Background
Leah was born Leah Toby Roberts on July 23rd, 1976 in North Carolina. Her childhood appears to have been a typically average one. She has two siblings - a brother, Heath and sister, Kara. At the time of her disappearance, Leah was living in Durham, North Carolina with her roommate, Nicole. She had recently dropped out of North Carolina State University after several tragedies in her life.
During Leah's sophomore year of college, her mother passed away due to a heart condition. After this, Leah took time off from college before returning in the fall of 1998. Shortly after this, Leah herself was in a car accident that resulted in a metal rod being implanted into her right femur, leaving a scar near her hip. In the spring of 1999, Leah's father passed away. This left Leah without a mother and a father. Against the advice from her siblings, this is when she chose to drop out of college. According to friends and family, these tragedies in her life left her interested in living life to the fullest.
Leah was known to be interested in guitar, photography and writing around this time. Friends say she began to withdrawal and spent an abundance of time at a local coffee shop. Her favorite author was Jack Kerouac. She is said to have shown specific interest in two of his novels, including On The Road and The Dharma Bums - one in which Kerouac recounts a cross country-trip to Desolation Peak. Leah herself wanted to travel, and even asked her roommate Nicole if she would go with her.
Original Disappearance - March 9th, 2000
On the morning of March 9th, 2000, Leah and Kara spoke on the phone. According to Kara, all seemed normal and when the call ended, she was under the assumption she would be talking to her sister again soon. That evening, Nicole says she did not see Leah's 1993 white Jeep Cherokee in the parking lot or signs of Leah within the apartment. However, Nicole was unconcerned as they both ran different schedules. The alarms went off the next evening when Leah did not show up to a babysitting job she agreed to meet Nicole at.
After a few days of not hearing from or seeing Leah, Nicole called Kara and told her what was going on. This was on March 13th, 2000. It was at this time that Kara called the Durham police and reported her sister missing.
On March 14th, Kara and Nicole decided to enter Leah's room to see if they could find anything of significance. Upon doing this, they found evidence to suggest that Leah had chosen to leave of her own accord. It looked as though she packed up enough clothes for an extended trip. Leah had taken her kitten, Bea, as well as it's carrier. On the dresser, they found a note written by Leah. It had what seemed to be enough money to cover a month of expenses for the apartment - which suggested Leah planned to return within a month. The note also had an eerie message, a reminder and a drawing.
The note's message said "I am not suicidal, I am the opposite," with a drawing of the Cheshire Cat grin. I've read or heard somewhere (I believe it may have been from the Crime
Junkie Episode on this case) that this had significance to Kara. According to her, Leah really loved Alice in Wonderland. To Kara, this sketch implied that Leah was planning to return. With it was the message that said "remember Kerouac."
Kara went around and spoke to people at various coffee shops, as she knew Leah frequented them. She got some information and answers, specifically from someone Leah had spoken to multiple times. Because of this person, Kara was sure that her sister was taking after Jack Kerouac and going on a journey of self-discovery.
In the spring of 1999, Leah had gone on a school trip to Costa Rica. While on this trip, Kara had become Leah's power of attorney and received access to her banking records. This was never revoked, so at the time of Leah's disappearance, Kara still had power of attorney. She checked her sister's transactions and was given a clear idea of what happened.
On March 9th, after ending her phone call with Kara, Leah withdrew $3,000 from her bank account. Her transactions showed that Leah used her debit card to pay for a hotel room in Memphis, TN that night of the 9th. It appeared to Kara that Leah was taking a westward route along I-40. This ended in California and moved north. The last purchase Kara notes is one in Oregon on March 13th.
Everything Kara saw and learned in the two days after reporting her sister missing suggested she really was on a journey of self-discovery. If she was heading north, it was plausible Leah was heading towards Desolation Peak or other areas written about by Jack Kerouac. While she did not like it, Kara chose to trust that Leah would return soon and gave her the space it appeared her sister wanted.
At this time, the police said there was not much they could do. Leah was an adult who appeared to willingly make the choice to leave.
What Kara didn't know was that the purchase on March 13th was the last purchase that would ever appear on Leah's debit card.
Vehicle Discovery - March 18th, 2000
Because March 18th was her birthday, Kara expected her sister to at least call her and wish her a happy birthday. Instead, she came home to a note from the Durham police with a message from police in Whatcom County, Washington - they had found Leah's Jeep and wanted Kara to call them.
On the morning of March 18th, 2000, two people jogging on Mount Baker noticed something out of the ordinary. They saw clothes hanging from trees and, upon further investigation, found a 1993 white Jeep Cherokee in an embankment. The car was found with its windows blown out and belongings strewn everywhere.
Leah's belongings, including clothing, were inside and outside of the car. Clothes were hung in place of missing windows, indicating someone may have been living within the Jeep after it ended up in the embankment.
Among the items left within and around the Jeep were Leah's passport and driver's license, approximately $2,500 cash and Bea's cat carrier. The cat and Leah were nowhere in sight. The most alarming of items recovered was Leah's mother's engagement ring found on the driver's seat floorboard. According to friends and family, the ring was Leah's most prized possession and she never took it off. Finding it indicated to friends and family that something bad may have happened to Leah.
The Investigation
When investigators began to process Leah's car, they were met with more questions than answers. According to the Whatcom County Sheriffs, the vehicle was travelling at approximately 40 miles per hour when it went down the embankment. Given the damage to it, police believed that if someone was in the Jeep, they would have been injured. Despite this, there were no signs of injury within the vehicle. The scene showed a distinct lack of blood. While the windshield was cracked, it did not show evidence of someone having hit it with their head. And the seatbelt was not extended as they thought it would be if someone was in the car during the accident. This led police to question whether or not the accident was staged.
Police reached out to local hospitals to see if they could find someone matching Leah's description with injuries that may have resulted from the accident. They had no luck.
Together, Kara and Heath flew out to Bellingham, Washington, to look around for themselves. Within Leah's car, a ticket stub for the movie American Beauty was found. This stub was for the afternoon of March 13th at the Bellis Fair Mall. This suggested that Leah did in fact arrive safely to Bellingham and chose to stop. Kara and Heath decided to look around the area and ask people if they had seen their sister. While they lucked out on people within shops, they found a single sit-down restaurant that stuck out to them. Here, they spoke to employees who confirmed they saw Leah the day of the 13th.
Employees told Kara and Heath that Leah arrived alone. She was joined by two men who walked in and sat on either side of her. When police found and contacted the first man, he told them that he had made small talk with Leah and they specifically spoke about Jack Kerouac. This confirmed for Kara and Heath that this woman was, in fact, their sister. The first man said Leah left alone. When police talked to the second man, he told a different story. He said Leah left with another man, named "Barry". This second man provides a very
distinct description for Barry. With this description, police made a sketch. The first man and employees never mentioned this Barry person. After this, there were very few leads.
A week after Leah's car was found, a man called into the Whatcom County Sheriffs and said that his wife had just seen Leah, disoriented, at a gas station 30 miles from Seattle. Before police could get a name, the man hung up. Leah's case went cold from here.
A Fresh Look - 2006
In 2006, the original detective on Leah's case retired. Her case was transferred to a new detective, who decided to take a fresh look at things. He found that Leah's car had not been fully processed and they could have missed some things six years ago. Thanks to Kara telling them to keep the Jeep, the police were able to reinvestigate her car.
When the reinvestigation started, police made three interesting finds: 1.) a wire to the starter relay was cut, 2.) there was a fingerprint under the hood and 3.) male DNA was found on Leah's clothes thanks to new technology.
A cut wire made it possible for the Jeep to accelerate without someone pressing the gas, which backed up the original idea that the accident may have been staged. The fingerprint under the hood could have been left by the person who cut the wire.
It didn't take long until police suspected guy number 2 from the restaurant. He was a mechanic and had moved to Canada soon after he was questioned about Leah's disappearance. It was also weird that he was the only person who ever recalled seeing Barry - almost as if he was trying to throw suspicions off of himself.
It took over two years for police to have answers about their suspicions, due to the fact that he now lived in Canada. After getting his fingerprints and DNA, police unfortunately concluded that his fingerprints did not match. There was never any word on whether the DNA was a match but it can be assumed that it wasn't, as we have not heard anything new.
Theories
All we have now are questions and theories about what happened to Leah. Thanks to the internet and Reddit, many theories have surfaced. Below are what I have found through various sources, in no particular order.
Foul Play Police themselves believe there is a 50/50 chance Leah was met with foul play. In which way is undetermined, as there are many possibilities. It makes sense, considering it appearing like the accident was staged. Guy number 2 from the restaurant could be responsible, he certainly is suspicious. Leah could have come across another local familiar with cars and the area, who killed her and then staged the accident. If she was in the car when it crashed, she could have tried to ask a passing motorist for help and chosen the wrong person.
Suicide Despite the note she left behind, Leah could have been struggling with the grief of her recent tragedies and decided to take her own life. If Leah had staged the accident and taken her own life, she wouldn't necessarily have gone very far to do it and would have probably been found during various searches.
Mania Reddit user u/[deleted] made a post in the subreddit r/UnresolvedMysteries two years ago. In it, they explain that the tragedies Leah recently suffered could have triggered bipolar depression or a manic episode. In a way, as many theories tend to, it makes some sense. Leah randomly chose to leave town. She left a cryptic note. She travelled and seemed to be overly friendly when talking to strangers, telling them many things. If she was suffering a manic episode, Leah could have appeared vulnerable to someone who took advantage of that (see theory #1).
Amnesia A week after Leah's Jeep was found, a man called the Whatcom County Sheriff and told them that his wife spotted Leah, who appeared disoriented, at a gas station near Seattle. If Leah had been in the car when it went down, she could have hit her head and it could have caused a head injury. Disoriented, Leah could have wandered off and just.. started a new life.
Died Due to Car Accident Although there did not seem to be evidence of someone being in the Jeep when it went down, Leah could have been. If she was, she could have suffered internal injuries that she ultimately succumbed to.
New Life Perhaps Leah wanted to start a new life. Guy #2 was a mechanic, he could have told Leah how to stage a car accident. Leaving her passport, ID and everything else behind could have been a way to have things that could not be traced to her. However, in an interview Leah's sister Kara said, "considering the loss that our family’s experienced, it’s difficult for me to think that she would leave us open for another loss like this.”
Despite countless theories and countless people going over everything known, we still do not have answers. Leah has never been found, alive or dead. Allow me to leave you with a single, strange coincidence to consider:
According to a post made by Reddit user u/ViceAdmiralObvious in 2017, a mummified body was found in the area Leah disappeared from in 2014. The body was "identified" as a 5'5'' male between the ages of 33 and 55. Coincidentally, this body had a metal rod implanted in the right femur. When traced, this rod was from the same batch Leah's was in the fall of 1998. According to the post, only one of these metal rods was shipped to the Pacific Northwest. The fact that a body was discovered in the same area that Leah disappeared in with a medical implant from the same batch as Leah's is either insanely wild coincidence or is the answer to the questions we've all been asking.
What do you think happened to Leah?
Leah has never been found but her family is not giving up hope. If you see this and believe you have what could be an answer or tips as to what happened, contact the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office at 360-676-6650.
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