Sarah Turney turns to TikTok for help
Arizona native Sarah Turney has turned to TikTok for help after her sister Alissa went missing nearly 20 years ago.
The 31-year-old is convinced her father Michael Turney played a role in the disappearance.
Sarah was just 12-years-old when her then 17-year-old sister Alissa went missing in 2001.
It happened on the last day of her junior year at Paradise Valley High School in Phoenix, Arizona.
The sisters lived with Sarah's father Michael, who legally adopted Alissa after their mother died of cancer.
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Sarah told NBC Dateline that they found her sister's usually tidy room in a mess.
They called her mobile phone only to find it was left behind on her dresser, along with a note, 'in Alissa’s loopy handwriting.'
The note revealed she was running away to California.
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Sarah said this wasn't unusual, considering she and her sister had dreamed of visiting their aunt, who lived there.
However, Alissa never visited her aunt in California.
The sibling was classified as a runaway, and at the time her family believed this to be true.
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Suspicion
It wasn't until 2008 that the case was reopened and foul play became a factor.
Allegations of sexual abuse against Michael Turney brought the case back into the spotlight.
Police searched the home where Alissa had lived and they found a lot of very worrying items.
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According to NBC, they acquired, 'multiple videotapes, dating back to the 1980s, including surveillance footage from around the house.'
However, there was no footage to be found from the day of Alissa's disappearance.
According to Sarah, they also found, '26 pipe bombs - the largest pipe bomb bust in Phoenix history.'
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At the time, Sarah didn't believe any of it, but she eventually came around.
As per NBC, Michael was sentenced to a maximum of 10 years in prison in 2010, but he was released in 2017.
Sarah claims the police told her they'd arrest him for the murder of her sister once he gets out.
However, that never happened.
Sarah claimed police told her that the best way for this to happen would be for her to get some media exposure.
So she set up a TikTok account to raise awareness and campaign for justice for Alissa.
@saraheturney
TikTok
Sarah shared her story on TikTok and managed to accumulate over 712k followers.
In her bio, she points viewers towards her podcast The Voices for Justice to learn about Alissa's story.
@saraheturneyHow does this happen? ##justiceforalissa ##fyp ##foryou ##foryourpage ##sisters ##love ##voicesforjusticepodcast♬ original sound - saraheturney
Sarah's massive following have been hugely supportive of her.
One user even gave a recap of the whole story in 60 seconds to help get the word out.
Sarah shared it on her own TikTok and thanked the follower for her help.
@saraheturney##duet with @felicitybrookem Thank you so much for this Felicity. Listen to The Crime Vine Podcast to learn more. ##justiceforalissa ##fyp ##foryou♬ Suspense - Dreamtime
Sarah also paid tribute to her sister on Father's Day.
@saraheturneyHappy Father’s Day to the woman who raised me. Forever fighting for you Alissa. ##justiceforalissa ##fathersday ##voicesforjusticepodcast ##progress ##fyp♬ iFYOUUSETHISSOUNDFOLLOWMEEE - puppet_200
Sarah's story has reached multiple online outlets following its success on TikTok.
