Bethany Markowski Case: What Happened, Who Is Larry Markowski & What We Know

The most comprehensive public account of Bethany Markowski’s disappearance — last updated June 28, 2026

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About this article: The facts on this page are drawn from law enforcement statements, official missing posters, court documents, archived news coverage, podcast interviews, and direct accounts from Bethany’s mother, Jonnie Carter. Where a claim comes from Jonnie’s personal account rather than a published source, we say so. We believe transparency about sourcing is part of honoring Bethany’s case accurately.

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Quick Facts

Full name	Bethany Leanne Markowski
Date of birth	February 1, 1990
Age now	36 years old
Date missing	March 4, 2001
Age at disappearance	11 years old
Missing from	Jackson, Tennessee
Physical description (at disappearance)	4’8″, 95 lbs, brown hair, blue eyes
TBI Case #	01-4723
NCMEC #	906662
NamUs #	4238
Tip line (TBI)	1-800-TBI-FIND
Tip line (NCMEC)	1-800-THE-LOST
Submit a tip to the family	findbethany.org/tips

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Bethany Leanne Markowski was 11 years old when she disappeared on March 4, 2001. She was last seen with her father, Larry Markowski, in or near the parking lot of Old Hickory Mall in Jackson, Tennessee. She has never been found.

Bethany is 36 years old today. Her case remains open and under active investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI). Larry Markowski has been identified by law enforcement as a person of interest and has not been ruled out as a suspect. He has denied any involvement in her disappearance.

If you have information about Bethany, please call 1-800-TBI-FIND or submit a tip at findbethany.org/tips.

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Background and Family History

January 2001 — Jonnie Flees with Bethany

Bethany Leanne Markowski was born on February 1, 1990. By early 2001, she was living in Old Hickory, Tennessee, with her mother, Jonnie Carter, after Jonnie left her marriage with Bethany’s father, Larry Markowski.

Jonnie has stated publicly that Larry was controlling and physically abusive throughout their marriage, and that his behavior had recently turned violent toward Bethany as well. Jonnie has spoken about this consistently across multiple media appearances, including a 2018 interview with Crime Watch Daily and a 2025 interview with WBBJ-TV, and her account is corroborated in part by school records and court filings.

The pattern of violence was not limited to Jonnie. A Monroe County Sheriff’s Office incident report dated April 17, 2006 — five years after Bethany’s disappearance — documents a formal complaint filed by Valerie Markowski, a subsequent partner, alleging that Larry Markowski had been physically assaulting and harassing her over an extended period of time, had punched her in the eye, and had held a knife to her throat while threatening to kill her. That report, Case #0604172006, is on file with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. [PDF to be added]

Larry Markowski has not been criminally convicted of abuse in connection with Jonnie, Bethany, or Valerie. He has denied all allegations.

In late January 2001, Jonnie left the family home in Gleason, Tennessee, taking Bethany with her. According to Jonnie, she chose to stay in a Nashville apartment connected to her sister’s husband’s company — rather than with family directly — specifically to make it harder for Larry to find them.

January 30, 2001 — Jonnie Files for Divorce

On January 30, 2001, Jonnie filed for divorce and petitioned for child support. Knowing she needed to enroll Bethany in school quickly, she waited until the divorce papers had been filed before registering her the following morning.

January 31, 2001 — Bethany Enrolled at DuPont Tyler; Larry Finds Her Within the Hour

On the morning of January 31, 2001, Jonnie and her sister Lori Jackson enrolled Bethany at DuPont Tyler Middle School in Old Hickory. What they didn’t know was that Larry had already tracked them to Nashville.

That same morning, Larry visited schools in the district until he located Bethany’s new classroom — arriving within an hour of her enrollment, at the fifth school he had checked that morning. According to Jonnie, he told the school he wanted to give Bethany money for her birthday.

A written statement from Bethany’s homeroom teacher, Jamie Sloan — shared by Jonnie Carter and first referenced publicly in a 2018 Crime Watch Daily interview — describes what happened:

“On January 31, 2001, Larry Markowski came into my classroom without permission from the office. His daughter, Bethany, and I were in the room. I had been warned that he might come and try to take her. I asked if I could help him and he said he had come to talk to his daughter. I asked if he had permission from the office to be up here. He said he did. Bethany started crying and saying she couldn’t go with him. It was obvious to me that she was frightened. I asked him to go downstairs and they could get this straightened out and then he could possibly see her. He would not leave. He then took her (Bethany) by the arm and started quickly taking her from the room, pushing me aside. I told him to stop, that I could not let him take her. I then ran after him into the hallway and screamed I needed help. Several teachers came into the hall and we were able to take Bethany from him. The police officers then came and escorted him downstairs. Bethany was taken back into my room.”
— Jamie Sloan, Bethany’s homeroom teacher (written statement, January 31, 2001)

Police responded and stopped Larry from leaving the school with Bethany. The incident — occurring just one month before Bethany vanished — confirmed the danger Jonnie had feared. Despite it, and despite a restraining order issued shortly after, a court would still grant Larry unsupervised visitation with Bethany. That decision would prove devastating.

February 1, 2001 — Bethany Turns 11

The day after her father tried to remove her from school, Bethany celebrated her 11th birthday. Jonnie did her best to make it a normal day. A photograph from that birthday — taken just 31 days before Bethany disappeared — is preserved in our photo gallery.

It was the last birthday Jonnie would ever get to celebrate with her daughter.

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Did the Courts Fail Bethany? The Custody Battle Before She Disappeared

February 12, 2001 — A Judge Grants Larry Unsupervised Visits

On February 12, 2001 — less than two weeks after Larry forcibly tried to remove Bethany from her classroom — a judge granted him unsupervised visitation with his daughter.

This decision came despite a temporary restraining order already in place against Larry, and despite the documented classroom incident just twelve days earlier. According to Jonnie Carter, the court order gave Larry visitation every second weekend, from Friday at 5:00 p.m. to Sunday at 5:00 p.m. The exchange point was set at the Waverly exit (Exit 143) on I-40 — a halfway point between Jonnie’s sister’s home in Old Hickory and Larry’s residence in Gleason. Because the restraining order prevented Larry from making direct contact with Jonnie, her sister Lori Jackson handled all drop-offs and pickups.

Larry would have exactly one completed weekend with Bethany under this arrangement. The second would be the weekend she vanished.

[Note: The February 12 court order and its specific terms are drawn from Jonnie Carter’s account. If we are able to locate the original court filing, it will be added here as a primary source.]

February 16–18, 2001 — The First Unsupervised Visit

Lori Jackson dropped Bethany off at the Waverly exit as scheduled on Friday, February 16. She picked her up on Sunday, February 18. No incidents were reported from this weekend.

It was the only visit that ended as it was supposed to.

February 26, 2001 — Larry Acquires a Van

Six days before his second court-ordered weekend with Bethany, Larry Markowski registered a 1995 Chevrolet Astro van in his name.

This vehicle would become one of the most scrutinized pieces of evidence in the case. It is the van Larry later claimed to have been sleeping in at Old Hickory Mall when Bethany allegedly walked inside alone. It is the van that TBI agents later found with its seats removed, its interior professionally detailed, and its carpets still damp from shampooing at the time of examination. And it is the van that disappeared from Larry’s name within two months of Bethany’s disappearance — deregistered April 30, sold at auction in Jacksonville, Florida on May 18, and shipped to Puerto Rico on June 22, 2001. Of the more than 40 vehicles Larry Markowski is known to have owned over his lifetime, it is the only one ever sent out of the country.

According to Jonnie Carter, the van’s registration date — just six days before Bethany’s final weekend — has never been adequately explained. [Note: The February 26 registration date comes from Jonnie Carter’s account and is corroborated by the Carfax report covering the vehicle’s later history. The original title document, if located, will be added here as a primary source.]

What Happened the Weekend Bethany Markowski Disappeared?

Friday, March 2, 2001 — The Last Pickup

Bethany’s final known weekend began at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, March 2, 2001, when Lori Jackson dropped her off at the Waverly exit on I-40 for her second court-ordered visit with Larry.

Before the handoff, Bethany had told her mother she believed she and Larry would be going ice skating with her friend Christina that weekend. After Bethany disappeared, Christina told law enforcement she had no such plans with Bethany and had no knowledge of any skating trip. According to Jonnie Carter, Larry’s older daughter Jenny also believed that she, her boyfriend, and Larry were going apartment hunting in Nashville that weekend — to be closer to Bethany. Larry canceled those plans without explanation at the last minute.

Instead of skating or apartment hunting, Larry took Bethany on an unannounced trip to Little Rock, Arkansas — roughly 275 miles from Gleason — to visit his friend Harold Roberts. Jonnie was never told Bethany would be leaving Tennessee. Taking Bethany out of state without notifying her mother violated the terms of their custody agreement.

Friday Night, March 2 — All Night at Harold’s

According to Harold Roberts, who was later interviewed by podcast journalist Brandon Barnett for Searching for Ghosts: Where Is Bethany Markowski? and whose account was also referenced in a 2018 Crime Watch Daily report, Larry and Bethany arrived at his home in Little Rock on Friday evening. Harold later said he had invited Larry for the weekend because a woman was interested in meeting him. In a subsequent private communication with a volunteer for the Foundation, Harold identified this woman as Sherry Cob. The two stayed up all night talking.

Harold also later told investigators that during the visit, Larry seemed unusually fixated on keeping Bethany close. In Harold’s own words, as quoted in the Crime Watch Daily report: “Larry wasn’t letting her out of his sight. Looking back at it, it was kinda like he was afraid she was gonna tell about something that he didn’t want us to know.”

Saturday, March 3, 2001 — Larry Announces He’s Leaving

On Saturday, friends and family gathered at Harold’s for a cookout. The atmosphere was social — music, singing around a piano. Then, abruptly, Larry announced he was leaving that night to drive back to Gleason.

Harold pushed back. Larry hadn’t slept. The drive was four to four and a half hours. Taking Bethany on an overnight drive made no sense. Then Larry said something that stopped Harold cold. As Harold recounted in the Searching for Ghosts podcast and as quoted in Crime Watch Daily:

“Well I’m gonna take my van down to the Port of Mexico and leave it down there and you can have it. You just come get it and it’ll be yours.”

Harold’s response: “Let the FBI go right into Mexico and pick your butt up.”

Harold was not the only person to whom Larry made statements about his plans in the days surrounding that weekend. In a private communication shared with the Foundation, a person who dated Jenny Markowski — Larry’s older daughter — stated that in the days immediately before Bethany’s disappearance, Larry made a similar statement in their presence. According to this account, Larry said he intended to take the van to New Mexico — not Mexico — and that Jonnie would never see Bethany again. The source was insistent on this distinction, maintaining it was New Mexico specifically. This account has not been independently verified, and when the Foundation asked Jenny about it, she said she did not remember the incident. The source has not spoken publicly. It is worth noting that while Harold’s account referenced the “Port of Mexico,” and this account references “New Mexico,” both describe Larry speaking about abandoning the van and removing Bethany from Jonnie’s reach — before the weekend even began.

Harold reminded Larry he was in a custody battle he had a real chance of winning — and that fleeing to Mexico would destroy that. Harold has since stated that at the time he said this, he was unaware that Larry had been abusing Jonnie.

At approximately 8:30 to 9:00 p.m., Larry left with Bethany in the 1995 Chevy Astro van. As he walked toward the vehicle, he called out loudly to Harold — in front of other guests — “I’m going to call and tell you where to come and get the van.” Larry told Harold to expect his call once he reached Gleason, which — given the four-to-four-and-a-half hour drive — Harold estimated would come between 12:30 and 1:30 a.m.

That was the last confirmed independent sighting of Bethany Markowski by anyone other than Larry.

1:30 a.m., Sunday March 4 — The Call That Doesn’t Add Up

At 1:30 a.m., Harold received the call he was expecting — but Larry wasn’t in Gleason. He told Harold he was in Forrest City, Arkansas, about an hour and a half from Little Rock.

Cell phone records tell a different story. According to We The Missing, whose research on this case is the most detailed publicly available, Larry’s phone pinged a cell tower near Land Between the Lakes Recreational Area — a location more than five hours from Little Rock, and approximately one hour and fifty minutes northeast of Larry’s home in Gleason. If Larry had left Little Rock at 8:30 p.m. and driven straight to Land Between the Lakes, a call at 1:30 a.m. would align almost exactly with that route. It would not align with being in Forrest City, which is only ninety minutes from where he started.

This is one of the most significant inconsistencies in Larry’s timeline, and it has never been publicly explained.

9:00 a.m. — Arrival in Gleason

According to the Jackson Police Department missing poster, Larry and Bethany arrived back in Gleason around 9:00 a.m. The drive from Land Between the Lakes to Gleason is approximately one hour and fifteen to one hour and thirty minutes, which is consistent with a 1:30 a.m. call from that location followed by a 9:00 a.m. arrival — if there were stops along the way.

9:38 a.m. — The Last Time Jonnie Heard Bethany’s Voice

At 9:38 a.m., Bethany called her mother from the landline at Larry’s home in Gleason. The number appeared on Jonnie’s caller ID, and law enforcement has confirmed this call took place.

Jonnie described that conversation in detail in a January 2025 interview with WBBJ-TV:

“She called me from our house in Gleason, Tennessee at 9:38 a.m. and she sounded scared and nervous as she said ‘Mama, daddy knows you have a boyfriend.’ I could hear Larry in the background yelling, ‘Tell her I know she has a boyfriend.’ Bethany’s little voice was shaking as she said it again. I asked, ‘why would you say that… never mind,’ because I knew why she was saying it — he told her to — and she was scared. I told her ‘that’s okay,’ and she responded with ‘I will see you at 5 o’clock right?’ and I said ‘yes you will.’ She said ‘I love you’ and I said ‘I love you too.'”

Those were the last words Jonnie and Bethany ever exchanged.

After 9:38 a.m. — A Visit to Christina’s

After the call, Larry and Bethany went to the home of Bethany’s friend Christina — the same friend Bethany had told her mother she’d be skating with two days earlier. Christina confirmed they stopped by briefly but did not stay long.

In 2012, a person identifying themselves as Christina left a public comment on a missing persons blog post about Bethany’s case — one of the only times anyone matching her description has spoken publicly about that morning. Her comment read in full:

“I was a close friend of her the last time I seen her was with her dad yes we were both young the last time I seen her she came to my house with her father she acted really weird and said she was going back to her moms but I felt something was not right as she showed me the new cell phone her father got for her.”

— Comment on Missing & Unidentified People blog, 2012 (comment section)

Jonnie Carter replied to that comment directly, writing: “I remember you Christina. I hope you are doing good. Thank you for posting your memory of Bethany!!! NEVER GIVE UP HOPE.”

The cell phone Christina described — a new phone Larry had given Bethany that morning — has never been located by investigators. It was never recovered and, as far as is publicly known, never examined as part of the case. Whether it existed, where it went, and what records it might contain remain open questions.

Between 9:38 a.m. and 12:12 p.m. — Only Larry’s Word

What happened in the hours between the Christina visit and the next confirmed contact is known only through Larry’s account, which has not been corroborated by any cell phone records or independent witnesses.

Larry has claimed that he and Bethany ate breakfast at a McDonald’s, then spent approximately an hour parked outside a house in Milan, Tennessee, which he told Bethany was her mother’s boyfriend’s home. Jonnie has firmly stated that the man who lived there was not her boyfriend, and that she found the claim baffling. There are no cell phone pings or law enforcement confirmations for either the McDonald’s stop or the hour in Milan.

12:12 p.m. — The Last Confirmed Contact with Bethany

At 12:12 p.m., Larry’s older daughter Jenny called his cell phone to speak with Bethany. Bethany told Jenny that she and Larry had just left Gleason after picking up a few things, and that they were heading to Old Hickory Mall in Jackson. The call’s cell tower ping placed it near Natchez Trace State Park, likely near Exit 116 on I-40.

After this call, there is no incoming or outgoing cell phone activity on Larry Markowski’s phone until 5:43 p.m. — a gap of five and a half hours during which his movements cannot be traced through cell records.

2:30 p.m. — A Witness at Parkers Crossroads

A witness reported seeing Larry at Exit 208 — Parkers Crossroads — at approximately 2:30 p.m., getting gas. This exit is only about eight miles from where Larry’s phone last pinged at 12:12 p.m. According to Jonnie Carter, TBI Agent Valerie Troutt informed her that this witness told investigators Larry said he had just dropped his daughter off with her mother in Nashville — before ever reaching the mall. The witness made no mention of seeing Bethany in the van. According to Jonnie Carter, TBI formally documented contact with this witness, though no public record of that documentation has been released to date.

This sighting is significant for two reasons. First, Larry would later claim he and Bethany arrived at Old Hickory Mall between 1:30 and 2:00 p.m. — but the Parkers Crossroads witness places him still getting gas at 2:30 p.m., roughly twenty-five minutes from the mall. Second, Larry apparently told this witness Bethany had already been dropped off — before he ever reached the mall.

Approximately 3:00 p.m. — Arrival at Old Hickory Mall

Given the twenty-five minute drive from Parkers Crossroads to Old Hickory Mall in Jackson, Larry and Bethany — if she was still with him — would have arrived around 3:00 p.m. at the earliest. This directly contradicts Larry’s stated timeline of a 1:30 to 2:00 p.m. arrival.

Larry has stated that he parked in the overflow lot near the JCPenney entrance, that Bethany went into the mall while he slept in the van, and that he woke up to find her gone. He gave conflicting accounts of when he woke up — telling different people 3:30 p.m., 3:45 p.m., and 4:30 p.m. The Jackson Police missing poster states 3:45 p.m.

Bethany does not appear on any mall security footage. As WBBJ-TV reported in 2025, citing investigators: there is no proof Bethany ever entered Old Hickory Mall.

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What Are the Inconsistencies in Larry Markowski’s Timeline?

Larry Markowski’s account of Sunday, March 4, 2001 — from the moment he claims to have arrived at Old Hickory Mall through the moment he reported Bethany missing — contains multiple contradictions. Some involve his own changing statements. Others are contradicted by physical evidence, cell phone records, and witness accounts. Taken together, they form one of the most scrutinized timelines in the history of the case.

Inconsistency #1: The Mall Arrival Time

Larry told Lori Jackson and Jonnie’s lawyer’s secretary Dianne that he and Bethany arrived at Old Hickory Mall between 1:30 and 2:00 p.m. and that Bethany entered the mall with her childhood friend Hillary at that time.

But the Parkers Crossroads witness, as described in Section 3, places Larry still getting gas at Exit 208 at approximately 2:30 p.m. — twenty-five minutes from the mall. Even if the witness’s timing was off by thirty minutes, Larry could not have been at the mall at 1:30 p.m. and at a gas station twenty-five miles away at 2:30 p.m. simultaneously.

Additionally, early newspaper reporting placed Bethany’s mall entry between 2:00 and 2:30 p.m. with no mention of Hillary. By March 11, The Jackson Sun was reporting that Bethany had entered the mall alone. The timeline of her entry shifted across multiple accounts.

Inconsistency #2: The Hillary Story — Told, Denied, Then Confirmed Again

On the evening of March 4, Larry told both Lori Jackson and Dianne — Jonnie’s lawyer’s secretary, who had rushed to the mall and was taking detailed notes — that Bethany had entered the mall with her “little friend Hillary.”

Hillary was a real person. She and Bethany were childhood friends from Jackson. And she did happen to be at the mall that day. But Hillary told investigators she had no knowledge that Bethany was there, and she did not enter or shop at the mall with her.

By the time Lori and her husband arrived at the mall around 7:00 p.m., Jackson Police Chief Rick Staples told Lori that Larry was now denying he had ever mentioned Hillary at all. According to Jonnie Carter, Lori’s response was direct:

“Well, I didn’t pull this story out of a hat — I don’t even know who this little girl is.”

Chief Staples replied: “Exactly.”

Dianne’s contemporaneous handwritten notes from that evening document Larry making the Hillary claim to law enforcement. This is not a case of a misremembered detail — it is a named witness Larry introduced, then attempted to retract within hours. The Jackson Sun clippings from March 6, 7, and 11, 2001 — reproduced on this page — illustrate how that account shifted in the days that followed.

Inconsistency #3: When Did Larry Wake Up?

Larry gave at least four different accounts of when he woke up from his nap in the van:

• 3:30 p.m. — reported in some early newspaper accounts
• 3:45 p.m. — stated on the official Jackson Police Department missing poster
• 4:00 p.m. — reported in a Jackson Sun article from March 11, 2001
• 4:30 p.m. — the time Larry told Lori Jackson directly

This matters practically. Larry was scheduled to have Bethany back at the Waverly exit by 5:00 p.m. The drive from Old Hickory Mall to Waverly takes approximately one hour and ten minutes, meaning he would have needed to leave the mall by 3:50 p.m. at the latest to be on time.

If Larry genuinely woke up at 4:30 p.m. as he told Lori, he was already forty minutes past the point where getting Bethany back on time was mathematically possible — and he hadn’t yet searched the mall, contacted security, or called anyone.

Inconsistency #4: The Five-Hour Phone Silence

As documented in Section 3, there is no cell phone activity on Larry’s phone from 12:12 p.m. until 5:43 p.m. — a gap of five and a half hours. During this window, he claims to have driven from the Natchez Trace area to Old Hickory Mall, parked, let Bethany go inside, slept, woken up, searched the mall, and contacted security. Yet his phone was either off or unused for the entirety of this period, including during what he describes as a panicked search for his missing daughter.

Inconsistency #5: Waiting Until 5:15 p.m. to Report Her Missing

By Larry’s own most generous account, he woke up at 3:45 p.m. and couldn’t find Bethany. The mall closed at 6:00 p.m. He did not contact mall security until 5:15 p.m. — ninety minutes after he says he realized she was gone, and exactly the same moment Bethany was scheduled to be returned to her family at Waverly.

During those ninety minutes, his phone went to voicemail every time Lori called.

At 5:43 p.m., Larry finally answered. Lori asked why he hadn’t been answering. According to Jonnie Carter, he told her he had been charging his phone in the van. When she asked what was happening, he said: “I’m at the mall. I can’t find Bethany.”

Inconsistency #6: Bethany Was Never on the Surveillance Footage

This is perhaps the most definitive fact of the entire afternoon timeline. As WBBJ-TV confirmed in 2018 quoting TBI spokesman Michael Jones directly:

“We have no evidence to corroborate Larry Markowski’s story that Bethany was ever even at the Old Hickory Mall in Jackson.”

Larry himself appears on mall surveillance footage. Bethany does not — on any camera, entering or exiting from any entrance, at any point during that Sunday. As Jonnie wrote in her letter to Bethany on the NCMEC website on the 20th anniversary of her disappearance: “You were not on any of the surveillance tapes from any of the stores.”

The Evening of March 4: What Happened After

6:00 p.m. — Old Hickory Mall closed. Bethany had still not been found.

6:05 p.m. — Jackson Police Chief Rick Staples was notified and joined the search.

7:00 p.m. — Lori and her husband arrived at the mall after driving from the Waverly exit. Jonnie had called Dianne — her lawyer’s secretary, who happened to be having dinner nearby — and Dianne rushed to the scene, arriving before Lori and taking detailed notes as Larry gave his account to law enforcement.

11:00 p.m. — Jonnie arrived from Nashville. The family went to the Jackson Police Department, where Larry was interviewed by investigators. Jonnie later recalled that when officers brought her Bethany’s overnight bag, the first thing she pulled out was Bethany’s coat. It was cold and raining that night. Bethany was out there without it.

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Did Someone Try to Enroll Bethany Markowski at a School Three Weeks After She Vanished?

Early April 2001 — A Woman and a Girl in Sweetwater

Approximately three to four weeks after Bethany’s disappearance, a woman walked into a private Catholic school in Sweetwater, Tennessee — a small town roughly halfway between Chattanooga and Knoxville on I-75 — and attempted to enroll a young girl matching Bethany’s description.

She couldn’t complete the enrollment. She didn’t have the required documentation — no birth certificate, no school records, nothing that would allow the school to formally register the child. According to Jonnie Carter, who described the incident publicly during an appearance on The Montel Williams Show approximately a year after Bethany’s disappearance, the woman’s explanation was brief:

“I don’t have it. I’m her aunt. Her father has custody of her and he can bring it back and do this.”

And then she left — with the girl — and was never seen at the school again.

The school contacted law enforcement. A composite sketch was created from the staff’s description of the woman.

A Note on the School Itself

The specific name of the school has never been publicly confirmed and has not been identified despite years of research by Bethany’s family and independent investigators. When the Foundation attempted to identify it, no Catholic school in Sweetwater, Tennessee appears in any current or historical Diocese of Knoxville directory. The Diocese of Knoxville is the relevant diocese for that area, and none of their schools are or were located in Sweetwater or Monroe County. It’s possible the school was a small parish school that has since closed and left no digital record, that the location was slightly different from Sweetwater, or that the school described itself as Catholic without being formally diocesan. If you have any knowledge of a private Catholic or faith-based school in or near Sweetwater that was operating in 2001, please contact us.

Setting the Record Straight: What the Sketch Is and Isn’t

This is one of the most commonly misunderstood details in Bethany’s case, and it’s worth addressing directly.

The composite sketch circulating in connection with Bethany’s disappearance was created based on the woman who attempted to enroll the child at the Sweetwater school. It was not created from the bus station sightings in Cleveland, Tennessee that occurred approximately three weeks later. Those are two separate incidents, involving what may or may not be the same woman, and the sketch belongs to the school encounter only.

This distinction matters because witnesses at the Cleveland bus station — described in the next section — were uncertain whether the woman they saw matched the sketch. That uncertainty has been misreported in various places as undermining the sketch’s credibility, when in fact the two incidents were never confirmed to involve the same person. As The Jackson Sun reported at the time, TBI Agent Jack Van Hooser confirmed that while witnesses at the Cleveland café positively identified the young girl as Bethany, they were less certain about whether the woman with her matched the composite sketch from the school.

What Did the Woman Look Like?

Witnesses at the school described the woman as Caucasian, approximately 42–44 years old, 5’4″ to 5’5″, around 185 pounds, with frizzy blonde hair, dark circles under her eyes, and an unkempt appearance. The composite sketch based on this description is reproduced on this page.

Carol Markowski — The Lead Investigators Pursued

The woman’s claim that she was the girl’s “aunt” — and that the “father” had custody and would bring the paperwork — led investigators to look closely at the Markowski family.

TBI agents turned their attention to Carol Markowski, the wife of Larry’s brother Robert Markowski. Several details made her a person of interest: she had previously lived in Cleveland, Tennessee — the same town where the bus station sightings would occur weeks later. She was known to local law enforcement, and in multiple police reports had listed her address as “homeless.” Her height and general physical appearance were consistent with the composite sketch.

TBI agents turned their attention to Carol Markowski, the wife of Larry’s brother Robert Markowski. Several details made her a person of interest: she had previously lived in Cleveland, Tennessee — the same town where the bus station sightings would occur weeks later. She was known to local law enforcement, and in multiple police reports had listed her address as “homeless.” Her height and general physical appearance were consistent with the composite sketch.

There was one notable difference: the woman at the school was described as having dark eyes, while Carol Markowski’s eyes are hazel.

Since this detail became publicly known, the Foundation has received private communications from people who knew Carol personally. Those who reached out described her as someone who struggled cognitively, was highly transient — frequently moving between hotels and staying nowhere long — and was believed by those close to her to have had issues with substance use. Their view, expressed directly to us, was that Carol would not have had the capacity to orchestrate or plan anything of this nature on her own.

That characterization raises its own question: if Carol was present in any capacity, was she acting alone — or was she being directed by someone else?

Carol Markowski has never been charged in connection with Bethany’s disappearance. Her current status is not publicly known.

Why This Sighting Matters

The language the woman used at the school is striking when viewed alongside everything else known about the case. She said the girl’s aunt was with her. She said the girl’s father had custody. She said the father could come back and handle the paperwork.

At the time Bethany disappeared, her father did have a custody arrangement — every second weekend. Her mother’s sister, Lori Jackson — Bethany’s aunt — was the one who handled all drop-offs and pickups. The phrasing maps closely onto the actual custody structure of Bethany’s life in a way that would be unusual for someone with no connection to the case.

Whether it was Bethany in that school in Sweetwater, Tennessee, remains officially unconfirmed. But the lead was real enough that TBI pursued it seriously — and the location places what may be the first post-disappearance sighting of Bethany squarely in East Tennessee, a geographic pattern that would repeat itself across the months and years that followed.

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Was Bethany Markowski Seen at a Bus Station After She Disappeared?

Around April 25, 2001 — Three Days at a Café in Cleveland, Tennessee

Approximately three weeks after the Sweetwater school enrollment attempt, a series of sightings began in Cleveland, Tennessee — a small city roughly twenty miles north of Chattanooga.

Over the course of three consecutive days, a disheveled woman and a young girl were seen at a local café. Multiple witnesses would later independently identify the girl as Bethany Markowski.

According to Jonnie Carter, who received this account from law enforcement at the time, the pair’s behavior was distinctive and consistent across all three days: they came in quietly, sat in the back, ordered only water, and the woman used the payphone repeatedly before leaving. She carried what appeared to be a black garbage bag. On the third day, the woman seemed noticeably more agitated and upset than she had been before. She asked the waitress for the number to a local cab company. The waitress found it for her, helped her place the call, and watched the woman and girl leave in the taxi.

Something about the encounter stayed with the waitress. After they left, she called law enforcement.

When officers arrived and showed her a set of photographs of missing children, the waitress identified Bethany Markowski as the young girl she had seen.

Multiple Independent Witnesses

Law enforcement quickly located the cab driver who had picked the pair up. He too identified the girl as matching Bethany’s description — and noted that during the ride, the woman in the backseat was visibly crying, while the little girl stared out the window biting her fingernails and twirling her hair.

That last detail mattered to Jonnie in a way that’s hard to overstate. She had told the public that Bethany bit her nails. She had never publicly shared that Bethany also twirled her hair at the same time. According to Jonnie, that was a private habit — something only people close to Bethany would have known.

The cab drove the pair to the local bus station, where a ticket agent sold the woman a bus ticket to Moline, Illinois. That ticket agent, when later shown photographs, also identified the girl as Bethany.

Jonnie spoke with the ticket agent personally. He told her that when the little girl wanted to get a drink from the nearby vending machine — just a few feet away — the woman insisted on accompanying her rather than letting her go alone. He thought it was unusual at the time but hadn’t seen it as alarming.

The Bus to Moline — And the Detail That Didn’t Add Up

The bus the woman and girl were waiting for was scheduled to depart after the station had closed for the evening, which meant they had to wait outside. While they waited, a woman and her young son — catching an earlier bus — briefly interacted with the pair. According to Jonnie Carter, when someone asked the little girl where they were going, she didn’t answer — she looked to the woman beside her, who replied for her, saying they were headed to Disney World or Disneyland.

The earlier bus arrived, that woman and her son departed, and the unknown woman and girl were left alone at the station.

Law enforcement traveled to Moline, Illinois and were present when the bus arrived. The woman and girl never got off. If they had boarded, they either disembarked at an earlier stop or never boarded at all. According to Jonnie, she was told at the time that the ticket was never used — though she acknowledges she cannot confirm this with complete certainty.

What Jonnie can confirm is what investigators told her before the bus arrived. They didn’t just say they believed the girl at the café was Bethany. They told Jonnie they would have Bethany back to her within the next 24 hours.

That didn’t happen. When the bus reached Moline and there was no sign of them, that promise dissolved — and with it, one of the closest moments Jonnie has ever had to believing her daughter was coming home.

Larry’s Truck Was in Cleveland That Week

This is the detail that makes the Cleveland sightings impossible to dismiss as coincidence.

At the time of the sightings, Larry Markowski was working as a long-haul truck driver. According to Jonnie Carter, she later learned that Larry had been scheduled to make a delivery in Cleveland, Tennessee — the same town where the café sightings were occurring during those same days. It was not the same establishment; Larry’s delivery route brought him to Cleveland, not to the café itself. But the geographic overlap has never been explained.

He didn’t show up on the first day the woman and girl appeared. His truck had broken down.

On the third day — the same day the woman and girl purchased bus tickets and were last seen at the station — Larry completed his delivery in Cleveland, Tennessee.

Three Witnesses, One Identification — and One Lingering Uncertainty

All three witnesses — the waitress, the cab driver, and the bus station ticket agent — independently and confidently identified the young girl as Bethany Markowski.

They were less certain about the woman. As TBI Agent Jack Van Hooser confirmed to The Jackson Sun at the time, while the witnesses positively identified the little girl, they were not sure whether the woman with her matched the composite sketch created from the Sweetwater school encounter.

That uncertainty has never been resolved. The woman’s identity remains unknown.

What Jonnie Believes

Jonnie Carter has stated consistently and publicly that she believes the girl seen at the café in Cleveland, Tennessee was Bethany. The hair-twirling detail — a habit Jonnie had never shared publicly before the sightings were reported — remains the piece of evidence she points to most often.

The Cleveland sightings represent the last time any witness came forward claiming to have seen Bethany Markowski in the company of another person. After that April evening in 2001 at a bus station in East Tennessee, the trail went cold for fifteen years.

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What Happened to Larry Markowski’s Van After Bethany Disappeared?

March 13, 2001 — TBI Joins the Investigation

Nine days after Bethany was reported missing, the Jackson Police Department contacted the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to request help pulling cell phone records. When TBI asked why the records were needed, Jackson Police explained they were working a missing child case. TBI then asked why they hadn’t been contacted earlier.

It was a question that still haunts the case.

Once TBI officially joined, Agent Valerie Trout contacted Jonnie Carter directly. She told her they had located the van Larry Markowski had been driving the day Bethany disappeared — the same 1995 Chevrolet Astro van he had registered just six days before that final weekend.

What TBI Found — and What They Didn’t

TBI conducted a forensic examination of the van’s interior. According to Jonnie Carter, who received this information directly from Agent Valerie Trout, investigators fully expected to find Bethany’s DNA in the vehicle — she had been in it all weekend. What they did not expect were blood droplets on a pillow and a blanket found inside.

Before examining the van, investigators had asked Larry a standard question: was there any reason they might find Bethany’s blood inside?

Larry said yes. Bethany had sat on a thorn.

[Note: The current page does not state whether the blood droplets were ever successfully typed, matched to Bethany, or rendered inconclusive. If you have information about the results of the forensic analysis, please let us know so we can update this section accurately.]

What Larry Had Done to the Van Before TBI Got There

By the time TBI took possession of the vehicle, the interior had been cleaned. At minimum, the carpets had been shampooed — so thoroughly that they were still damp when examiners arrived. This is confirmed across multiple independent accounts of the case, including the Missing in Hush Town podcast, Season 2, which covered this in detail.

According to Jonnie Carter, who received this information through TBI Agent Valerie Trout, the cleaning went further than shampooing — she was told the seats had been removed and the vehicle professionally detailed as well. However, because the Foundation does not have access to the TBI’s forensic report — which remains part of an open investigation — the full scope of what was done to the van before examination cannot be independently confirmed from public records alone.

What can be said with confidence is this: the van had been cleaned before TBI forensic examiners arrived. Blood droplets were still recovered despite that cleaning. And Larry’s explanation — that Bethany had sat on a thorn — was the only account he offered for why her blood might be found inside.

There are also reports that bleach may have been used in the cleaning, though this detail has not been confirmed in any publicly available source the Foundation has been able to locate. If you have direct knowledge of the van’s condition at the time of TBI examination, please contact us.

The Van’s Journey Out of the Country

What happened to the van after the TBI examination is, if anything, more striking than what happened before it.

According to Jonnie Carter, Larry is known to have owned more than 40 vehicles over his lifetime. Of all of them, the 1995 Chevy Astro is the only one that ever left the United States.

The timeline:

Date	Event
February 26, 2001	Larry registers the van — six days before Bethany’s disappearance
March 4, 2001	Bethany last seen with Larry; van parked at Old Hickory Mall
March 13, 2001	TBI joins investigation; van located and forensically examined
April 30, 2001	Van is no longer registered to Larry Jo Markowski
May 18, 2001	Carfax records show van sold at auction in Jacksonville, Florida
June 22, 2001	Van is shipped to Puerto Rico
October 29, 2003	Van reappears with a new registered owner

From registration to shipping out of the country took less than four months. From Bethany’s disappearance to the van leaving US soil took less than four months.

Harold Roberts had told Larry he could have the van — “You just come get it and it’ll be yours” — when Larry had talked about abandoning it in Mexico. The van didn’t go to Mexico. But it did leave the country — the only vehicle of more than forty that Larry ever sent abroad.

A Correction to the Public Record

Multiple published sources — including Stories of the Unsolved — have stated that Larry was scheduled to deliver product to the same café where the woman and girl were seen in Cleveland, Tennessee in April 2001. The Foundation can confirm this is not accurate. Larry was scheduled to make a delivery in Cleveland, Tennessee — the same town — but not to the same café. His delivery route brought him to Cleveland during those same days; the café where the sightings occurred was a separate establishment. We are correcting this detail here because it has been widely repeated and we believe accuracy matters in Bethany’s case.

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In 2016, a Girl Said She Was Bethany Markowski. What Happened?

August 25, 2016 — A Call from East Tennessee

Fifteen years after Bethany disappeared, TBI Agent Cathy Ferguson called Jonnie Carter with news that stopped her cold.

“Don’t want to alarm you,” Ferguson said, “but we got a call from East Tennessee — they have a girl in custody.”

Ferguson sent Jonnie photographs. The girl had a mole on her left breast — in the same location as Bethany’s.

She had been found in the Knoxville area, significantly east of Jackson where Bethany was last reported seen. According to Jonnie Carter’s account of what she was told, a couple had come home late at night to find a young woman lying on their front porch, wet, dirty and barefoot. The woman appeared to be roughly the age Bethany would have been in 2016 — mid-twenties — though her appearance was rough and weathered. She was not immediately recognizable as Bethany. When they asked if she needed help, she said yes. When they called police, she ran. Law enforcement found her and brought her to the hospital.

What She Said — and What She Knew

At first, she said she didn’t know who she was or how she’d gotten there. After several days, she told police her name was Sarah Nicole Jackson.

Jonnie recognized those names immediately. Jackson is her sister Lori’s last name. Nicole is Lori’s daughter’s name. Police ran the identity and ruled it out. The girl then gave another name — also with the surname Jackson. When pressed again on who she was, she finally said: “I’m Bethany Markowski.”

Police ran the name. Bethany Markowski was listed as a missing child. They brought the girl an age-progressed photo of Bethany. She identified it as herself. They showed her a photograph of Jonnie and Bethany together. She pointed to Jonnie and said that was her mother.

When asked her date of birth, she gave February 1, 1990 — Bethany’s birthday.

The Details That Were Hard to Explain

The name Markowski is not common. The connection to the surname Jackson — Jonnie’s sister’s family name, and the city Bethany was reported missing from — is striking. Bethany’s exact birthdate. The mole. All of it, together, was enough that Jonnie and people close to her gathered and stayed through the night waiting for news.

Jonnie later reflected on that moment in her 2021 letter to Bethany, published on the NCMEC website:

“Thousands of tips have come in about you over the years. We even thought a few years ago that you were coming home to us. I received a call from the TBI, saying they had a girl in custody in East Tennessee and she said her name was Bethany Markowski. When I looked at the picture of this girl, I think my brain knew it was not you, but my heart was praying so hard that it was you. So many people came and stayed with me until we got the call the next day. The call started with ‘I’m sorry,’ and that is pretty much all I can remember about that call. I was beyond crushed. It was like losing you again.”

The DNA Results

The test was run three times. Each time, according to Jonnie Carter, the results came back the same: the girl was not Bethany.

Bethany’s family was never shown documentation of these results — no paperwork, no lab report, nothing in writing. They were told verbally, and that was all.

Jonnie had hoped that if Bethany’s fingerprints had ever been entered into a national database, the family could have been spared this ordeal — the girl would have been ruled out immediately without the agonizing wait. That experience became one of the driving forces behind Jonnie’s advocacy for child fingerprinting as a protective measure.

What Happened After — and What TBI Told Jonnie

Jonnie learned that the girl had been placed at Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute in Chattanooga — a state psychiatric facility serving East Tennessee. She called the hospital herself, hoping for one more chance to speak with her directly. The hospital cited patient confidentiality. No one there would let her.

Police eventually contacted Jonnie again — not with more information, but to tell her to stop trying to make contact.

When Jonnie pressed TBI for more information about who this person actually was, she was told two things. First: it was not her right to know. Second: it is not illegal to claim to be someone else, so nothing could be done.

Jonnie has never been given documentation of the DNA results. She has never been told this person’s confirmed identity. She has never been permitted to speak with her. And the questions of how this woman knew what she knew — Bethany’s full name, her exact birthdate, her mother’s face, the connection to the name Jackson — have never been answered, officially or otherwise.

The Foundation has information that may help identify this individual and is consulting on whether and how it can be shared responsibly. If you have any knowledge of this person or this incident, please contact us at findbethany.org/tips.

Questions That Have Never Been Answered

The family has sat with these questions ever since:

• Why did this girl claim to be Bethany Markowski specifically?
• How did she know the name Markowski — an uncommon surname?
• How did she know Bethany’s exact date of birth?
• Why did she use the surname Jackson repeatedly — the name of Bethany’s aunt and the city Bethany disappeared from?
• Could she have encountered Bethany somewhere — possibly through sex trafficking networks?
• If DNA ruled her out, who is she — and why has no one ever said?

Bethany’s family does not know the answers to any of these questions. They may never know. What they do know is that for one night in 2016, it felt like Bethany was coming home — and then that feeling was taken away.

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Is Bethany Markowski Still Missing? What Is the Current Status of Her Case?

Bethany Markowski is 36 years old today. She has been missing for 25 years. Her case remains open and active.

Official Case Status

Bethany’s case is currently classified as Endangered Missing by both the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It has never been closed. The case carries three active identification numbers:

• TBI Case #01-4723 — Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
• NCMEC #906662 — National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (view poster)
• NamUs #4238 — National Missing and Unidentified Persons System
• FBI Kidnapping — Active wanted listing

The assigned TBI investigator is Agent Cathy Ferguson, who has worked the case for years and has spoken publicly about it on multiple occasions, including in a 2018 Crime Watch Daily interview in which she stated: “I’ve worked numerous missing children cases and I’ve never had a father react the way that Larry did.”

Larry Markowski has not been ruled out as a suspect. No charges have ever been filed in connection with Bethany’s disappearance.

What Has Changed Since 2001

The case has remained active and has seen renewed attention in recent years:

2017 — Tennessee Missing Children’s Day established on March 4, the anniversary of Bethany’s disappearance, through legislation co-authored by Jonnie Carter and Rep. Darren Jernigan. Tennessee Code § 15-2-127. More about TMCD →

2018 — Larry Markowski spoke publicly on camera for the first time since 2001, in a Crime Watch Daily segment and a WBBJ-TV interview. He maintained his innocence. TBI Agent Ferguson confirmed publicly that his cooperation with the investigation has been limited.

2019 — NBC Dateline published a major feature on the 18th anniversary of Bethany’s disappearance.

2021 — People Magazine published a significant feature including interviews with Jonnie Carter and TBI Agent Cathy Ferguson. Jonnie published an open letter to Bethany on the NCMEC website on the 20th anniversary.

2025 — The Bethany Markowski Foundation, Inc. was incorporated as a Tennessee 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN: 41-2321010), formally establishing an organizational structure dedicated to Bethany’s case and to supporting other families of missing children across Tennessee.

2025 — WBBJ-TV published a new in-depth feature on the case, including an extensive new interview with Jonnie Carter.

2026 — CNN published a major feature on the 25th anniversary of Bethany’s disappearance, connecting her case to broader conversations about long-term missing children in America.

2026 — The Foundation held its first Tennessee Missing Children’s Day event at the Capitol Theatre in Lebanon, Tennessee on March 4, 2026 — the 25th anniversary of Bethany’s disappearance — featuring law enforcement speakers, free child fingerprinting, and a candlelight vigil.

Ongoing — A forensic review of case evidence is currently underway. The Foundation is not able to share further details at this time as the review is active.

Age-Progressed Images

NCMEC has developed and updated age-progressed images of Bethany over the years. The most recent progression, updated in 2024, depicts what Bethany may look like today at age 36. These images are available on the NCMEC poster and throughout this website.

Tennessee Missing Children’s Day

Tennessee Missing Children’s Day is observed annually on March 4 — the date of Bethany’s disappearance. Jonnie Carter was instrumental in advocating for the legislation that established it as an official state observance. The day honors all missing and exploited children across Tennessee.

The Foundation hosts an annual event each March 4. Learn more and get involved →

How You Can Help

Bethany’s case has never been solved. That means someone, somewhere, knows something that could change everything.

If you have a tip or information:

The best way to make sure your tip reaches people who will act on it is to contact us directly. When you submit to the Foundation, it goes straight to Jonnie and the people closest to this case. We will not let your tip get lost.

• Submit a tip (anonymous or not) →
• TBI tip line: 1-800-TBI-FIND
• NCMEC tip line: 1-800-THE-LOST
• Email: team@findbethany.org

If you have general information about the case, remember something from 2001, or want to get involved:

• Get involved →
• Share Bethany’s story →
• Join the newsletter →

Bethany’s mother Jonnie, and everyone at The Bethany Markowski Foundation, search for her every single day. We will not stop until she is found.

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Sources & Resources

Report a Tip

If you have any information about Bethany’s case — no matter how small it seems — please reach out. Every detail matters.

Submit directly to the family:
findbethany.org/tips — anonymous submissions accepted

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation:
📞 1-800-TBI-FIND (1-800-824-3463)
✉️ TipsToTBI@tn.gov

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children:
📞 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678)

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Official Case Listings

• FBI — Bethany Leanne Markowski (Active Kidnapping Listing)
• NCMEC — Official Missing Poster, Case #906662
• TBI — Official Missing Child Flyer (PDF)
• NamUs — Case #4238
• The Charley Project — Bethany Leanne Markowski
• Polly Klaas Foundation — Bethany Leanne Markowski

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Media Coverage

Television & Video

• WBBJ-TV — “Still Missing: What happened to Bethany Markowski?” (January 2025)
• WBBJ-TV — “Missing girl’s father speaks out for first time in 17 years” (May 2018)
• WBBJ-TV — “Mother remains hopeful for missing daughter 17 years after disappearance” (May 2018)
• CNN — “Bethany Markowski vanished 25 years ago. After decades of grieving, her mother still hasn’t given up hope” (March 2026)
• Crime Watch Daily / True Crime News — “What happened to Bethany Markowski?” (2018)
• Silvers on the Scene — YouTube scene investigation
• The Montel Williams Show — Jonnie Carter appearance (~2002) (clip on file with the Foundation; not publicly available online)

Print & Online

• NBC News/Dateline — “Bethany Markowski still missing after 18 years” (March 2019)
• People Magazine — “Tennessee Girl Who Vanished in 2001 at 11 Years Old: Mom Hopes for Reunion” (2021)
• WKRN — “Case that inspired TN Missing Children’s Day goes 23 years unsolved” (March 2024)
• Stories of the Unsolved — “The Disappearance of Bethany Markowski” (2024)
• NCMEC Blog — “Dear Bethany: 20 Years Missing” (March 2021)
• The Wilson Post — “Searching for Bethany” (March 2018)

Podcasts

• Missing in Hush Town — Season 2: Bethany Markowski
• Searching for Ghosts — Season 2: Where Is Bethany Markowski?

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Research & Case Resources

• We The Missing — “Bethany Markowski: March 4, 2001 — Jackson, Tennessee, USA” (The Foundation credits this as the most detailed independent case resource and the foundation of much of the research on this page. Our sincere thanks to Terynn Boulton for this work.)
• Google Map — Key Case Locations (by We The Missing)
• Tennessee General Assembly — HB1826/SB1806 (Tennessee Missing Children’s Day legislation)
• Help Find Bethany Markowski — Community Facebook Group
• r/FindBethanyMarkowski — Reddit community

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About This Article

This article was written and maintained by Jordan Farrell, Secretary and Communications Lead of The Bethany Markowski Foundation, Inc. — and Bethany’s cousin. It represents the most comprehensive public account of Bethany’s case to date, drawing on law enforcement statements, official missing posters, court documents, archived newspaper coverage, podcast transcripts, and direct accounts from Bethany’s mother, Jonnie Carter.

Where information comes from Jonnie’s personal account rather than a published independent source, we say so. We believe transparency about sourcing is part of honoring Bethany’s case accurately.

This page was last updated: [June 2026]

The Bethany Markowski Foundation, Inc. is a Tennessee 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
EIN: 41-2321010 | findbethany.org | team@findbethany.org | (615) 784-3287