Hi everyone, this is Deb from Dying to be Found.
Before we get started, I just wanted to say that episodes contain disturbing discussions on harmful acts and crimes against animals and or humankind.
Recordings are not intended for young or sensitive audiences due to the content nature of this podcast.
Listener discretion is strongly advised.
Hi everyone, I'm Deb and I'm Shelby.
And here we go again, Shelbs.
I get to see you a little bit sooner than usual.
I've got this great rotation between you and your brother, Corey, plus Aunt Beth.
But it dawned on me this past week because I know everybody's so busy.
So thank you for being here.
I appreciate it.
It's always good to talk with you.
You know, we're going to talk to each other every day anyway.
You might as well talk to me about true crime.
That's right.
I was waiting on your phone call before we even hopped on.
Yeah, I know.
I was driving home and I thought, no, I'll just talk with her when I get on the recording session.
So it dawned on me that you all I'm very organized.
I use color coded calendars, spreadsheets, all sorts of things.
And I have got the whole year of Dying to be Found all laid out.
But then I'm like, does it really have to go in that order all the time?
Because I know what I'm talking to Aunt Beth about, and that's the early era.
I know what I'm talking to Corey about, and that's the rough and tough episodes.
And you get everything else.
I get the leftovers.
You do.
Yeah, so I say let's just stick to the content.
And if our listeners have anything to say about that, we would love your feedback on any of the eras that we talk about.
But Shelbs, how's your week?
It's good so far, but I'm looking forward to Friday.
Me too.
I love to garden.
And if any of our listeners have any suggestions on what I can plant in some empty pots in the backyard,
I've got two very big, very mischievous dogs that like to eat plants.
So I'm trying to figure out what I can put in those pots where they're not going to chew them up.
The only thing I know of is marigolds.
But Shelby, I don't think you have that problem with little Holly, do you?
No, I don't.
We had cat in it once.
That was pretty funny.
I have two cats, as everybody knows.
Shelby with cats.
So there's my little plant story.
I'm sure you're ready to move on, Shelbs.
Anything else going on?
Nope.
Okay.
I have a very serious but personal question for you.
All right.
Do you pay attention to your surroundings when you go out in public?
Yes, I do.
I try to as much as possible.
Good.
Have you ever noticed anybody watching you or?
Nothing immediate comes to mind.
Nothing creepy, I guess.
That's good.
Unless you go to the gas station sometimes.
Yeah.
You know what?
There was one time that I stopped at a gas station.
I got out to pump the car and some man walks up to me with a little medicine bottle and
he's asking me to give him a donation so that he can fill his medication.
I was like, I'm not dealing with this right now.
Oh, that's weird.
Right?
I got in the car.
I hopped across the street to the other gas station.
I am not kidding you.
That same creepy man had beelined it across a four lane highway over to me to yell at
me for not giving him money.
Oh my gosh.
Isn't that weird?
Yeah, that's too much.
Yeah.
And I know my instincts.
So me personally, I am aware of my surroundings and it's really important to do that.
No matter where you are, I'm sure you've had a time or two where people just come up on
you in a parking lot.
Maybe when you're putting stuff in the trunk and people are all of a sudden right there.
You ever see that happen?
Yeah.
So the reason I ask is because I'm going to bring something a little close to home today,
Shelbs.
You live in Coastal Carolina.
To our listeners, I almost moved to North Carolina last summer and the county I had
chosen was Perquimans County and it's sort of rural, but it's just a really nice area.
It's very majestic.
And I saw this case out of Perquimans County that I wanted to talk with you about today.
And I think it's really important to Shelbs because you're a woman, you go out and run
errands and I think it's really important for you to be aware of those surroundings.
Absolutely.
Mm-hmm.
I wanted to do this case for a couple of reasons.
I go through this area pretty much annually on my way to Virginia Beach to see family.
So I'm really familiar with this area.
You all, I think Southern Living Magazine is just absolutely majestic with the bridges
that you go over to get there.
It's just simply breathtaking.
I just love water.
So just imagine a small little coastal town with all those beautiful homes that you see
along the waterline.
It's just really, really pretty.
So I'd mentioned that I was one hair away from moving there last summer.
I got a couple of job offers, but unfortunately the timing was off due to when the school
starts there versus here in Georgia.
We start almost a whole month earlier than North Carolina.
So I decided to stay for another year.
Who knows?
I'll probably end up back that way one day because I love Virginia Beach and the Outer
Banks.
Shelby, you and I talk about that all the time.
We've been there together.
Yes.
I'll tell you though, the water is entirely different from the Gulf of Mexico because
if you're down south, the Florida Panhandle and in the Gulf Coast, gosh, you can go anywhere
from Emerald Green to Crystal Blue.
Then the further north you go, not only is the water really cold, but you can't really
see what's swimming around you.
You can see absolutely nothing.
Yeah.
So that's why I don't go in.
Me neither.
Okay.
I don't know how long this episode is going to be Shelby because there's not a ton of
information out there, but it's just too important not to cover today.
So let me just give you a little bit of history of the area that I'm going to be talking about
today.
It's Perquimans County, North Carolina.
It's very rural and Hertford is the county seat and you really don't have a ton of options
as far as nightlife, things like that.
There is a town called Elizabeth City that you could go to if you're not in Hertford,
or you can go to Edenton, North Carolina.
Elizabeth City is a little bit bigger.
It's a little hub between Hertford and Virginia Beach and there's probably a little bit more
to do there than there is in that town of Edenton.
Edenton is more of a sleepy seaside community, I would say, but it attracts a ton of tourists.
Just a smaller quaint seaside town and then Elizabeth City is a little bit larger.
Well, here's a little bit of trivia for you, Shelbs.
Have you ever heard of the pirate named Blackbeard?
I have.
Do you know that he is notorious back in the 1700s of frequently going up and down that
coastal region where Perquimans County is in North Carolina?
I actually did know that.
How did you know that?
Did you get that in a history lesson?
Because he parked his ship in the Albemarle Sound.
And I have to know some of that for some of the tourists that come through.
Well, apparently there's also a professional baseball player who lived in Perquimans County
growing up.
His name is James Augustus Hunter, also known as Catfish Hunter.
He pitched for Kansas City plus the Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees.
Catfish Hunter won five World Series championships.
I thought that was kind of cool.
Wow, that is really cool.
All right.
Well, let's move on to our story, which is about a 38 year old woman named Karen Basta.
On May 30th, 2015, Karen made plans to go hang out with a friend.
Karen planned to run errands.
She texted her mother Arlene later in the day that she would be home pretty early.
And that was the last time Shelby that anyone heard from her.
Wow.
Yeah.
Karen lived in an area called Holiday Island in Perquimans County.
And to be honest, I don't really know what that means.
I was looking on the map and it looks like it's a specific area known to local residents,
maybe like a rental area of sorts.
I'm not really sure.
So again, if anybody knows this area, DM me and let me know what that means.
It's not clear if Karen lived at home with Arlene, but from what I read, it seems like
that's probably the case because Karen told her mom where she was going.
Arlene gave Karen her credit card and told her to have a good time and off she went.
She chose to meet her friend in Edenton over Elizabeth City.
And that is where Shelby, she was never seen again.
Oh, I have goosebumps.
Arlene actually waited a day or two before reporting Karen missing because in her words,
she just couldn't believe that something like this could happen to her daughter.
But taking off would not have been in Karen's character to do so without telling anybody
where she was going, what she was doing.
When she was back, I told you that she had texted her mom to say, I'll be home early.
Yeah.
So it would be completely out of character for her to just take off for a couple of days.
She was also on medication that would have severe side effects if she stopped taking
it.
So you always hear those cases where people don't have their medication and they go missing.
I'm sure this is one of those life threatening alerts, I'm sure.
Yeah.
Well, there were some sightings of Karen's activities that were noted before she disappeared.
She was seen last at the Walgreens in Edenton, North Carolina, and her car was discovered
locked and abandoned in the back lot outside of the Gaslight Square parking lot.
More than likely, she was probably going to go along the downtown area of Edenton.
And I feel like there is a little walkway that takes you from that parking lot, kind
of like a walkway into just getting over to the other side of the buildings.
Yeah, probably.
I'm trying to see what day of the week.
It was a Saturday.
Okay, interesting.
So she went missing on a Saturday and the parking lot in the front was full, so she
parked around the back.
No fingerprints or DNA was identified on or around her car, so it's uncertain when Karen's
disappearance actually took place.
I'm going to assume they didn't have cameras in that parking lot.
It doesn't sound like it.
Rescue divers did a search around the area, but nothing came to light in Karen's disappearance.
Investigators do believe Karen's disappearance is suspicious, especially since she never
told Arlene of any other plans besides going to meet that girlfriend.
I had told you it was out of character.
According to authorities, Karen stopped responding to calls and texts on May 30th, 2015.
Cell phone records led them to a neighborhood in Edenton, North Carolina, but her phone
was never located.
Oh.
All right.
Enter Debbie Manning.
Debbie is a missing persons family advocate associated with the AWARE Foundation and the
National Center for the Missing and Endangered, Incorporated, which is a nonprofit organization
that strives to create a culture who works tirelessly to give voices to the missing and
endangered.
Although Debbie has been working nonstop on Karen's case, I wanted to mention this organization
in the event that someone out there knows where Karen is today.
Debbie is a family advocate liaison and works on a lot of missing person cases in North
Carolina.
And again, Shelbs, it's just to me, this is an important case because there's just not
a ton of information.
There was one suspect in this case who was captured on CCTV using Arlene's credit card
to purchase cigarettes at the local Food Lion grocery store, plus swiping the card at a
gas station the day that Karen disappeared.
Authorities say that the footage taken from the gas station indicate that whoever used
Karen's credit card knew her in one way, shape or form.
Yeah, absolutely.
Didn't you say earlier that she was going to meet a girlfriend?
Yeah, but I'll tell you, it doesn't say specifically.
But now a gentleman has the card.
Exactly.
So I'm glad you said that because my question here is how can somebody nonchalantly use
someone else's credit card because you'll need a pin to complete that transaction?
Yeah, that's what I was wondering too.
So is that why they think he was an acquaintance?
Like how would he have gotten that information?
I don't know, unless it was an actual credit card.
And you don't need a pin for that?
I don't know.
All right, this is about as close as authorities got to a suspect because this person was never
charged with any crimes in Karen's disappearance until 2018, three years after Karen's disappearance.
So this is that Thomas White Sr.
He was arrested and pleaded guilty to using Arlene's credit card the day after Karen
disappeared.
He received a maximum, Shelby, this is crazy.
He received a maximum of six weekends, six weekends in jail for using that credit card.
Wow.
Oh my gosh.
Okay, I get that there's not enough evidence to charge Thomas with any wrongdoing.
I 100% get that.
But in today's day and age of identity theft, how is six weekends in jail acceptable?
I don't get that part.
No, I don't get it either.
You can do whatever you want during the week, but once it hits Friday, you got to come back
and see us.
Yeah, that's right.
Thomas was also ordered to pay $600 in restitution.
He was ordered never to contact Karen's family for any reason whatsoever.
And he was placed on 36 months of probation and parole.
I mean, okay, maybe the laws in North Carolina are different, but he got 36 months of probation
and parole.
What or probation is usually, I guess that's the, oh yeah, come back and see us on the
weekend for six weekends in a row.
But parole is usually when you're arrested for a crime that puts you into prison.
So how could he get parole?
Maybe the prison was full that day, who knows?
And I will say this, there is a pretty major prison out that way.
Again, I travel that way every year to go see my in-laws, but I think it's between
Elizabeth City and Virginia.
Maybe.
Well, according to police records, Karen's cell phone activities told quite the tale.
Karen allegedly drove through Edenton.
She stopped at a fast food restaurant, drove past a bridge, and then drove into the vicinity
of Thomas White Sr's house.
That's about all they got on Karen's cell phone activity before the phone went dead.
So her phone stopped pinging pretty quickly after that.
Ultimately, White pleaded guilty to obtaining property under false pretenses if he violated
any of his sentencing.
And Shelby, by that I mean his six weekends in jail, he would be rearrested and ordered
to pay $10,000 in bonds and appear in court.
And based on that timeline, Shelbs, all of his probation or parole would have expired
in 2021.
Today, he's free and clear.
As of today, North Carolina's governor, Roy Cooper's office, classifies Karen's disappearance
as a homicide and is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information on the disappearance
and whereabouts of Karen Basta.
The Perquimans County Sheriff's Office also holds a reward of $7,500 for information on
finding Karen's whereabouts.
According to the Charlie Project, Karen was last seen in Edenton, North Carolina and is
classified as endangered missing.
She has brown hair, blue eyes, and has a butterfly tattoo on her lower back, plus a small red
strawberry tattoo on her upper back just between her shoulder blades.
She was last known to be driving a red 1997 Lincoln Continental vehicle that was recovered
in Edenton, North Carolina.
Karen is last known to be 5'2", 150 pounds, and was wearing a white t-shirt, white shorts,
and gray slip-on Skechers shoes.
Karen was last seen carrying a pink quilted pocketbook or purse with a paisley print.
Shelby, to me, that sounds like a Vera Bradley bag.
I was thinking the same thing.
Her car keys were also attached to a hook holder with a butterfly.
So I guess she had that on her person as far as her purse was concerned.
According to NBC News, Karen had a cognitive impairment which should have activated a silver
alert that signifies that somebody who is mentally incapacitated due to illness or trauma.
I guess I didn't really realize it's much different from the amber alert, but silver
alerts are usually activated for elderly people with dementia or Alzheimer's.
Yeah, that's what I thought.
Yeah.
It's issued when a threat is present to anyone with health or safety conditions.
Basically, this alert is issued for anyone with a cognitive disorder, regardless on how
old they are.
So I guess they sent out a silver alert for Karen because she needed that medication that
I told you about.
Karen was last seen leaving the Food Lion on May 30th, 2015.
And I mentioned her Lincoln Continental had last been parked in the back lot outside of
the Gaslight Square parking lot.
Yeah, right.
Karen's cell phone is known to be active in Perquimans County, which left and then returned
on the morning of June 1st, 2015.
After that time period, the phone went silent.
So there was no more activity after that.
Oh my goodness.
Yeah.
So that was the short story of Karen Basta out of Perquimans County, North Carolina.
I really wish I had more information on sightings or suspect, but truly I really tried to dig
into this case.
I just don't have any more information than that.
No, that's just crazy that there's, I mean, it's gone without a trace.
There's nothing.
I know.
That just makes me think she's got to be there somewhere.
Like, she still has to be in the area.
Yeah.
And she's got to be.
Yeah.
I mean, if nobody saw her go missing and her car was found really, really quickly, I can't
see her getting in the car and taking off somewhere, you know?
No, I wouldn't think so.
If you have any information on Karen's whereabouts, please contact the Perquimans County Sheriff's
Department at 252-426-5615.
You can also call the Edenton Police Department at 252-337-4875 or the North Carolina State
Bureau of Investigations at 919-662-4500.
And there you have it, Shelbs.
That is the story of Karen Basta from Perquimans County, North Carolina.
Well, thank you for sharing.
I do hope someone has information and can call one of the numbers that you mentioned.
Absolutely.
So do you have a teachable moment for us today?
You know what?
I really don't.
I really tried to figure out what a good teachable moment would be coming from this story.
I'm just simply baffled that Karen vanished without a trace.
And it's really, really odd that her car was found, like I said, so quickly and no one
saw or heard anything.
And then, I mean, what's up with her cell phone?
Why did it go silent so fast?
Did somebody turn it off?
Did they throw it in the water?
I have a lot of questions on this.
Yeah, that's a really good question.
And unfortunately, they don't have the apps that we use now.
So her mom could at least see where it last pinged at.
Oh, so true.
Or no, they said that it was in the neighborhood, wasn't it?
But that may not be precise of the last place that it was seen or last place that the phone
was.
Yeah, very true.
Well, the Department of Homeland Security currently has a campaign out there called
See Something, Say Something.
It's a national campaign to bring public awareness to terrorism, but it's also about reporting
suspicious activity to local law enforcement.
I really wanted to at least mention that because I think in this case, Shelby, the same terms
apply if you see something, say something.
Yeah, absolutely.
And I think too that people tend not to say anything because they think that somebody
else will or they don't think that whatever it is that they may have seen is important
enough to report it.
There's a ton of different reasons why people don't report things.
But one last thought, and I'll bring my question from the very beginning of this storyline
back into play, Shelbs.
Yeah, it's really important to be aware of your surroundings and Shelby, especially you
because you're a woman.
You just need to be extra careful.
So I guess really if I'm going to get a teachable moment out of this, it's just to always be
aware of your surroundings.
And if you see something, say something.
I agree.
Well, let us know if you agree as well.
We would love to receive feedback from our listeners on this storyline or any of our
other episodes.
Be sure to DM us on Instagram, send us some suggestions on what you want to hear.
And honestly, I've been playing around a little bit with the TikToks.
You all is kind of stupid, but send me some suggestions on what you want to see on TikTok.
I love them.
I think you're better at them than me.
You guys have to go see my TikTok.
You do.
All right.
Well, that's about all we've got.
Shelby, do you have anything else?
That's it.
Okay.
Talk to you soon.
Bye.
Thanks for listening to Dying to be Found.
Before we go, we would love for you to leave a review on your favorite podcast platform.
Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest at Dying to be Found.
You can access our website, email, social media, and storyline request form by clicking
on our Linktree account found in our show notes.
If you like our episodes, consider buying us a coffee at buymeacoffee.com slash Dying
to be Found spelled just like you see it on our logo.
Feel free to message us on Instagram and let us know how we're doing.
With that, be sure to check us out every Thursday wherever you get your podcasts.
We will talk to you all next week.