Teekah Lewis vanished from a Tacoma bowling alley in 1999. Her mom hasn't stopped searching for her since
In 1999, 2-year-old Teekah Lewis was at a Tacoma bowling alley with her family when she disappeared.
Tacoma's New Frontier Lanes bowling alley was packed with families on Jan. 23, 1999. Theresa Czapiewski and her family, including her 2-year-old daughter Teekah Lewis, were having a blast.
It was Czapiewski’s turn to bowl. Before she rolled, she turned and saw Teekah and other children playing the arcade games a few feet away.
She threw the ball and turned to walk back to her chair. She scanned the area where she had just seen her daughter trying to reach the pedals of the racecar driving game, but she was nowhere to be seen.
“Immediately, my heart stopped,” Czapiewski said.
THE SEARCH FOR TEEKAH LEWIS
In the minutes after Teekah vanished, her family alerted an off-duty officer. The bowling alley was then shut down and police started to check the vehicles leaving the parking lot, but she was never found.
The arcade games were located directly next to an emergency exit door. If someone kidnapped Teekah, they could have been out of view within seconds.
"The days go by, the minutes go by, the hours go by, and there's no news," Czapiewski said. "None."
There have been many theories over the years about what happened to her. Tacoma police received over 700 tips during the investigation.
Tacoma Police Detective Julie Dier is assigned to the case and said investigators are still determined to solve it.
“Back then, there were no cameras, no videos of this incident, there was no physical evidence to look at and test to actually find out what happened,” Dier said.
Dier said time has not been on their side for this case. With no physical evidence, even recent technological developments aren't of much help.
“People forget," Dier said. "People’s memories get replaced with what they think they remember."
"I know it's been 25 years and some people give up hope, but I can't because I think my daughter's out there somewhere," Czapiewski said.
MOST RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CASE
In 2020, detectives said they were looking for a person of interest who was seen near Teekah that night.
The witness described the person as a white male, about 5 feet, 11 inches, with a “husky” build, with brown, curly or wavy hair, a mustache and pockmarks on his face.
The witness said the man was wearing blue jeans and a blue checkered, flannel shirt.
Detectives had not previously released information about the man’s clothing.
Additionally, in 2023, Tacoma police revealed a description of a car seen leaving the bowling alley that night, a maroon or dark-colored Pontiac Grand Am, perhaps a late 1980s or early 1990s model, leaving the parking lot at a high rate of speed.
Detectives also released an updated age-progression photo of what Teekah would look like now, in her mid-20s.
A few weeks ago, on the 25th anniversary of Teekah's disappearance, family members gathered at the Tacoma Police Department for a press conference. They hoped it would shed more light on the case and bring it back to the forefront of peoples' minds.
"I don't want to go another holiday without Teekah and so I'm pleading to the public now. I know somebody out there knows what happened to Teekah or knows where Teekah's at and I'm asking for that person to come forward," Czapiewski said to the attendees and news cameras.
FAMILY HONORS TEEKAH ANNUALLY WITH VIGIL
Every year on the day she disappeared, Teekah's family, friends and other community members gather at the location where she disappeared, which is now a Home Depot parking lot.
Czapiewski always buys balloons that the community can write messages on and release. This year, employees at Dollar Tree wanted to do something to help.
"I just want to tell you we admire your strength and we want you to accept the balloons as a gift from Dollar Tree," a store employee told Czapiewski.
After the touching gesture and heartfelt thanks, Czapiewski made her way to the vigil to release the 25 balloons, one for each year Teekah has been gone.
Markers and memories of Teekah were shared.
One young family member wrote, "I love you, Teekah, I want to see you so bad," on his balloon.
"She was the closest person I had to me at that time, so she's always on my mind," Teekah's sister, Katarina Johnson, said. "So, Teekah, if you’re watching, just know that your big sis loves you, and I miss you and I know that I will see you again."
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