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timeYears after her daughter mysteriously disappeared and was found dead, Laurie Jernigan says she finally feels a new sense of hope.
Ebby Jane Steppach was 18 when she disappeared Arkansas On October 25, 2015, after telling her stepfather that she wanted to report a sexual assault. Nearly three years later, her body was found and her death was ruled a homicide.
But the next decade was filled with unanswered questions, investigative missteps and one mother’s relentless determination to ensure her daughter’s story was not forgotten or misunderstood.
This fall, on the 10th anniversary of Abby’s death, her family renews their call for answers — and investigators work with Arkansas minister of justice‘s Cold Case Unit has worked with little rock The police department launched a collaboration in 2024 to re-examine the case.
While key questions remain, the circumstances of Eby’s last known actions have become clearer thanks to a flood of tips from the public and transparency from law enforcement.
“We got a response — a lot of response,” Jernigan told us independent. “It leads investigators to new places, or back to people with new questions. That’s a hope I haven’t felt in a long time.”
Abby’s last moments
In one of the latest developments, investigators can now confirm where Abby spent much of the night before she disappeared – a mystery that has baffled her family for nearly a decade.
Ebby was seen on 53rd Street and University Avenue between 7pm on October 24, 2015, and 3am on Sunday, October 25th. little rock. But what remains unknown is what happened after 3 a.m., and Jernigan said the area doesn’t explain everything, but it helps put them on the right path.
“Before we did this, I never knew where Abby went after she left my parents’ house,” Jernigan said, referring to the family’s new effort to seek answers.
“Now I know,” she said. “It even made it more mysterious. I had a lot of new problems.”
She added that this specific message came from the pressure she put on investigators and their willingness to be transparent, something she said she had never experienced in the past.
Abby, who had been hoping to escape her parents’ clutches when she disappeared, moved out at the start of the school year and lived mostly with her grandparents and friends. She was last seen leaving her grandparents’ home on Saturday, October 24, 2015.
Earlier in the day, Abby sent a shocking text message to her stepfather, Michael Jernigan. She claimed she was attacked at a friend’s house and wanted him to meet her at the police station and report the attack. But Abby never showed up.
Later that day, around 5:30 p.m., Abby made one last phone call to her brother Trevor, telling him she was lost and had no idea where she was. That was the last time anyone heard her voice.
Jernigan said she knew something was wrong. The family is trying to call everyone who may have come into contact with Abby. When they tried to call police, they were told they would have to wait at least 12 hours before filing a missing persons report.
A few days later, on October 29, Abby’s Volkswagen Passat was found abandoned in Charlammont Park. Inside were her cell phone and personal belongings – evidence that her family says does not support the theory that she ran away. Her makeup was torn and scattered across the car, which particularly worried her mother, who said she had saved up to buy good products.
The case reaches a dead end when police search the park for Abby but come up empty-handed. Her family said they believed police were taking the case seriously and that they had made a mistake.
The lapses were confirmed by now-retired Little Rock police homicide detective Tommy Hudson, who took over Abby’s case after retiring in 2017.
“When I took over the case, there were things that should have been done on the front end that weren’t done,” Hudson told Dateline in 2021. He explained that work on interviewing key witnesses and examining surveillance footage had not yet been completed.
“I don’t know why it wasn’t done,” Hudson added. “It’s our responsibility to pick up the pieces and basically start from scratch.”
It was Hudson’s investigation that led to the discovery of Abby’s body. In May 2018, nearly three years after Abby disappeared, her family got answers about their daughter, but it wasn’t the answers they wanted.
Her bones were found in a drainage pipe in Charlamonte Park, just feet from where her car was found.
“I think I knew in my heart that she was gone – long before she was found,” Jernigan said. “But now I know my mission is to find out what happened to her.”
Ten years later – seeking answers again
Jernigan has been searching for answers for years. When she was able to tell her story on “Dr. Phil” and the Nancy Grace Show, the pressure to solve the case escalated. But still no progress.
In October, Jernigan teamed up with true-crime producer Michael Mazzella, now a family spokesman, to ” Justice for Abby Jean.
Jernigan said that while she has maintained social media accounts about her daughter, particularly on Facebook, the goal of the new campaign is to centralize accurate information, correct long-standing misinformation and encourage new tips.
“It’s always been important to me to share what I’ve learned,” Jernigan said. “It’s still just as important. It’s the only place you can get the latest information, the latest updates and the answers to all the questions you have about this case.”
The response was immediate. Since launching, the pages have attracted hundreds of followers and generated thousands of tips, many of which have been forwarded to law enforcement.
“They need help from social media because they really need these young crime-obsessed people to get involved and see what help can be given to solve this problem,” she said.
People can now also submit anonymous tips or questions directly to ebbytips@gmail.com, which Jernigan said is closely monitored and shared with investigators.
“Law enforcement is going to see problems,” she said. “If you specifically want something sent directly to them, we’ll get it there. We’ll give them everything we have.”
With renewed interest in the case, Mazzella said one of the goals of releasing verified information is to dispel long-standing rumors, including speculation surrounding park security.
“We are aware that the security guard has been cooperating with the ongoing investigation and does not appear to have been involved in Eby’s death or disappearance,” Mazzella said in an update on his Facebook page.
The Arkansas Attorney General’s Cold Case Unit and the Little Rock Police Department are working together to review the entire case file and re-interview witnesses and re-evaluate prior testimony. Advances in DNA testing have also opened the door to new forensic analyses.
Attorney General Griffin told neck Come October, they’re looking at the case in a new light.
“As you can imagine, I can’t go into details,” Griffin said in October. “But again, I want to emphasize that we are looking at this document with new eyes. We are re-interviewing some of the witnesses, as well as some of the people who have been interviewed before.”
A mother who refuses to give up
For Jernigan, the involvement gave her a feeling she hadn’t felt in years — cautious hope.
“If this doesn’t work, I don’t know what else to do,” she said in frustration. “But I’m still trudging along the road trying to find answers.”
Jernigan said she felt all hope was gone, but then she heard a podcast about new DNA technology or solved cases and she was on the phone with investigators.
“When I hear about new ways to test evidence, I make calls,” she said, referring to alerting investigators and discussing new ideas, which she said they are open to.
“I mean, I can’t not react. I can’t not follow through,” she added. “That’s all I can do. God hasn’t taken the fight out of me yet.”
In turn, she hopes to help others by sharing Abby’s story.
“This is not a club you want to join,” she said. “It’s very touching and I feel for them (the other families) the same way I feel for myself.” She added that if Abby’s story could help others in any way, it would mean everything.
Jernigan recently moved out of Arkansas and now plans to vacation with her family, but she said Abby’s memory has stayed with them — and now there’s renewed hope that one day, the truth will finally be revealed.
She hopes the continued release of new information, coupled with the attorney general’s involvement, will spark new leads and refocus public attention in the right direction.
“I really believe more than one person knows what happened,” she said. “I just hope they have the courage to come forward.”
Anyone with information about Ebby Steppach’s case is encouraged to contact the Arkansas Attorney General’s Cold Case Division, the Little Rock Police Department, or submit a tip through the Justice for Ebby Jane social media pages or via email: ebbytips@gmail.com.
