CLARK COUNTY, Wash. — It's been nearly a year since Alana Carroll, a Vancouver mother, went missing in September 2023. Both her family and Clark County detectives believe she's dead.
Investigators are actively working on to locate her remains, and to determine her cause and manner of disappearance, stating, "We have several leads that we are working on, and we have identified a suspect in this case who is currently incarcerated on unrelated charges."
"You have all these different scenarios going on in your head. You're wondering what could have happened to her and if you're ever going to find her," said Joyce Carroll, Alana's grandmother. "We've had a lot of sleepless nights. We've cried a lot of tears for sure."
Alana would be 34 this month. Carroll said she was last seen in Battle Ground, where she was staying.
"Everything that we've heard leads us to believe that it was not a positive outcome," said her aunt, Melissa Jimenez. "We want her back ... And no matter what that is... if there's someone responsible, then we want them held accountable."
As her aunt and grandmother wait for more answers, they remember Alana fondly as funny, charismatic and popular.
"Very forgiving. She had a loving heart, and she made friends easily," Carroll said.
They recounted, too, her years-long struggles with addiction, following a near-fatal car crash.
After 11 long months, they're asking for answers to help ease their suffering.
"What if this were someone that you loved?" Carroll said, "What if they were missing? What if someone did something to them? Wouldn't you want to know? Wouldn't you want them back?"