It's been 13 years since Carrie Culberson was killed by ex-boyfriend Vince Doan. Her mother, Debbie, has spent 13 years searching for where her daughter's body was hidden.
Debbie Culberson thought finding her daughter would give her peace. But as Local 12's Deborah Dixon tells us, she's found peace in an unlikely place.
"The search, the murder trial, the horror stories about Carrie being cut up with a chain saw, fed to hogs or buried under a barn, I never guessed I could have handled it."
Debbie thought she was handling it by staying in Blanchester where Carrie was last seen being beaten by Vincent Doan. She wanted to be a reminded that Carrie's body has never been found. She would sit on the front porch, see Vince's family, a relative lived across the street. "It's time for me to have some peace in my life. I've found it here."
Debbie has a new home, miles away from Blanchester. Inside are lots of pictures of her three grandchildren by daughter Christina. "Life left behind a lot of memories good and bad memories. I can leave the bad ones and carry the good ones here."
In Debbie's new life she is a powerful voice in Washington D.C. "I'm going to be leaving to go to national roundtable for Amber Alert invited by Justice Department."
She just returned from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and spent a week in D.C. with survivors such as John Walsh lobbying for new laws. "We were in D.C. lobbying for collection of DNA upon felony arrests rather than felony convictions. It's because of Carrie and for Carrie."
Debbie found out she doesn't need to be in Blanchester to get tips. Police get them too. Last year Clinton County dug up a well. Brown County drained one because of information received. Now, Debbie understands what daughter Christina told her years ago. "She said to me you need to let go of the dead and concentrate on the living."
Vince Doan's appeals have all been rejected. Debbie says if he would say where Carrie's body is - she would lobby prosecutors for his release. Doan is serving a life sentence.
