WA TEEKAH LEWIS: Missing from Tacoma, WA - 23 Jan 1999 - Age 2 (3 Viewers)

Teekah's photo is shown age-progressed to 17 years. She was last seen on January 23, 1999, at approximately 10:30 p.m. at the New Frontier Lanes bowling alley in Tacoma, Washington. Teekah is Biracial. She is Black and American Indian. Teekah was wearing a Tweety Bird T-shirt, white sweat pants and Air Jordan sneakers. She has eczema, with a skin discoloration on her face and left side of her buttocks. Teekah's ears are pierced. When she was last seen, her hair had a silver streak on the front right side. Teekah may require medical attention.
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Teekah and nearly a dozen of her family spent the evening of January 23, 1999 at New Frontier Lanes bowling alley on Center Street in Tacoma, Washington. Teekah was last seen playing a race car video game in the arcade section of the alley between 10:00 and 10:15 p.m.

She was a few feet from her family members and approximately six feet from the building's exit. Teekah's mother, Theresa English, said that she turned away for a moment and the child vanished. She has never been seen again. An extensive search of the area produced few clues as to her whereabouts.

A witness at the bowling alley told authorities that an unidentified maroon Pontiac Grand Am sped out of the parking lot during the night Teekah disappeared. The vehicle may have had four doors and was possibly a late 1980s or early 1990s model with dark-tinted windows and a large spoiler.

Another witness stated that an unidentified Caucasian man may have followed a child to one of the alley's exits during the night. The individual is described as being in his thirties with shoulder-length brown hair, facial pockmarks, a mustache and a large nose. Investigators do not know if the vehicle or the unidentified man are connected to Teekah's case.

NCMEC -

Have you seen this child? TEEKAH LEWIS

Missing From: TACOMA, WA. Missing Date: 01/23/1999. Teekah's photo is shown age-progressed to 17 years. She was last seen on January 23, 1999, at approximately 10:30 p.m. at the New Frontier Lanes bowling alley in Tacoma, Washington. Teekah is Biracial. She is Black and American Indian. Teekah...

api.missingkids.org

NamUs -

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

Doe Network -

The Doe Network: Case File 2486DFWA

Charley Project -

Teekah Latres Lewis – The Charley Project

edited by staff to add media link

TEEKAH LEWIS has been missing from a busy bowling alley in Tacoma, #WASHINGTON since 23 Jan 1999.

Teekah and nearly a dozen of her family spent the evening at New Frontier Lanes bowling alley. She was a few feet from her family and six feet from the building's exit. Teekah's mother said that she turned away for a moment and the child...

www.crimewatchers.net

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

They know all about the house. I'm sure someone who knows how to look that sort of stuff up could easily find names. Investigators already know.

https://amp.thenewstribune.com/news/local/crime/article306843371.html

Tacoma home being searched in cold case once was a presumed drug house​

The home was once used as a place for methamphetamine users to buy their drugs and get rid of stolen property, according to a 2003 search warrant obtained by The News Tribune.

The current occupants of the home are not related to the case in any way.

The home was once used as a place for methamphetamine users to buy their drugs and get rid of stolen property, according to a 2003 search warrant obtained by The News Tribune.

An investigation into the home began after a woman reported her 1986 Toyota truck was stolen from a grocery store at South 19th Street on May 10, 2003. Her truck was later found after a man, who was driving it, left the vehicle behind to steal someone’s dirt bike, documents show. The dirt bike owner reported the incident and truck to police.

The truck’s owner told police that empty of boxes of pseudoephedrine and lithium boxes were in the vehicle, but that they did not belong to her, documents show. Detectives believed the items were used to make methamphetamine.

Documents show a pay stub was also found that belonged to another person whose vehicle was stolen. The stolen-vehicle suspect previously admitted to detectives that he got the car from the owner of the Gunnison Street home. A telephone bill and Washington license plate in the truck also tracked back to the homeowner, documents show.

The previous owner reportedly received the house through his father’s will, documents show. The TPD drug unit at the time was aware of complaints that the home was used as a drug house.

Documents show that methamphetamine users would typically steal cars for valuable items in them. They would also use the stolen vehicle to go to drug locations, documents show.

Through records, detectives determined that 26 stolen vehicles had been recovered in the area of the Gunnison Street home within the past 12 months, documents show.

A witness who was familiar with the home told detectives that the house contained stolen items such as car stereos and speakers, documents show. There were also stolen car parts in the backyard, which a detective noted when they went by the home.

Another witness told detectives the previous year that car thieves would get orders from people at the home on what type of vehicles to steal, documents show.

The warrant shows that evidence investigators were looking for included:

• Records, notes, book and other papers related to the transportation, ordering, purchase and distribution of stolen property
• Information such as addresses or telephone numbers of any co-conspirators
• Any firearms and munitions
• Stolen property belonging to the victims
• Property within that was determined to be stolen
• Equipment used for the theft and/or dismantling of vehicles. This includes rings of car keys, lock picks, lock-out kits, pry bars and screwdrivers.

Online real estate records show the home was sold in March 2004. The home’s most recent sale was in July 2015.

 

[Kimster]

Okay, wow! I still am left wondering if Suspect Doe had ties to that house.

 

[Tresir]

Ok so Officer Dier came on the case in 2020 or 2021 she says and interviewed pock mark face but when she returned, he had died. So that must be fairly recent. The woman who took the other girl but mum retrieved her from the car, has also been interviewed but is too far gone to give any info or make any sense. This is all very convenient. So is there any connection between these two people? I noticed that the property that was searched had a Shiloh Baptist church van parked outside and google street view shows the van also. The Baptist church owns and rents 58 apartments in the area near there. I wonder if the family and/or the two suspects were members of that church?

It all seems conveniently untraceable at the moment and is concerning that no leads were pursued at the time. Why was that?

 

[Tresir]

They know all about the house. I'm sure someone who knows how to look that sort of stuff up could easily find names. Investigators already know.



The home was once used as a place for methamphetamine users to buy their drugs and get rid of stolen property, according to a 2003 search warrant obtained by The News Tribune.

An investigation into the home began after a woman reported her 1986 Toyota truck was stolen from a grocery store at South 19th Street on May 10, 2003. Her truck was later found after a man, who was driving it, left the vehicle behind to steal someone’s dirt bike, documents show. The dirt bike owner reported the incident and truck to police.

The truck’s owner told police that empty of boxes of pseudoephedrine and lithium boxes were in the vehicle, but that they did not belong to her, documents show. Detectives believed the items were used to make methamphetamine.

Documents show a pay stub was also found that belonged to another person whose vehicle was stolen. The stolen-vehicle suspect previously admitted to detectives that he got the car from the owner of the Gunnison Street home. A telephone bill and Washington license plate in the truck also tracked back to the homeowner, documents show.

The previous owner reportedly received the house through his father’s will, documents show. The TPD drug unit at the time was aware of complaints that the home was used as a drug house.

Documents show that methamphetamine users would typically steal cars for valuable items in them. They would also use the stolen vehicle to go to drug locations, documents show.

Through records, detectives determined that 26 stolen vehicles had been recovered in the area of the Gunnison Street home within the past 12 months, documents show.

A witness who was familiar with the home told detectives that the house contained stolen items such as car stereos and speakers, documents show. There were also stolen car parts in the backyard, which a detective noted when they went by the home.

Another witness told detectives the previous year that car thieves would get orders from people at the home on what type of vehicles to steal, documents show.

The warrant shows that evidence investigators were looking for included:

• Records, notes, book and other papers related to the transportation, ordering, purchase and distribution of stolen property
• Information such as addresses or telephone numbers of any co-conspirators
• Any firearms and munitions
• Stolen property belonging to the victims
• Property within that was determined to be stolen
• Equipment used for the theft and/or dismantling of vehicles. This includes rings of car keys, lock picks, lock-out kits, pry bars and screwdrivers.

Online real estate records show the home was sold in March 2004. The home’s most recent sale was in July 2015.

So what do the 2003 crime and a recent search have to do with Teekah's kidnap and the other girl's attempted kidnap? That is what LE need to determine and/or share.

Did they also traffic stolen children in addition to running a meth house and dealing in stolen property? How is it LE can investigate and track stolen vehicles but not stolen children?

26 vehicles recovered in the last 12 months plus witness reports of numerous stolen car steros and radios plus stolen car parts on the premises.

 

[GrandmaBear]

So what do the 2003 crime and a recent search have to do with Teekah's kidnap and the other girl's attempted kidnap? That is what LE need to determine and/or share.

Did they also traffic children in addition to running a meth house and dealing in stolen property? How is it LE can investigate and track stolen vehicles but not stolen children?

Good questions. Things that bother me from that night were of course, the other child was taken, the mother claims to have been watching and when she couldn't asked her relatives, etc. to watch who seemed not to and let children disappear under their watch, or was anyone truly ever watching any of them? Were any of the family part of this "ring" etc.? Mom SEEMED to care, she raised the alarm, she has fought for years. M

I will say thought a 2 year old free at a bowling alley is a bit not wise imo unless you flat out trust another child or someone to be watching her.

If she's telling the truth, every person she asked to keep any eye on the younger ones while she took her turn bowling failed her out of her OWN family. It's all VERY odd, the weird things that happened that night and the odds of them.

The church was an interesting mention too. Same kind of thing came up in Summer Wells case... I'll leave that there.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Family honors missing girl Teekah Lewis with holiday toy drive

Teekah Lewis' mother, Theresa Czapiewski, is launching the first-ever “Hope for Teekah, Joy for Every Child” toy drive on Dec. 6.

www.king5.com

Family honors missing girl Teekah Lewis with holiday toy drive​

Twenty-six years after 2-year-old Teekah Lewis vanished from a Tacoma bowling alley, her family is turning their grief into a mission of generosity — one they hope will keep her memory alive while helping children in need.

Teekah’s mother, Theresa Czapiewski, is launching the first-ever “Hope for Teekah, Joy for Every Child” toy drive on Dec. 6, an effort she says brings her daughter’s spirit into a holiday season that has long been painful.

“As the days get closer to Christmas, it gets more emotional for me, because she should be here with us celebrating Christmas. She shouldn't be anywhere else,” Czapiewski said.

Inside her Tacoma home, Christmas decorations are already up, and presents are piling beneath the tree, not for her own grandchildren, but for children she has never met. Half of the toys will go to patients at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, and the rest will be delivered directly to local families who need them most.

“Christmas was Teekah’s holiday. She loved being around family. She loved when her grandma gave her gifts,” Czapiewski said. “I think every child should have that star in their eyes when they open something on Christmas morning.”

Now a grandmother to 16, Czapiewski says her purpose has expanded: hold onto hope for her daughter and help families facing hardship.

“My mission now is to find out what happened to my daughter and help other families that are going through this,” she said. “I wouldn't wish this on anybody. No mother or father should have to go through what I’ve been through in 26 years.”

She believes the toy drive can do both: ease her pain and potentially spark new information.

Detectives say renewed attention can make a difference in a cold case built almost entirely on witness memory.

After 26 years, “this case relies almost entirely on people coming forward,” investigators told KING 5. Without physical evidence from that night, events that bring Teekah’s name and photo back into the public eye can spur new leads or jog long-buried recollections.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/crime/article314221157.html

Vigil to be held for missing Tacoma child: ‘It will be a special one’
Theresa Czapiewski, Teekah’s mother, told The News Tribune it has been a hard 27 years since her daughter went missing.

“All I want right now is closure. I’ve always asked all these years is closure to my daughter’s case,” she said.

The last time Teekah’s name made headlines was in May 2025 during a search at a Tacoma house on South Gunnison Street.

Police and detectives spent three days searching the home after receiving a tip in Teekah’s case. The search ended with no results.

Czapiewski said she has not heard much from investigators regarding her daughter’s case.

“I will never give up on finding my daughter, regardless if it is bad news or good news. I just want to know,” she said.

Czapiewski and her family are holding a candlelight vigil on Jan. 23 at 6:30 p.m. at 4602 Center St. on the side of The Home Depot there. Czapiewski will speak as well as some of her daughters and her 11-year-old grandson.

This year, Czapiewski said, they are asking the community to come out and support her family for a special announcement that will be made during the vigil. She is also hoping interim Police Chief Patti Jackson and Mayor Anders Ibsen will attend.

“This vigil, yes, it’s the 27th anniversary, but this one will be a special one,” Czapiewski said.

More information on the candlelight vigil can be found on the “Help find Missing Teekah Lewis” Facebook page.

 

[Kimster]

This is in my top five missing children cases that I want solved!!!!!!!!!!!!! Never give up!

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

This is in my top five missing children cases that I want solved!!!!!!!!!!!!! Never give up!

It's up there for me too.
I hope to be able to go to the vigil this year. I've gone in the past, but not for several years.

 

[GrandmaBear]

It's an unforgettable one, that is for sure.

I don't suppose we can hope this special announcement at the vigil might relate to the case? Doubtful I suppose.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Unfortunately I wasn't able to attend last night. Ended up having to work. But here is the announcement:

Teekah Lewis' mother launches foundation to support families of missing children

At the annual vigil for Teekah Lewis, a toddler who went missing 27-years ago, Teekah’s mother announced the opening of Teekah's Legacy Foundation.

komonews.com

Teekah Lewis' mother launches foundation to support families of missing children
At the annual vigil for Teekah Lewis, a toddler who went missing 27-years ago, Teekah’s mother announced the opening of Teekah's Legacy Foundation.

In a statement, the foundation stated:

We never had the support we have now, and that is why we created Teekah’s Legacy Foundation; a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping families who may find themselves in similar situations. Our mission is to provide resources, guidance, and a compassionate community for those in need, while also serving as a resource for the community that has honored Teekah’s name for decades.

Our goal is to give hope, support, and assistance to ensure that no child goes forgotten.

Stay tuned for upcoming community events, resources, and ways to get involved as we continue Teekah’s legacy.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Saw this on scanner chatter on Facebook earlier. Apparently this same person has claimed to be Teekah before, and her family says it is NOT her.

Tacoma police investigating individual who says they are Teekah Lewis, missing since 1999

Tacoma police said Thursday they are investigating a new claim from a person who came to police headquarters and said they are Teekah Lewis, the child who disappeared from a Tacoma bowling alley in 1999.

www.kiro7.com

Tacoma police investigating individual who says they are Teekah Lewis, missing since 1999​

Tacoma police said Thursday they are investigating a new claim from a person who came to police headquarters and said they are Teekah Lewis, the child who disappeared from a Tacoma bowling alley in 1999.

According to the Tacoma Police Department, similar claims tend to surface around the anniversary of Lewis’ disappearance, when annual memorials are held.

Police said those reports have come by email, phone calls and in person over the years, and each one is investigated individually.

The process can include DNA testing, police said.

 

[Guess Who]

Saw this on scanner chatter on Facebook earlier. Apparently this same person has claimed to be Teekah before, and her family says it is NOT her.

Tacoma police investigating individual who says they are Teekah Lewis, missing since 1999

Tacoma police said Thursday they are investigating a new claim from a person who came to police headquarters and said they are Teekah Lewis, the child who disappeared from a Tacoma bowling alley in 1999.

www.kiro7.com

Tacoma police investigating individual who says they are Teekah Lewis, missing since 1999​

Tacoma police said Thursday they are investigating a new claim from a person who came to police headquarters and said they are Teekah Lewis, the child who disappeared from a Tacoma bowling alley in 1999.

According to the Tacoma Police Department, similar claims tend to surface around the anniversary of Lewis’ disappearance, when annual memorials are held.

Police said those reports have come by email, phone calls and in person over the years, and each one is investigated individually.

The process can include DNA testing, police said.

Can or does include DNA testing? If they did it once and it came that she doesn't match and she's still insistent, make her pay for future ones. It'll either change out the same as the first ones or it will possibly prove the first one was done improperly. Do it again, but make her pay for them.