712 Digital Group - top

Missing family from Creston said to be deceased

News

March 23rd, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Close friends of a family from Creston who failed to return home from a trip to Mexico have told KJAN the family is deceased. They received the word from other family members. A person at the Union County Sheriff’s Office would not confirm or deny the report at this time, but said a press release would be issued if there are new developments to pass along. It’s not clear where their deaths occurred.

Kevin, Amy, Sterling and Adrianna Sharp left the United States on March 15th, destined for Tulum, Mexico. The family was scheduled to depart Cancun, Mexico at 2:45-p.m. Wednesday, March 21st, and had been scheduled to arrive in St. Louis at around 6-p.m. that same day. They had plans to attend the Southwestern Community College basketball game Thursday, in Danville, IL.

Family and friends said earlier, that there has been no contact with the family since March 15th, when the arrived at their condo in Tulum. Cell phone pings indicated they were still in Mexico, but with no movement recorded. There’s also been no activity on their social media pages. A missing persons report has been filed through the U-S Embassy in Mexico, in an attempt to located the Sharp family. If you have any information about their location, contact law enforcement.

In an ironic twist, it was 17-years ago, on March 8th 2001, that a Des Moines environmentalist disappeared from his Cabo San Lucas ranch. According to reports at the time, 62-year old Alan H. Blank was reported missing a day after he was scheduled to meet Mexican government officials for approval to construct the zoo.  Blank met that same day with a restaurateur who was hoping to win a food concession contract for the zoo Blank was building in the area.

Blank disappeared after meeting Jimmy Presley, who had reportedly suffered some financial setbacks and was frustrated the government review process was delaying the project in Mexico. The Blank family believes Presley attacked Alan Blank and may have killed him. Presley himself died March 9th, 2001 in what Mexican authorities said was a suicide by driving his van, head-on into a large bus. Blank’s family declared him dead in April, 2001, after an extensive search failed to locate him.

The Blank family founded the Blank Park Zoo and Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines.