The location where Ebby Steppach was found dead

This is the location where Ebby Steppach was found dead.

It is situated at Chalamont Park in Little Rock, Arkansas.

On May 22nd, 2018, the police discovered Steppach's skeletal remains in a drainage pipe beside this parking lot.

By that point, the 18-year-old had been missing for nearly three years.

On October 24th, 2015, Steppach reportedly told her mother and stepfather that she had been raped by four individuals at a party that she had attended the night before. She also claimed that her attackers had recorded the assault on their phones.

Later that evening, she texted a number of the men and threatened to report them to the authorities.

She also made two short phone calls to the Little Rock Police Department. However, the police have stated that there is no report, call log, or notes to suggest that she ever made a complaint.

At around 2 p.m. on October 25th, Steppach called her brother, Trevor. During the call, she sounded panicked and disoriented.

When she told Trevor that she was parked outside his house, he hung up and went outside to meet her. However, when he opened the front door, her vehicle was nowhere to be seen.

Confused and worried, he called his sister back and demanded to know where she was. In response, she said that she was "with her car" and that she didn't know her location.

During their conversation, she claimed that she was "f**ked up." She also couldn't tell him if she was with anyone.

This was the last time that anyone spoke to Steppach.

Five days later, on October 30th, police officers found her car parked beside a lamp post in Chalamont Park. The officers were tipped off by a local security guard, who reported that a Volkswagen Passat had been abandoned in the parking lot beside the woods.

When the officers arrived, they saw that the teenager's makeup and belongings were still in the vehicle. They also noticed that the keys were in the ignition, the gas tank was empty, and the battery was dead.

The security guard who reported the abandoned car claimed that he had seen Steppach talking to a group of young men at the location on at least three occasions. He also said that he had dash cam footage of her in the company of these men, but that it had been overwritten before he could hand it over to the police.

After being contacted by a private detective, he insisted that investigators from the LRPD never reached out to him about the incident.

Shortly after Steppach's disappearance, a fake Facebook account pretending to be the missing girl reportedly contacted her mother and claimed that she was OK. However, by that point, it is likely that the 18-year-old was already dead.

Although the authorities repeatedly searched the surrounding area with victim recovery dogs, they failed to find any trace of the teenager.

Consequently, for the next three years, she remained a missing person.

Then, on May 22nd, 2018, the police decided to search the park again. According to one of the lead detectives, the decision to revisit the scene was based on "gut instinct".

During the search, they recovered skeletal remains from a drainage pipe close to where Steppach's silver Volkswagen had been parked.

The following day, the remains were formally identified as those of Ebby Steppach.

The teenager's death is now being treated as a homicide.

To this day, no arrests have been made.

Photos

Photos of the park and other related images.

Steppach's body was found inside a drainage pipe

This is an aerial map of the parking lot in Chalamont Park.

Steppach's silver Volkswagen Passat was parked beside the lamppost on the western side of the lot.

The entrance to the storm drain is approximately 60 feet north of the lamp post. The exit is on the eastern side of the trees.

On May 22nd, 2018, a search team found Steppach's skeletal remains roughly 70 feet inside the pipe.

In 2015, the mother of Steppach's best friend contacted the police and told them that a bad smell was emanating from the area.

When officers responded to her call, they explained that she had probably just smelled sewage, as the cadaver dogs had previously failed to pick up anything.

In 2016, the authorities conducted another search of the area. Although they were reminded about the smell, nothing ever came of it.

The parking lot was searched again by cold-case detectives in May 2018. On that occasion, they inspected the pipe using robots that were fitted with cameras.

After noticing an obstruction, they excavated the drain and discovered Steppach's remains.

Drain pipe

This Google Street View image of the entrance to the drain pipe was taken in May 2014, roughly one year before Steppach disappeared.

As you can see, there is a manhole cover and a storm drain.

Once you remove the cover, you have to climb down a small ladder. At the bottom, there is a narrow pipe that is about 15–18 inches wide (pictured in the top left-hand corner).

The 18-year-old's remains were found roughly 70 feet down the pipe, near the eastern exit.

Parking lot

Steppach's car was parked beside this lamp post.

A local security guard said that he saw the teenager in the park on three separate occasions. Each time, she was reportedly with a young man. On one occasion, she was hugging and kissing one of them.

Although the police questioned the men who allegedly assaulted her, they did not search their phones for evidence.

Chalamont Park

This is a wider view of Chalamont Park.

The teenager's vehicle was parked by the red ellipse.