Marissa Elan Karp was found dead in a canal in Collier Florida. Now her family is on a quest to find her killer.
A familyﾒs quest for answers in the brutal murder of a teenaged girl whose body was ruthlessly discarded in a canal four years ago has taken it to The Bahamas in pursuit of a man who was said to be the last person to see the young murder victim alive.
Gary Karp travelled from Collier County, Florida to in an attempt to track down that 32 – year male believed to be Bahamian. His daughter Marissa Karp, 17, was found in a canal in Collier, Florida in August 2002. She had been shot and stuffed in a plastic trash bag.
“Parents arenﾒt supposed to bury their children,” said Mr. Karp at a press conference at the former Whydham Nassau Resort on Cable Beach.
“My belief is that Bahamians are very good people. In every country there is good and bad. I know that [this country] depends on tourism. I am not here to disturb that. I am just trying to get some closure for myself and my family.”
Mr. Karp indicated that he has been in communication with officials in Florida, the U.S. Embassy in New Providence and the Royal Bahamas Police Force and has had their full cooperation.
However, Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of Crime, Reginald Ferguson told The Journal, that US officials have not been in communication with the Royal Bahamas Police Force on the matter.
“When they have a matter that calls for concern in the Bahamian theatre they will make the proper representation through their embassy [to the] Commissioner of the Police, National Security and [whoever] is needed to assist with investigations then they will have that cooperation,” he said.
“We do this all the time.”
The family has been in New Providence since last Thursday and plans to leave on August 18th which is the anniversary of Marissa Karpﾒs death.
Currently there is $100,000 reward with anyone with information on the murder. The murder has been profiled on Americaﾒs Most Wanted, the popular international television show which seeks to help track down perpetrators, especially those who are believed to have fled the jurisdiction of the U.S..
The Karp family is trying to pinpoint the location of an individual who they believe was Marissaﾒs last known acquaintance as well as others who might have information that could lead them to the murderer. They have accused that person, of having an “extensive criminal background” in the U.S. and The Bahamas and is suspected of being linked to a double homicide in Florida and another drug related murder here.
By: Kendea Jones, The Bahama Journal
