2 years since her disappearance, family of Louisville mom Andrea Knabel isn't giving up

Update:  Friday marks two years since Andrea Knabel went missing. To mark the occassion, Mike Knabel told The Courier Journal he and his daughter, Erin, were once again planning on walking Andrea's last-known route through the Audubon Park neighborhood from late Thursday night into early Friday morning.

Mike Knabel said his family also planned on attending mass Saturday and blessing a tree in memory of Andrea that will be planted at a yet-to-be decided location.

The family continues to spread awareness about Andrea's case through Facebook, including via the "Where is Andrea Knabel" page.

A documentary on Knabel's case is set to air in September on Discovery+ and ID, and Mike Knabel said anyone with information on his daughter's whereabouts can contact Louisville Metro Detective Bill Clark or the anonymous tipline at 502-574-LMPD (5673). A second anonymous tipline can be reached via 855-746-0846.

Below is the story on the one-year anniversary of the woman's disappearance.

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Thursday marked one full year since Andrea Knabel went missing, and many nights, her father and others in the family are still out looking for her.

They were on Chickadee Street at about 9 p.m. Thursday, to walk the path Andrea took the night she went missing on Aug. 13, 2019. The theme, according to her father Mike Knabel, was “lights will guide you home” – they planned to carry lights and hoped neighbors along the route turn on their porch lamps in support.

They can’t host a march down the street amid the coronavirus pandemic, but they’re inviting anyone and everyone to turn on their hazard lights and drive down the road with them at 9 p.m. Saturday as well.

The more they do to keep the public aware of her case, he said, the better chance they have of finding her.

“There's still plenty of energy,” Mike Knabel said Wednesday. “My daughter Erin and I are mainly carrying each other as far as helping each other with our energy, and keeping our attitudes and our strength and mental strength at a high level. We're working very hard.”

The $5,000 reward for any information leading to her being found alive has been doubled to $10,000, he said. They’ve heard of a few leads in the past few weeks, but until she’s located, Mike Knabel said, he won’t stop looking.

He was briefly sidelined this summer after contracting the coronavirus – he had a slight fever for a few days and lost his sense of smell for a couple weeks, he said, but he’s fine now – but now he’s back out five nights a week looking.

A 38-year-old mother of two, Andrea Knabel went missing last August. She was last seen by her sister Erin before she walked from Erin’s home to her parents’ house, about a mile away in Audubon Park, just before 2 a.m. one morning. Private investigators and Louisville Metro Police officials have interviewed several people about her disappearance in the year since, but no suspects have been arrested and no leads have turned up her whereabouts.

The family is still working with private investigators and with Louisville Metro Police, although he said the department has been occupied lately with the ongoing protests.

From January:Family holds prayer vigil to honor missing woman Andrea Knabel

After being missing for a year, though, Mike Knabel said, her case needs national exposure – at this point, she could be anywhere. The Knabel family is working with a Los Angeles film producer on a series about her disappearance, he said, which, like an Investigation Discovery piece about her that aired in April, could put her case in front of a bigger audience around the country.

Andrea Knabel is 5 feet, 7 inches tall and weighs about 190 pounds, with light brown hair. If you see her, Mike Knabel said, call the police.

“If someone sees Andrea, or someone they think is Andrea, the best thing to do is call 911, and then take a picture,” he said. “They can always call 502-574-LMPD (LMPD’s crime tip hotline), and they can contact the missing persons unit with them, or private investigator Tracy Leonard, his number’s 502-618-9337.”

Social media has been key, too. Erin Knabel moderates the “Where is Andrea Knabel” Facebook page, which has more than 13,000 followers and frequently shares information about the search (Erin, Mike Knabel said, has shown “remarkable strength” in the year since her older sister went missing).

Those two will be on Chickadee Road on Thursday and this weekend, hoping to bring more attention to Andrea Knabel’s disappearance. It’s been a hard year, Mike Knabel said, but they aren’t letting up any time soon.

“Private investigators are still working. The family is still working,” he said. “… Nothing has stopped, and I do mean nothing.”

Lucas Aulbach can be reached at laulbach@courier-journal.com, 502-582-4649 or on Twitter @LucasAulbach. Support strong local journalism and subscribe: www.courier-journal.com/lucasa.