Family questions investigation of Fort Worth woman’s death. ‘How did my sister end up in a pasture?’
A tearful struggle inches along for Kim Haynes and other family members of Carolyn Riggins, whose body was found Oct. 24 in Cooke County more than three months after she was reported missing from her Fort Worth home.
The tears fall quite often for Haynes, who is Riggins’ sister, and other relatives as Riggins’ family still searches for answers as to what happened to the 69-year-old woman.
She had played bingo and won money at Watauga Road Bingo in Watauga on the night of July 11, 2020. She was last seen at a Watauga store that night, and her body was found Oct. 24, 2020, in a Cooke County field near the Red River, more than 60 miles from her home.
“We have tried to ask questions,” said Haynes, who lives in Georgetown, in a recent interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “We want a thorough investigation, and we just haven’t gotten that.”
Riggins was found in the backseat of her car, and the cause of her death has been listed as undetermined by the Dallas County medical examiner’s office and an independent autopsy paid for by the family.
Family members say the Cooke County Sheriff’s Office and Fort Worth police have made minimal efforts to investigate Riggins’ death, not even issuing a Silver Alert when she went missing in July 2020.
Officials with the Cooke County Sheriff’s Office could not be reached Friday for comment.
Fort Worth police said the family of Carolyn Riggins reported on July 15, 2020, that she had been missing since July 11.
“With the medical information available to the missing person unit and the time already elapsed prior to the police report, the criteria was not met to initiate a Silver Alert at that time,” said Fort Worth Police Officer Daniel Segura, a spokesman for the department, in an email.
Just hours after she disappeared, Riggins’ car was believed to be on Interstate 35 in Denton County based on a hit from her license plate.
Watauga Road Bingo employees told some of Riggins’ family members that they remembered seeing her on the nights of July 9, July 10 and July 11. Family members said Riggins had won over $2,000 on those bingo nights.
In a July 2020 interview with the Star-Telegram, Riggins’ daughter, Gale Williams of Garland, said her mother had suffered a stroke in 2009, and she lost her sense of direction, but she had not shown any signs of dementia.
Fort Worth police said the family provided the needed medical documentation on Aug. 14, 2020, and a Silver Alert was requested, but it was denied by the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Family members did not have any leads on Riggins’ whereabouts..
Riggins lived in northeast Fort Worth, and she has a daughter and grandchildren living within five miles of her.
“That was her hobby,” Williams said in the July 2020 interview referring to playing bingo “She would go there by herself, but she loves talking to people.”
Hunters found the car belonging to Carolyn Riggins in a wooded area of Cooke County on Oct. 24, 2020, and alerted deputies with the Cooke County Sheriff’s Office.
“Once Ms. Riggins’ remains were identified, the missing person case in Fort Worth was closed,” Fort Worth police said in a recent statement. “The death investigation including the processing of the vehicle was handled by Cooke County officials. According to Cooke County officials, there were no signs of foul play identified through their autopsy.”
Family members said they were told by Cooke County officials that they could not process the vehicle, thus they expected Fort Worth police to handle that part of the investigation.
And in recent weeks, family members said they were told Riggins’ car was destroyed at a North Texas auto pound where it had been kept.
In an recent interview, Williams and Haynes said the family still has multiple unanswered questions about Riggins’ disappearance and her death.
Haynes noted that her family asked questions in Watauga and Fort Worth neighborhoods, and discovered that a woman talked a lot about Riggins and her bingo winnings, but authorities dismissed her as not credible.
“How did my sister and her car end up in a pasture near some trees, and there was no road near her?” Haynes said. “About $360 was found with her. What happened to the rest of the money?”
Williams also said that her mother’s watch was found in her bra and her rings were hidden in her purse, something that her mother would never do.
“We just want them to tell us what happened,” Williams said, referring to the authorities who looked into the case. “Give us your proof. What did you do to reach your conclusion?”
