard's church honored Rogers during the regular church service Sunday morning, and pink bows were hung up around Bardstown.

"Time does not heal wounds," Ballard said. "It might help you learn to adapt, but one little bitty thing can pull it back to the surface at any minute."

Ballard said she's disappointed she still doesn't have any answers in her daughter's case. But she remains hopeful, especially after speaking with some new FBI agents working the case.

"I mean, every year it seemed like it was getting closer and closer and I just felt like something would happen," she said.

Last summer, the FBI spent more than a week in a Bardstown neighborhood in search of information in Rogers' disappearance. Agents said they found "multiple items of interest" that were "potentially relevant" to their investigation after they zeroed in on the driveway of one home, which was built by a construction company owned by Houck.

Since then, the FBI has yet to release what those items were and how they pertained to their investigation.

The FBI released a statement marking the seventh year since Rogers disappeared:

"As this week marks the seventh anniversary of the disappearance of Crystal Rogers, investigators from the FBI Louisville Field Office continue to work diligently to uncover all the facts of the case. We want nothing more than to bring a sense of closure to Crystal Rogers’ family and the community of Bardstown. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all those individuals who submitted tips to our office. This case will not come to its rightful conclusion without the contributions of the community itself."

"I think people think because I'm quiet, things have died down," Ballard said. "I'm just sitting patiently. I'm trying to sit patiently, but that's not always the case."

The FBI is also still investigating the death of Rogers' father, Tommy Ballard, who was shot and killed five years ago while hunting on his own property more than a year after Rogers went missing.

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