City woman missing; car found at edge of river

By Abby Morris
Star Staff
amorris@starhq.com

   An Elizabethton woman was reported missing Monday after she did not return home from work Sunday night and her vehicle was found Monday morning in the Hunter community with a portion of the front end of the car in the water.
   Kristal Gale Dubuque, 22, 427 W. G St., Apt. 11, was reported missing around 1 p.m. on Monday by her mother, Brenda Gale Gentry, of 220 S. Sycamore St, who told Elizabethton Police Department Sgt. Jack Ramsey that Dubuque had been missing since approximately 10 p.m. Sunday night.
   "She said she'd been in contact with Dubuque's employer, who she identified as Bob Miller," Ramsey said in a police report. "She said that Miller told her that he had dropped Dubuque off at her car, which was parked at the Sunoco on Highway 91, subsequent to her assisting him on a surveillance on Blue Springs Road."
   According to police, Dubuque's vehicle is a red 1988 Chevrolet Nova.
   Gentry told Ramsey that her daughter's infant son was in the care of Dubuque's roommates - David WIlliamson and Jessica Putnam - and that Dubuque often left her son in their care.
   During Ramsey's investigation, he learned that a vehicle matching Dubuque's car was discovered Monday morning just before 8 a.m. and had been reported to the Carter County Sheriff's Department. "The vehicle was found nose-in to the Watauga River at the Hunter Bridge on Broad Street Extension," Ramsey said. "County Deputy Jan Black responded to the scene and found the vehicle was running, in gear with the driver's side door closed and the driver's side window down.
   "She told me that the door was closed and that there was no one around the car when she recovered it. She further advised that there were no signs of violence within the vehicle."
   According to Ramsey, Dubuque's wallet was found in the glovebox of the vehicle and it contained her social security card, but her driver's license was not found.
   Ramsey also spoke with Gerald Williamson, father of Dubuque's roommate David Williamson, who was at the scene speaking with Black. "He told me that Dubuque's employer, Bob MIller, had called Dwayne at approximately midnight and asked if she had arrived safely," Ramsey said. "According to (Gerald) Williamson, Miller called several times through the night and told them that he had already checked through Lynn Valley and that they (David and Gerald Williamson, who were by then also trying to locate Dubuque) did not need to look there. (Gerald) Williamson stated that he had looked anyway, but did not think to check around the bridge where the car was actually found."
   According to reports, Dubuque was last seen wearing a dark blue "Nike Air" sweatshirt and blue jeans.
   An incident report on the finding of Dubuque's vehicle was not immediately available Monday night.