Missing Arizona woman Kristal Forest Cold Case file leads detectives to remains found in Texas
Sedona AZ (August 7, 2014) – Since the arrest of Robert Reed, 60, in September of 2013 for the murder of Kristal Forest, Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office detectives have made it their mission to find her remains. YCSO Lead detective Doug Brown, assisted by Cold Case Unit volunteer and retired detective, Paul Chastain, spent hundreds of hours chasing leads, conducting searches, and interviewing anyone who might have information regarding the case, including Reed.
The persistence paid off in July of this year when Reed confessed to murdering Forest and dumping her body in an area near El Paso, Texas. The action was part of a plea agreement with Reed who pled guilty to a Second degree Murder charge.
Kristal had been planning a move from Cottonwood to Austin, Texas, when Reed befriended her and offered to help. Kristal was last seen with Reed on March 28, 2009, at a Camp Verde storage yard.
Prior to the confession, Reed claimed no knowledge of the murder of Forest or her whereabouts, citing “amnesia.” Following the confession late last month, Reed was allowed to use an internet mapping program and showed detectives an area outside of El Paso, Texas, where he recalled leaving her body. YCSO immediately conveyed this information to Texas law enforcement authorities, including the Texas Rangers, El Paso Police Department, and the El Paso Sheriff’s Office. Based on the information, human remains were found in the target area.
Robert Reed confesses to cold case murder of missing Arizona woman
The Arizona detectives, Brown and Chastain, went to El Paso last week to assist with the investigation and recovery of evidence. It is believed the remains are that of Kristal Forest. A DNA comparison has been ordered to verify the identity. Further details from Reed’s interview are not being released, pending sentencing, which is scheduled for the last week of August 2014.
Due to the remoteness of the area where the remains were located, detectives believe it is likely they would have never been found otherwise. The family has expressed their deep appreciation for the work by these detectives.
Kristal had two Labrador dogs with her when she left Arizona. The dogs have never been found. Reed told detectives that “they ran off.” Kristal adopted the two dogs when she was in India, and brought the pair to the United States about 6 weeks before leaving for Texas. YCSO is distributing flyers and encouraging news reports in this area of Texas, hoping someone may have information regarding the dogs.
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