An anonymous donor is offering $250,000 for information in the unsolved murder of Carina Saunders in Bethany, News9 reported.
Saunders was 19 when her dismembered body was found Oct. 13, 2011, inside a duffel bag near a Homeland grocery store at NW 23rd Street and Rockwell Avenue. Animal advocates placing traps for feral cats detected the odor and called Bethany police.
The reward, posted by an anonymous donor, covers information leading to an arrest and conviction. Sara Saunders, Carina's sister and a private investigator who also works in law enforcement, told News9 that a new Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) agent has been assigned to the case and is reviewing boxes of evidence.
"I have dug and dug for quite a few years, almost a decade now, I've been investigating it myself," Sara Saunders told News9 on Tuesday, Oct. 13.
She said she learned more about her sister's case this year than ever before. She maintains a large TikTok following where she breaks down the case year by year and receives tips from the public.
The Bethany Police Department initially investigated the case before handing it to OSBI. Two men were charged with first-degree murder in 2012, but prosecutors dismissed those charges in 2013, KFOR reported. No one has been charged since.
Carina Saunders was last seen Oct. 8, 2011, getting into a red Ford four-door pickup truck at the Newcastle Casino. The driver has not been publicly identified.
Sara Saunders is pushing for legislation she calls the "Carina Saunders Act." Sara wants the proposal to require earlier OSBI involvement in dismemberment homicide investigations. OSBI generally investigates local homicides at the request of an authorized law-enforcement or government official, according to KFOR.
Sara Saunders said she believes the case could have had a different outcome if a larger agency had been brought in sooner. She also hopes new forensic technology could yield DNA or other evidence from existing materials.
A documentary about the case is in the works, Sara Saunders told KFOR.
Anyone with information can call the OSBI tip line at 800-522-8017 or email [email protected].
