Teekah Lewis Was Only 2 When She Mysteriously Vanished in 1999 — Here Is the Latest Update

Bowling is the kind of game that brings together the good, the bad, and the folks who just want nachos. Even if you're not the kind of person who is into throwing a heavy ball down a narrow lane while friends and strangers alike watch your every move, there are always options at a bowling alley. From questionable snacks at the snack bar to video games in an arcade, it's like a buffet of fun. That's what was happening in January 1999 when Theresa Czapiewski was looking to get a few strikes.

The mother of five dropped her twin daughters off at their godmother's house, then brought another to her uncle's place. Czapiewski didn't want to deal with leaving her two youngest daughters with anyone else, as they were a bit of a handful. Sadly, the evening ended in tragedy when her toddler disappeared. What happened to Teekah Lewis? Here's what we know.

Cazapiewski was with a large group that included friends, extended family, and two of her children at the New Frontier Bowling Alley in Tacoma, Wash., per NBC News. During one of her turns, Cazapiewski asked her brother and boyfriend to watch Teekah, who was in the arcade. Moments later, when she was finished, Cazapiewski asked where Teekah went. When she was told her daughter was still in the arcade, Cazapiewski started to panic because she was gone.

After the police were called, they searched the bowling alley and the surrounding area. "The bowling alley was searched, the parking lot was shut down, the vehicles were searched, trunks were searched,” Sergeant Julie Dier of the Tacoma Police Department told NBC News. "That whole area was scoured with dogs, with people on foot." This is not the first time something happened at that bowling alley, as two months prior, a 4-year-old was sexually assaulted in a bathroom.

An attempted kidnapping in the area of the bowling alley was reported on the same night Teekah disappeared. A man in a Pontiac Grand AM was spotted bolting from a park after trying to grab some children there. A witness later told police they saw a Pontiac Grand AM at the bowling alley when Teekah went missing. Police spoke with one suspect who owned a Pontiac, albeit a different color, but he passed away soon after. Thankfully, they obtained a DNA sample before he died.

In May 2025, a tip led police to a backyard in Tacoma in search of a possible body. According to KIRO 7, they were digging for three days. Unfortunately, they hit yet another dead end. Tacoma Police Department (TPD) spokesperson Shelbie Boyd told My Northwest there was "nothing of evidentiary value, on any case," she said. "Some end in a successful apprehension, and some end like today.”

This latest update was disappointing for Cazapiewski, who spoke with King 5 Seattle about the outcome of the dig. She told the outlet that it didn't matter what she had to do; if there was a possibility that Teekah was found, she was going to be there. "I'm gonna keep this in the spotlight as long as I can, until it's over," she said.