On May 17, 2001, 17-year-old Alissa Turney disappeared in Phoenix, Arizona. It was the final day of her junior year at Paradise Valley High School. She had friends, a job, a boyfriend, and plans for greater independence. By the end of that day, however, no one outside her home could confirm where she was.
| Alissa Turney, who disappeared from Phoenix, Arizona, on May 17, 2001. |
The disappearance was initially treated as a runaway case. A note allegedly written by Alissa said she was leaving for California, and her stepfather, Michael Turney, reported that she had left after an argument. No confirmed sighting later established that she reached California or left Phoenix safely.
Alissa left important belongings behind, and her younger sister, Sarah, grew up without a clear explanation. Over time, investigators reconsidered the circumstances, examined the Turney home, and eventually brought a murder charge that would end in an acquittal. Alissa herself has never been found.
The Last Day of School
Official case information places Alissa near East Bell Road and North 34th Street at about noon on May 17. This remains the last confirmed area associated with her disappearance.
Michael told authorities that he picked her up from school around lunchtime. According to his account, they ate together, argued, and he later left her at home. He then reported her missing that evening.
A note found in Alissa’s room said she was going to California. Official notices describe the note as alleged rather than treating it as conclusive proof that she left voluntarily. Reports also documented that her cellphone, car, clothing, and other belongings remained behind.
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| The alleged runaway note found after Alissa Turney disappeared, claiming she had gone to California. |
A Runaway Story With Missing Pieces
The runaway explanation did not resolve several important questions. Alissa had planned to attend a gathering that night, but she never arrived. She also left behind items that would normally be useful to someone intending to begin a new life elsewhere.
Michael later said he received a brief call from a California number on May 24. The call did not produce a verified location, an independent sighting, or further confirmed contact from Alissa.
Because police initially saw the case as a voluntary departure, the response did not begin as a suspected homicide investigation. That early classification shaped the evidence available years later, when detectives tried to reconstruct a day that had not been treated as a possible crime scene.
Life Inside the Home
After Alissa’s mother died, Michael raised Alissa and Sarah in the Phoenix home. Sarah was 12 when her sister disappeared and initially accepted much of the account she was given. As she grew older and reviewed investigative material, recordings, and family videos, her understanding of the household changed.
Investigators and later reporting described an extensive system of cameras and audio recording equipment in the home. Friends and relatives portrayed Michael as highly controlling and said Alissa knew she was being monitored. Michael maintained that the surveillance was intended for security.
Witnesses also reported allegations that Alissa had made about inappropriate conduct by Michael. He denied abusing her, and the allegations did not result in a conviction. They remain part of the case history because they influenced how investigators and people close to Alissa interpreted the household, but they cannot by themselves establish what happened on May 17.
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| Alissa Turney with her stepfather, Michael Turney, in an undated family photo. |
A False Lead Reopens the Case
In 2006, convicted murderer Thomas Hymer claimed that he had killed Alissa. Phoenix police investigated the statement and determined that he had not been connected to her. Hymer acknowledged that he might have confused her with someone else.
The false claim did not locate Alissa, but it returned investigative attention to the case. Detectives reopened the disappearance and conducted new interviews, after which their focus moved toward Michael.
In 2008, authorities obtained a warrant to search the Turney home. The search produced no remains and no direct physical evidence establishing what happened to Alissa.
The 2008 Raid
During the December 2008 search, authorities discovered improvised explosive devices, firearms, homemade silencers, and written material describing an intended attack on a union hall. These discoveries led to a separate federal prosecution.
Michael later pleaded guilty to possessing unregistered destructive devices. The explosives case was serious, but it was legally distinct from Alissa’s disappearance and did not prove that he had harmed her.
The search nevertheless changed the direction and public understanding of the investigation. It placed the disappearance within a household already under scrutiny while also showing the limits of inference. Evidence of one crime cannot substitute for proof of another.
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| Michael Turney, Alissa Turney’s stepfather. |
Sarah Turney Refuses to Let the Case Fade
Sarah Turney spent years keeping her sister’s case visible through interviews, social media, public records, and her podcast, Voices for Justice. She shared documents and recordings while asking investigators and the public to reconsider the original runaway account.
Her advocacy introduced Alissa’s case to a much wider audience and maintained pressure for answers. It also demonstrated the difficult position of a relative who must speak publicly about a loved one while a criminal investigation is still developing.
Sarah has consistently expressed her belief that Michael was responsible. That belief deserves to be identified as her position, while the legal record must also reflect that the murder charge against him ended in an acquittal.
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| Alissa Turney with her younger sister, Sarah Turney, in a childhood family photo. |
The Arrest
In August 2020, a Maricopa County grand jury indicted Michael Turney on a charge of second-degree murder in connection with Alissa’s presumed death. The arrest was the first homicide charge filed in the case.
The prosecution relied largely on circumstantial evidence, witness accounts, the history inside the home, and the weaknesses in the runaway narrative. Alissa’s remains had not been recovered, and prosecutors had no confirmed crime scene or murder weapon.
Michael maintained his innocence. The indictment allowed the state to bring the case to trial, but it did not reduce the prosecution’s obligation to present substantial evidence supporting every element of the charge.
The 2023 Trial
Michael’s trial began in July 2023. After the prosecution presented six days of testimony, the defense requested a judgment of acquittal under Arizona’s Rule 20. The rule requires an acquittal when the evidence is insufficient to support a conviction.
The judge granted the motion before the case went to the jury. Michael was acquitted and released from custody.
The ruling resolved the criminal charge in Michael’s favor. It did not identify where Alissa went or determine another explanation for her disappearance. The court’s decision was narrower: the evidence presented by the state was not legally sufficient to permit a conviction.
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| Michael Turney during court proceedings in Arizona. |
What the Acquittal Did Not Resolve
The acquittal did not confirm that Alissa left voluntarily. It did not explain the belongings she left behind, provide a verified California sighting, or establish any contact from her after May 2001.
The case therefore remains divided between two different questions. A criminal court considered whether the state had presented enough evidence against Michael. The missing person investigation asks where Alissa is and what happened to her. The first question received a legal answer in 2023. The second did not.
Recognizing that distinction is essential. Suspicion cannot replace proof in court, and an acquittal cannot supply a missing person’s location.
Where Could Alissa Be?
Alissa has never been found, and the public evidence does not support naming a specific location. The California account rests on the alleged note and Michael’s report of a later phone call. Neither produced a confirmed sighting.
Phoenix remains the last verified area connected to Alissa, but that fact does not establish that she remained there. Later claims and investigative leads pointed in different directions without locating her.
The most accurate conclusion is therefore limited. Alissa’s whereabouts after May 17, 2001, are unknown. Any more specific claim would go beyond the evidence currently available to the public.
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| Dateline cold case graphic highlighting Alissa Turney’s disappearance from Phoenix, Arizona, on May 17, 2001. |
Alissa Is Still Missing
Official records continue to list Alissa Marie Turney as missing. Silent Witness describes the circumstances as suspicious and continues to request information about the case.
The arrest, trial, acquittal, documentaries, and public campaigns have not changed that central status. Alissa remains missing, and the official case lists the suspect as unknown.
Alissa should be remembered as more than the subject of a disputed prosecution. She was a 17-year-old approaching adulthood, with relationships, work, plans, and a future that remains unaccounted for. Sarah’s advocacy has kept her name in public view, but the purpose of that attention is still the same: to learn what happened to Alissa and, if possible, bring her home.
Sources: Silent Witness missing person information for Alissa Turney, NamUs missing person case MP1333, FBI records on Michael Turney’s guilty plea for possession of unregistered destructive devices, ABC News reporting on the Turney home search and surveillance system, People reporting on Alissa’s disappearance and the 2023 acquittal, 12News coverage of the Rule 20 acquittal, and public reporting on Sarah Turney’s Voices for Justice advocacy.