Tomorrow, December 9th, is the 27th anniversary of the disappearance of a Spring Hill teenager. Tawnya Knight was seen alive for the last time, with friends, the night before she was reported missing, . Her skeletonized remains were found in a field in Spring Hill, 6 months later, on June 7, 1997. The Johnson County Coroner ruled this case a homicide.
Her mom, Lori Aubry Knight, a class of 1977 graduate of Ottawa High School, says the case stayed cold for years until they hired a private investigator:
The Johnson County Sheriff’s office has reopened the case and continues to investigate. Recently, they posted on social media that they believe someone out there knows who is responsible. If you know anything about the murder of Tawnya Knight in 1997, please call the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department or 9-1-1.
Ironically, Lori Knight’s close friend growing up, Tonie Standley, was murdered 10 years, to the day, after Tawnya disappeared. Her case is one of the 5 cold case murders in Franklin County.
