A MALE was detained in connection with the 2015 disappearance of a mother with five children.
Brooks Houck is being charged in connection with the Crystal Rogers probe.
According to the FBI, he was apprehended on Wednesday morning.
Rogers’ mother filed a missing persons report on July 2015.
Her body was never discovered.
Rogers’ red Chevrolet Impala was discovered abandoned with a flat tire near her hometown of Bardstown, Kentucky, some 48 minutes southeast of Louisville, on the same day she was reported missing.
Her car keys, phone, and handbag were still inside.
Rogers was last seen alive going out of a Walmart eight years ago, according to The Sun.
That night, she allegedly went on a date with Brooks, her boyfriend and the father of one of her five children.
Brooks claims that when he awoke the next morning, Rogers was gone.
He’s denied any involvement in his girlfriend’s disappearance.
He was named a prime suspect in the case, but officials didn’t have enough evidence to charge him at the time.
On Wednesday, the FBI of Louisville said in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter: “FBI Louisville and the Kentucky State Police have arrested Brooks Houck without incident on charges stemming from the Crystal Rogers investigation.
“The Houck indictment remains sealed and additional details will be revealed during Houck’s arraignment in early October in the Nelson County Circuit Court.”
Rogers’ family put out a statement after Brooks’ arrest, according to local CBS affiliate WLKY.
“This morning the Ballard family received word that Brooks Houck was arrested for an indictment warrant after being indicted by a Nelson County Grand Jury.
“Brooks Houck was named the number one suspect in Crystal’s case in 2015. We want to thank the FBI, Kentucky State Police, Nelson County Sheriff’s Office, Attorney General’s Office, Commonwealth Attorney Shane Young and staff as well as the juries.
“At this time we ask for privacy as this is another step forward for justice for Crystal. Continue to pray that justice is served and we bring Crystal home.”
Over the years, the missing woman’s family has pleaded with officials to find her.
In 2020, the FBI took over the case.
In a July 2023 interview, her mother, Sherry Ballard, told local news outlet WDRB that it’s been torture not knowing what happened to her daughter.
She’s also said she thinks Brooks had something to do with her daughter’s disappearance.
“I didn’t trust Brooks Houck to begin with,” said Ballard.
“I know what kind of relationship they had and how he treated her. And the minute that I knew she wasn’t in contact with anyone, then that’s when I knew something was definitely wrong.”
Brooks’ brother Nick Houck, was a Bardstown Police Officer around the time of Rogers’ disppearance.
He was terminated from his job in October 2014, after officials said he interfered in the investigation, according to NBC.
This is the second arrest in connection with Rogers’ disappearance.
Joseph Lawson, 32, was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence earlier this month.
According to local ABC affiliate WSAH, Joseph is possibly the son of a man named Steve Lawson who worked for Brooks.
Steve’s name was included in one of Brooks’ very first police interviews, as the two men allegedly had a late-night phone chat on the night of Rogers’ disappearance.
