Police still searching for answers on Karen Wilson's disappearance, 40 years later

COLONIE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- It's been 40 years since a University at Albany senior went missing near Fuller Road and Central Avenue in Colonie. State police have followed thousands of leads and said they're not giving up on this case.

Karen Wilson, a 22-year-old college senior was last seen on March 27, 1985.

“In conversations with Karen's friends and family, they think about this everyday, and it's something that they lived with since 1985," said Aaron Stefanik, senior investigator with New York State Police's Cold Case Unit.

Stefanik said Wilson was shopping at Colonie Center Mall, getting ready for a spring break trip to Florida. She was supposed to leave for her trip three days after she went missing.

"She was last seen confirmed to be at the Tropical Breeze Tanning Hut at 1670 Central Ave in Colonie,” said Stefanik.

Police believe after tanning, Wilson began walking south along Fuller Road to go back to the University at Albany's campus. Stefanik said there were three independent witnesses that each saw someone matching Wilson's description on Fuller Road.

"We’ve never been able to actually confirm that was indeed Karen," said Stefanik.  

Some of the witnesses also reported seeing a man walking on the opposite side of Fuller Road at the same time as Wilson. Police have provided a sketch of the man on their website, but they were never able to identify him.

"We don't necessarily know that that person had any involvement with Karen, but it's something that the investigation was trying to identify in case they had information to advance the investigation," said Stefanik.

In addition, Stefanik said police searched every place they could think of, including Six Mile Waterworks and even questioned nearby bus drivers.

"There were bus drivers that believe they may have picked up Karen," said Stefanik. "Neither have been confirmed."

Wilson was a Latin American Studies major and political science minor. Police said they have no reason to believe she would have disappeared on her own.

“She was well liked, very intelligent, had a lot of friends, very close to her family, really had everything going for her," said Stefanik. "It was really looked through with a fine tooth comb. The efforts to find Karen were massive and they have continued to be a focus of the state police." 

It has now been 40 years since her disappearance, but state police said they are not giving up. Stefanik said police have chased thousands of leads.

“We’re still taking in leads, every month we get a call on Karen," said Stefanik. "She hasn't been forgotten about. State police have not forgotten about her.”

Staying hopeful is something Mary Lyall knows well. She co-founded the Center for Hope after her daughter Suzanne also went missing, about 27 years ago.

"I, still, 27 years later, I still see the police about once every couple of weeks," said Lyall.

The Center for Hope is a resource for those who have missing people in their lives and need help. Lyall said she gets calls from people asking for help across the country.

"[They ask] What do I do now? I've been sitting on my hands, I don't know what to do, and then we kind of guide them through you know, what to do," said Lyall.

Some cases get resolved but police said other cases, like Karen Wilson's and Suzanne Lyall's need the community's help. With major forensic and technological advancements since 1985, Stefanik hopes to bring answers.

“Maybe there's something that you wish you had shared with the state police at this point, we want to hear from you, we want the accurate information," said Stefanik. "We want to give Karen's family and the community the answers they deserve. And we want to know what happened to her."

Anyone with information should contact State Police at 518 -457-6811 or crimetip@troopers.ny.gov.