On June 24, 2002, 19-year-old Brookley Louks visited her father's apartment in Greenwood, Indiana, to pick up some clothes. Upon arriving, she discovered his personal computer had been stolen and called the police, who completed a report and left around 5:30 p.m.

Shortly after, a witness reportedly saw Brookley get into the passenger side of her 1990 Chevrolet Corsica, which may have been driven by an unidentified young man. Later that evening, she told her mother she was spending the night at a friend's house, but she was never heard from again. Her car was later found abandoned on July 1 in Waverly, Indiana.

Investigators quickly focused on a primary suspect named Joseph Nowicki, a local man with an extensive, violent criminal history (including past convictions for murder, rape, and robbery) whom Brookley knew. Nowicki was reportedly infatuated with Brookley and grew upset when she spent time with other teenagers instead of him. Police searched Nowicki's workshop and found blood. Although there wasn't enough blood to prove a homicide, DNA testing confirmed it belonged to Brookley. Nowicki was arrested on unrelated weapons charges following the search of his home. In July 2003, he was released to a hospice due to terminal cancer and died on August 29, 2003, without ever cooperating with police or facing murder charges.
Brookley’s father, Scott Louks, was never named a suspect, but police believed he was withholding information. He was granted immunity in July 2002 but later stopped cooperating with detectives. Scott died of natural causes in November 2002, taking any secrets he might have known with him.

In 2013 and 2019, police searched a remote property near Paragon, Indiana, for Brookley's remains. During the 2019 search, cadaver dogs and excavation revealed human adipocere (a wax-like substance formed during decomposition) and bone fragments. While some material was destroyed or too degraded for immediate DNA testing, police continue to hold remaining fragments in hopes of future technological advances.

Brookley's case remains officially unsolved, though she is presumed dead and investigators believe she was the victim of foul play.
Charley Project: https://charleyproject.org/case/broo...hantille-louks
NamUs: https://namus.nij.ojp.gov/case/MP1045