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The disappearance of Alissa Turney on May 17, 2001, was initially classified as a runaway case until the ensuing investigations brought out disturbing details of her Phoenix, Arizona, home. Following an argument with her stepfather, Michael Turney, Alissa allegedly left a note claiming she would be staying at her maternal aunt's place in California.
In 2008, Alissa's sister Sarah was informed about their stepfather being the main suspect in the case after a raid at his house revealed homemade explosives and other paraphernalia to conduct a mass suicide.
Michael Turney went on trial for second-degree murder amid suspicions of foul play after he was released from his ten-year sentence for unlawful possession of unregistered destructive devices. There has been no resolution to Alissa Turney's disappearance yet. The synopsis of Dateline season 32 episode 17 covering the disappearance reads,
"When 17-year-old Alissa Turney is reported missing in Phoenix, it takes years before detectives treat her case as a homicide; a new investigation unearths dark family secrets."
The Dateline NBC episode titled The Day Alissa Disappeared airs on Friday, December 1, 2023, at 9 p.m. EST.
Who is Alissa Turney?
Alissa was born to Barbara Farner and Stephen Strahm on April 3, 1984, in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. Alissa's mother remarried Michael Turney, a father of three children from his previous marriage, when she was three years of age. Alissa had an older brother. Farner and Turney had a daughter together, Sarah Turney.
Barbara passed away from cancer when Alissa was nine years old. Both Sarah and Alissa were brought up by Michael, while the four other siblings had moved out of the house. Alissa was reportedly dealt with strictly, while 12-year-old Sarah allegedly lived an easier life at Michael's household. Multiple sources claimed that Michael and Alissa shared a difficult relationship, which was often the cause of the latter's complaints as a teenager.
Alissa Turney studied at Paradise Valley High School and was known to be quite social. She was just another 17-year-old with a part-time job at Jack-In-the-Box. Before Alissa went missing, she spoke of moving to California multiple times. According to ABC News, a phone call recording made by Michael and later released by the investigators documented Alissa asking her then-boyfriend, Jon Laakman,
"Would your parents let you to go to California with me?”
Sarah Turney later spoke to Dateline, adding,
“California was this beautiful dream that many people here wanted. She even wanted a white Jeep to drive around — just like Cher in the movie Clueless.”
What happened to Alissa Turney?
On May 17, 2001, Alissa popped into Jon Laakman's class and informed him that she would be leaving early on the last day of her summer break. Michael Turney picked her up from school and took her to lunch, where the two argued about Alissa wanting to stay out late with her friends. Alissa skipped the party she was supposed to attend in the evening. However, Michael allegedly returned home to find her room empty, with a note stating she had left for her maternal aunt's house in California.
Michael Turney dialed the local police that night to inform them about Alissa's disappearance. Per ABC News, Turney reported a second call from Alissa a week later, on May 24, 2001. He claimed that the call came in from a California payphone, and Alissa cussed at him before briefly disconnecting the call. The call recording system at Michael's home was not turned on when the call came in. However, he obtained a record of the call, which showed Riverside, California, to be the originating location.
The Phoenix Police Department Missing Persons Unit considered this to be a rogue runaway case. Michael Turney traveled to Riverside to put up flyers with Alissa's face and register her as a missing teen with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Alissa Turney has been missing for 22 years, 6 months, and 15 days.
