A Young Girl Disappeared from Her Yard in 1999.
Sixteen Years Later, Her Godmother Made a Discovery.
On June 15, 1999, the quiet city of Riverside was shaken by the disappearance of an eighteen-year-old girl named Ashley Crawford.
That sunny afternoon, the teenager stepped out into her yard to collect the mail. Minutes later, her mother called her in for lunch—but Ashley never came back. The letter lay abandoned on the ground, and from that moment on, she was gone without a trace.
For years, the police investigated her disappearance. They interviewed neighbors, friends, and teachers, and searched every corner of the city, but found no leads. The case was classified as a disappearance with suspected abduction, and over time it went cold.
For Ashley’s parents, David and Liada Crawford, the pain of not knowing what had happened to their daughter became a wound that could never heal. In 2003, overwhelmed by grief, they moved to Arizona in search of a new beginning.
However, sixteen years later, the mystery returned with force.
In August 2015, Rebecca Thompson, Ashley’s godmother and a lifelong neighbor, was working in her garden when an underground metal signal changed everything. While digging beside an old oak tree, she uncovered a small, rusted container. Inside were a butterfly necklace—the one Ashley had been wearing on the day she disappeared—and a handwritten note.
The words shook Rebecca to her core:
“If anything happens to me, find the truth about Dr. Breppa.
Clinic basement, Room B7.”
— Ashley Crawford, June 15, 1999
The discovery did more than give the family renewed hope—it raised serious suspicions about someone long considered untouchable: Dr. Harold Breppa, Ashley’s family physician since childhood and one of the most respected figures in the community.
Breppa was known not only for his private medical practice, but also for his charitable work and his role on the municipal council. He had even participated in the search efforts when Ashley went missing.
Detective Marcus Rodríguez, assigned to reopen the case, wasted no time searching the clinic. In the basement—specifically Room B7—he discovered something deeply disturbing. Behind shelves on the wall, faint but unmistakable, were the letters carved into the surface:
“HELP.”
Despite having been painted over multiple times, the message was still visible.
As the investigation progressed, more alarming details emerged.
A clinic nurse confessed that during Ashley’s final appointment, she had undergone extensive blood testing, and that the doctor had seen her alone—an unusual practice for routine examinations. According to Ashley’s mother and closest friend, Ashley had complained of pain and anxiety in the days leading up to her disappearance, behavior that was entirely out of character for her.
What initially seemed like an isolated suspicion soon revealed a chilling pattern.
Rodríguez reviewed medical records and discovered that other young female patients had experienced similar circumstances before disappearing. Between 1997 and 2008, at least five girls aged 18 to 21, all patients of Dr. Breppa, vanished after medical appointments involving “special” blood tests.
At the time, their cases had been attributed to voluntary runaways, domestic abuse, or isolated disappearances. No one had connected the dots.
Even colleagues within the police force, including retired detective Warren Hayes, later admitted that they had harbored suspicions about Breppa. The doctor had earned everyone’s trust, actively participated in search efforts, and displayed what appeared to be genuine grief.
But the new evidence painted a very different picture—one of a calculating predator who used prestige as a shield to conceal his crimes.
Testimonies from clinic security guards added more pieces to the puzzle. Some recalled seeing the doctor entering the basement late at night, long after the clinic was officially closed. Others reported strange noises coming from the area near Room B7.
As the investigation deepened, Dr. Breppa’s spotless reputation began to collapse. The pattern of disappearances, altered medical records, and hidden evidence within his own clinic placed him squarely at the center of suspicion.
Yet the most difficult part still lay ahead: uncovering the concrete proof that could finally bring him to justice.
For the Crawford family—and for Rebecca—the discovery of that small buried container meant far more than a clue.
It was Ashley’s voice, breaking through sixteen years of silence—a desperate message hidden in the soil, finally brought into the light to demand answers.