The family of Kay Read, 62, knows she could not walk without her knee braces, which police found in her home.
Her last contact with her family was Feb. 14. The next day, police found her van two miles from her Southeast Side home. The interior had been torched.

The polio survivor’s disappearance immediately raised suspicions of foul play.
How such cases are investigated, however, varies because the sheer volume of reports means police must prioritize them.
Most missing people eventually turn up - despite the certainty of family members who say their loved one would not just pick up and go.
Last year, TPD received 852 missing adult reports, and 802 of those people, or 94 percent, were found. This year about 129 adults have been reported missing.
Police consider several factors - including age, mental capacity or history of disappearance - in determining how extensively to investigate.
“They’re not always missing people, but just don’t want to be found,” said TPD Detective Greg Wright. “It could be that the individual that’s run away or simply missing doesn’t want contact with the family. We’ve encountered plenty of that.”
Before defining a missing persons case, Wright stressed, police must gauge how suspicious a case is.
“Not every case is assigned and worked,” Wright said. “That’s the only way we can manage the caseload.”
A detective 30 years ago might extensively work a case, but now vacation, compensatory time and staffing must be factored in.
Family frustration
Also missing is 62-year-old Elnora Charles, last seen Nov. 15 by son James Pulliam, 39. Pulliam gave her a ride to Gary’s Towing, 5131 E. Drexel Road, to pick up her car. Charles’ home is on North Country Club Road.
Pulliam reported her missing when she did not answer his phone call the next morning. Two days later, police found Charles’ car, a light-colored 1980 Chevrolet Caprice, on Mount Lemmon.
Police said they do not suspect foul play - although they do think her disappearance is suspicious. They have no suspects or leads, said Detective Bill Young. They were able to confirm reports by family members of Charles having a history of mental illness, but they don’t know if that played a role.
Police received a report from a family friend that Charles had been spotted in December, Young said.
“It’s a botched investigation by the TPD and the Sheriff’s Department,” said stepson James Lacy, 49, who still thanked those assisting in the search.
He said there is “no way our mother drove to Mount Lemmon,” and said his mother doesn’t have a history of instability.
TPD Sgt. Tony Sabori said investigators believe that Charles might have gone to Mount Lemmon.
The family wants clearer answers. Pulliam and Lacy said they were unhappy that they did not receive case information until several weeks after Charles was reported missing.
“It’s important to our family,” Pulliam said. “I’ve got kids that keep asking me every day: ‘What’s going on with grandma’s case?’ ”
Young said, “We’ve done as much on this case, if not more on this case, than any homicide investigation, even though it’s just a missing persons case.”
Privacy issues
Some families of missing people turn to private detectives. But even if detectives find the person, they sometimes can’t say that they found them.
Agencies have more stringent regulations related to privacy than in the past, Tucson private detective James MacIntyre said.
People are entitled to some privacy, he said, and a person found must be asked if he wants to be contacted. Law enforcement must also check the client’s motivation.
“You’ve got to look at the rights of not only the family or the unit that is reporting the person missing. You’ve got to respect the rights of the missing person as well,” MacIntyre said.
It is hard to say sometimes if family members of missing people are victims.
“If they feel they’re a victim, they feel they’re are a victim,” said Rick Trevaskis, who runs the private investigation service Metro Detectives, 2030 E. Broadway, Suite 24. “As far as the codes or the laws they might not specifically be a victim. They aren’t eligible for victims’ compensation.”
Trevaskis said investigators can work only with leads they have, and that families need to understand those limits.
“I can only guarantee them that we will work diligently toward their case,” he said. “If the results are not there, they will not come. That is a tough thing to deal with.”
As a private detective, Trevaskis may charge from $50 to $75 an hour on a case.
When a private investigator who knew Kay Read offered his services, the police did not provide information on the case, her brother, Wes Read, said.
TPD homicide detective Kevin Hall said police cannot stop families from hiring a private investigator. However, he pointed out legal pitfalls of having two investigations - duplicate interviews and possible contamination of evidence in a criminal case.
Families do not always agree with how law enforcement makes case decisions, especially when feelings run high. Some, said MacIntyre, might fear how law enforcement will handle the missing person if he or she is found.
“It’s a whole range of emotions,” he said. “It could be that the individual missing comes from a dysfunctional family. It’s a control situation sometimes.”
In Read’s case, family and police continue the search.
Read is described as 5 feet 5 inches, 120 pounds, with brownish-blond hair. The day of the disappearance, police said, someone tried unsuccessfully to use one of Read’s ATM cards at a local bank.
“It’s a case where we don’t know where we are going,” said Wes Read, 60, of Peoria, Ill. “We’re still grasping for straws.”
Despite that, Read said he wants police to allow not only the family but also willing volunteers to do more to help in the process.
“They keep us at bay, doing their job,” he said. “I’m not the type to sit back and be patient.”
Unsolved homicides are never closed, according to prosecutor Kathleen Mayer of the Pima County Attorney’s Office.
“Sometimes they (families) get frustrated, when they get repeat notices, and the cases don’t seem to get resolved,” Mayer said. “Agencies continue to work on them as they get more information, but they don’t always keep victims apprised of that.”
And sometimes in a missing-persons case, it can’t be established that a person was slain.
Mayer speaks with sympathy about the despair of never finding an answer.
“In my conversations with these families, it’s just the heartache of not knowing what happened to their loved ones.”