Family of Teekah Lewis remains hopeful 26 years after Tacoma abduction

A young girl was abducted in Tacoma more than two decades ago but her family has never given up hope she might return.

On Thursday, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) marked 26 years since Teekah Lewis went missing from the New Frontier Lanes bowling alley.

NCMEC explained, via a news release Thursday, Lewis was 2 years old when she disappeared. Her mother, Theresa Czapiewski, said Lewis was playing near the arcade while family members took turns bowling and keeping an eye on her. At one point, Czapiewski went to bowl and when she returned her daughter had vanished.

Lewis was wearing a Tweety Bird T-shirt, white sweatpants and Air Jordan sneakers when she was abducted in 1999. Her hair had a silver streak on the front right side when she was last seen. She is half Black and half Native American.

In 2022, a forensic artist at NCMEC created an age-processed image showing what Lewis might look like at 26 years old.

An age-processed image of Teekah Lewis that shows what she might look like at 26 years old. (Image courtesy of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children)

The center also has another photo of what Lewis could look like.

An image of Teekah Lewis that shows what she might look like as an adult. (Image courtesy of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children)

Along with a photo of her at the age she went missing.

Teekah Lewis went missing when she was 2 years old. (Photo courtesy of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children)

Investigators are continuing to pursue leads, according to the news release, and are urging anyone with information regarding Lewis to contact NCMEC at 1-800-843-5678 or the Tacoma Police Department (TPD) at 1-253-287-4455.

Possible Teekah Lewis sighting in 2024

Last year, Czapiewski told FOX 13 that her brother, Lewis’ uncle, made contact with the woman they believe could be Lewis while working a shift at Home Depot.

The woman in question was seen at the store Monday night asking to use the bathroom. According to the family, the description matched her daughter and what she could potentially look like. Czapiewski told the media outlet she wanted to see the Home Depot surveillance video to confirm for herself.

“All I want to do is see her,” Czapiewski said. “I want to see the picture. I would know if that’s my daughter.”

Czapiewski has been in close contact with TPD throughout the time of her daughter’s disappearance, but she’s grown impatient at the speed of the investigation.

“It might not be Teekah, but it could be her and we can’t just wait,” she said. “I need them to look into it.”

The department hasn’t given up on the case either, despite the lack of leads over the years. But with no evidence, the department can’t do much.

Former TPD spokesperson Loretta Cool told MyNorthwest the only possible clue is a report of a maroon Pontiac Grand Am fleeing the New Frontier bowling alley in January of 1999.

“It left the bowling alley at a high rate of speed and almost took out another vehicle head-on,” Cool said.

While Czapiewski remains both devastated and frustrated that police have never uncovered what happened to her child, she has made it her sole goal to keep this case in the public eye decades later.

“We want people to know that Teekah’s still missing and we’re still looking. I don’t care if it’s 30 years from now, I’ll still be out there looking for Teekah. I’ll never give up hope. I won’t give up hope. This could be a huge break in my daughter’s case,” she said.

Contributing: James Lynch, KIRO Newsradio

Julia Dallas is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read her stories here. Follow Julia on X here and email her here.

Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.