Ebby Steppach: Girl still missing while police reportedly stall, refuse to pursue possible suspects

A $50,000 reward is offered for information that leads to the missing girl

Ebby Steppach has been missing for almost two years and her family, desperate to find her, is offering $50,000 for her return, while they claim they aren’t getting much assistance from authorities.

Just starting high school as a senior, Ebby, then 18, decided to go to a party on Friday, October 23, 2015. While at the party, according to her mother, Laurie Jernigan, the teen was sexually assaulted. Ebby also found out that the suspect, along with three of his male friends, recorded the assault.

The following evening, Ebby contacted her stepfather, Michael, and told him what happened. She also called authorities and told them the guy who sexually assaulted was someone she knew from school. Jernigan told Nancy Grace that her daughter disappeared shortly after she was supposed to meet her stepfather and go with him in person to the Little Rock Police Department, after officers reportedly didn’t take the assault seriously when she reported it by phone.

“Ebby called the police before she called my husband (Ebby’s stepdad). She did not get any answers from the police on what to do….After she told my husband, he was going to meet her and go to the police station with. Before they met up, Ebby disappeared.”

The following Sunday, Ebby called her brother, Trevor, and told him she didn’t know where she was. She claimed she was in her car, but couldn’t give him an exact location. A week later, authorities found Ebby’s abandoned vehicle at Chalamount Park in West Little Rock, with her cellphone, makeup, car keys and eye contacts inside. Ebby’s family never heard from her again after the phone call to her brother.

Little Rock Police Department apparently didn’t check out Ebby’s car until several days later. Her family and friends contend that the police aren’t “doing their jobs” and continue to refuse to assist them. According the Jernigan, officers verbally abused her and got angry when she tried to tell them something bad likely happened to her daughter.

Ebby’s case is now with the Little Rock’s Homicide Squad. The fours boys who allegedly recorded the assault are all in college now, going on with their lives. One of the boys received a scholarship. Jernigan is desperate for answers and feels the boys at the party hold the key that can provide information on Ebby’s whereabouts.

Anyone with any information is urged to contact Little Rock PD at 501-404-3007 or call the tip line at 501-371-4636. A reward of $50,000 is being offered for information that leads to Ebby’s location.

Ebby stands 5 feet 2 inches tall, and weighs around 105 pounds. She has hazel eyes and hair was blonde when she disappeared.

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[Feature Photo: Family Handout]