The disappearance of Karlie Gusé has baffled investigators ever since the 16-year-old left her California home in the early morning hours of Oct. 13, 2018.
The night before, Karlie had been out partying with friends, and seemed disoriented when she came home. Her father, Zac Gusé, suspected the marijuana she admitted smoking had been laced with another drug. Her stepmother, Melissa Gusé, made an audio recording of Karlie to play for her when she started acting normally again, to show the teen how the drugs had impacted her.
But she never got the opportunity. That morning, while a concerned Melissa dozed off after spending hours in Karlie’s room with her, Karlie left the family’s rural Mono County home and never returned.
After she left home, Karlie was last seen by witnesses walking south approximately 30 yards east of Highway 6 and 100 yards south of Sierra View Road. But since then, there has been no trace of the teen who loved to spend time with her brothers and watch scary movies.
Karlie Gusé.
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
For more on the mysterious disappearance of Karlie Gusé, subscribe now to PEOPLE, or pick up this week’s issue, on newsstands Friday.
Her disappearance is the focus of tonight’s episode of People Magazine Investigates, titled “The Strange Disappearance of Karlie Gusé,” which airs on Investigation Discovery and streams on Max at 9/8c.
What Happened to Karlie? Mystery Surrounds Teen’s Disappearance into Desert After Night of Partying
An exclusive clip from tonight’s episode is shown below. In the clip, Melissa recounts making a Facebook Live video 12 hours after Karlie vanished in the hopes that someone out there knew where she was.
“I just wanted to get the word out and make it spread like wildfire,” Melissa says in the clip. “You know, social media, everybody’s on it.”
“That night, we didn’t sleep at all,” she adds. “We just stayed up, hoping she’d be home the next day.”
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Karlie at 13 years old with her siblings Kane, then 17, Cole, then 8, and Cody, then 6.
Courtesy Melissa Guse
On May 13, 2022, Karlie’s 20th birthday, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children released an age-progression photo of what Karlie would look like today.
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Age-progression photo of Karlie.
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
At the time she went missing, Karlie was 5-foot-7-inches tall and weighed 110 lbs. She is a White female with blonde/brown hair and blue eyes.
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Zac and Melissa Gusé.
Discovery Investigation
Her family hasn’t given up hope that she’s still alive. Investigators are currently pursuing a promising tip from a recovering drug user, who says he saw Karlie at a party in 2021.
“Every day,” her father Zac says in the current issue of PEOPLE, “we’re still looking.”
People Magazine Investigates: The Strange Disappearance of Karlie Gusé airs on Investigation Discovery and streams on Max tonight, Aug. 7, at 9/8c.
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