On June 15, 1999, the quiet city of Riverside was marked by the disappearance of an 18-year-old girl named Ashley Crawford. That sunny afternoon, the teenager went out to her front yard to get the mail. A few minutes later, her mother called her in for lunch, but Ashley didn’t return. The mail was left lying on the ground, and from then on, nothing was the same.

For years, police investigated her. They interviewed neighbors, friends, and teachers, and searched every corner of the city, but found no trace. The case was classified as a disappearance with suspected kidnapping, and over time, it ended up going cold. For Ashley’s parents, David and Liada Crawford, the pain of not knowing what happened to their daughter became a wound that was impossible to heal. In 2003, overwhelmed by sadness, they moved to Arizona in search of their new beginning.

However, 16 years later, the mystery returned with a vengeance. In August 2015, Rebecca Thompson, Ashley’s mother and lifelong neighbor, was working in her garden when a metallic tap beneath the soil changed everything. Digging up next to an old oak tree, she discovered a small, corroded marker. Inside was a butterfly necklace—the same one Ashley had been wearing the day she disappeared—and a handwritten note.

The words shook Rebecca:

“If anything happens to me, find out the truth about Dr. Breppa. Clinic basement, room B7. Ashley Crawford, June 15, 1999.”

The discovery not only gave the family hope, it also raised suspicions about someone untouchable: Dr. Harold Breppa, the family physician since Ashley’s childhood and one of the most respected figures in the community. Breppa was known not only for his private practice, but also for his contributions to charities and his role on the municipal council. He had even led part of the search when Ashley disappeared.

Detective Marcs Rodríguez, who was tasked with reopening the case, wasted no time searching the clinic. In the basement, specifically room B7, he discovered something disturbing: on the wall, behind the shelves, were barely visible letters that read “HELP.” Although it had been painted several times, the trail was still there.

The investigation soon revealed more suspicious events. The clinic nurse herself confessed that, at her last appointment, Ashley had undergone extensive blood draws and that the doctor saw her alone, something that is rare in routine examinations. Ashley, according to her mother and closest friend, was cheerful during those days and complained of pain and anxiety, something very unusual for her.

What seemed like a simple suspicion turned into a pattern when Rodriguez reviewed medical records and discovered that other young patients had gone through similar situations before disappearing. Between 1997 and 2008, at least five girls between the ages of 18 and 21, all Breppa patients, vanished after medical appointments that included “special” blood tests. At this time, the cases are attributed to voluntary flight, domestic violence or isolated disappearances. No one weighed the sight.

Even his own colleagues on the police force, such as retired detective Warren Hayes, co-confessed that he suspected Breppa. The doctor had earned everyone’s trust, actively participated in the search and showed pain that seemed athetic. However, the recent findings painted a very different profile: that of a calculating predator whose only prestige is to hide crimes.

Testimonies from the clinic’s security guards added more pieces to the puzzle. Some recalled seeing the doctor enter the basement in the early hours, at times when the clinic was supposedly closed. Others reported strange noises from the area where ward B7 was located.

As the investigation progressed, Dr. Breppa’s spotless past crumbled. The pattern of disappearances, altered medical reports, and hidden evidence in his own clinical setting placed him at the center of all suspicion. However, the hardest part was still to come: compelling evidence that could bring him to justice.

For the Crawford family and for Rebecca, the discovery of that pot meant much more than a clue. It was Ashley’s voice that pierced 16 years of silence, a desperate message that, buried in the garden, managed to come out into the light to demand answers.

Today, the Ashley Crawford case remains one of Riverside’s most vexing. More than an unsolved mystery, it represents the danger of blindly trusting appearances and how even pillars of society can harbor dark secrets. The echoes of the buried pot still remain: What did Ashley know, and why did she survive to tell the tale?