SPRING, Texas — It's been 25 years and there are still no signs of Michelle Prasek, a Spring girl who went missing when she was 12.
Michelle disappeared on Dec. 19, 1997. She was supposed to catch the bus and go to school but her attendance records show she never made it to classes that day.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children released a progression photo on Michelle's 25-year missing date with the hopes someone may know who she is and shed new light on her disappearance.
"Our forensic artists take the missing child photo and family reference samples, so what your mother looked like at a specific age, what your father looked like at a specific age," said John Bischoff with the NCMEC.
He says the organization has been involved with the case since 1997, offering assistance to law enforcement and Michelle's family. Bischoff tells KHOU 11 anniversaries are often a time when cases can gain new momentum from community engagement.
“We want to keep the public looking for Michelle. We want to keep eyes on her poster. Someone out there knows something," said Bischoff. "We just need to get the poster in front of the right set of eyes."
If you have any information about Michelle or her disappearance, you are asked to call MCMEC at 1-800-843-5678 or the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office at 936-760-5800.
What happened to Michelle Prasek?
Michelle's mom left their family's home on Dec. 19, 1997, to take her youngest daughter to daycare. She expected Michelle to catch the bus to school, but it's unclear if she ever made it.
"She was mad at me because I hadn't let her go shopping and I hadn't let her go stay with a friend,” Beth Prasek said.
It wasn't until the next day that Prasek called the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.
"They were looking at this initially as a potential runaway because things seem to add up to that,” Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Bryan Carlisle said.
A backpack, blanket and Michelle's 6-month-old kitten "Froggy" were also missing. When detectives visited Knox Junior High, a student told them Michelle was on campus and talked about running away. However, attendance records show she was never in class.
Over the years, volunteers passed out flyers, and Michelle's mom made public pleas. Michelle's parents are divorced. Her dad lives out of town, and her mom admits her daughter was seeing a counselor, but never before ran away.
"It's our prayer that she is still alive, but we have to treat this in the manner that she's not,” Carlisle said.
When we asked Carlisle if the disappearance could have been staged, he said, “We don't rule anything out."
One person never ruled out Marc Seguin, who dated Michelle's mom at the time and lived with the family.
"We're still considering him a person of interest at this point,” Carlisle said.
Seguin left the house first that morning, but neighbors said he came back. Investigators said he failed a polygraph.
"There were some subsequent tests that were administered where he didn't do well when it comes to, could her body be located somewhere, but beyond that, beyond having any other physical evidence our hands were tied," Carlisle said.
However, then came a twist. In a separate case, a jury convicted Seguin in 2005 of indecency with a child. Now, a registered sex offender he lives in West Texas.
"Detectives have met with him, they met with him immediately after him getting off probation and I'm going to tell you, at some point, we are going to be talking to him again," Carlisle said.
Investigators have chased other leads. There were several attempted abductions reported near school bus stops in the months following Michelle's disappearance, but there was no connection. All these years later, they're still looking for witnesses to come forward.
"It's still our contention there are people out there that know, that saw something, maybe had a conversation with her, it may not sound important to them but any detail helps," Carlisle said.
If Michelle is alive, she would be 37 with a birthmark on the palm of her hand.