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Investigation into the disappearance of Tracy Kroh continues 31 years later

Exactly 31 years after teenager Tracy Kroh went missing from Millersburg, the investigation into her disappearance continues.

DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. — Exactly 31 years after teenager Tracy Kroh went missing from Millersburg, the investigation into her disappearance continues.

Kroh, 17, was last seen on August 5, 1989 at the Alex Acres Trailer Park off Route 147 in Halifax around 10 p.m., according to a news release via Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers. She was trying to visit her sister and brother-in-law who lived at the trailer park, but they were not home. Kroh dropped off items on their front steps and never arrived back at her family's home in Millersburg. The trailer park is approximately seven miles west of her home.

Dauphin County officials said in 2014 that before Kroh disappeared, she was seen using a public telephone off of Millersburg Square. Her vehicle, a blue-striped white 1971 Mercury Comet, was located at the town square the following evening, August 6. Officials added that her belongings weren't inside and there was no trace of Kroh.

In December 1993, parts of Kroh's wallet—including her driver's license and National Honor Society card—were found in an area along Wiconisco Creek, off Rakers Mill Rd., in Washington Township, approximately nine miles from Millersburg.

In 2018 Dauphin County woman Holly Mallett, came forward to police, telling them Matthew Webster, also of Dauphin County, admitted to her he was involved in the rape and murder of Kroh.

According to an affidavit of probable cause, Webster told Mallet,

"It was supposed to be just a rape and done but then it turned out to be a lot more than that."

RELATED: Man charged in connection to Tracy Krohs disappearance to be formally arraigned for perjury

Police then intercepted a call between Webster and Mallett in which Webster told Mallett what to say to a grand jury. Both were subsequently charged with perjury. 

Webster was sentenced to 12 months probation last year. Mallett is set to be sentenced in September.

Authorities said the case was being treated as a homicide investigation.

"We want to bring answers to family," said Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo. "Every homicide case brings great pain to a family, but when there aren't answers because there's no body found, that magnifies the pain."

RELATED: 3rd straight day of searching for Tracy Kroh

In the summer of 2019 police searched several Dauphin County properties, including one previously owned by Webster. 

Kroh still has not been found.

 "It's not as easy as it is on television and the movies," Chardo said. "People can sometimes dispose of bodies in a way that it's very difficult to find them."

Though Chardo could not give any details on the investigation, he said it is still active.

"The activity is steady and relentless. Some of it is plain view, and some of it's not," he said.

Chardo has been involved in the case for more than two decades. Even after all that time, he said he was still dedicated to finding Kroh.

"I have two cases where we have no body found, and those are the two faces that haunt me," he said.

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