The Tommy Ballard case: one shot, a grandson at his side, and a missing daughter.
On the morning of Nov 19, 2016, Tommy Ballard was preparing for a hunting trip with his 12-year-old grandson on family property beside the Bluegrass Parkway in Bardstown. An unknown person fired one shot and killed him. Sixteen months earlier his daughter, Crystal Rogers, had vanished. No one has been charged in his death.
Case file at a glance
The FBI calls it a murder and offers up to $10,000. Kentucky State Police classified it as a death investigation, and the family disagrees. Three men were convicted in 2025 in connection with Rogers' murder, but those convictions do not cover his death. Reports say the FBI was awaiting test results on a rifle.
- One shot to the chest.The FBI says an unknown subject fired one shot and killed him instantly.
- His grandson was with him.He was with his 12-year-old grandson. Police ruled out the boy and suicide, per search-result summaries.
- His daughter's disappearance.He had founded Team Crystal to find his daughter, Crystal Rogers, who disappeared in July 2015.
- Disputed classification.State police classified it as a death investigation; the family believes he was murdered.
Editorial assessment of public sources, not a finding of fact. Nobody named here has been charged unless this page says so.
What happened
Details come from the FBI's Seeking Information page. Other facts come from search-result summaries and are marked.
His daughter disappears
Crystal Rogers disappears. Ballard forms Team Crystal, a group of Bardstown residents searching for her.
The shot
Preparing for a hunting trip with his 12-year-old grandson on family property next to the Bluegrass Parkway, Ballard is hit in the chest by one shot fired by an unknown subject and is killed instantly.
Classification
Search-result summaries say Kentucky State Police classified it as a death investigation rather than a homicide. The family disagrees. The FBI lists it as a murder. -Maybe
A rifle
Prosecutors said in 2023 that a rifle of the same caliber had been sold by a relative of a person later tried in his daughter's case, and that the FBI was awaiting test results. We saw this only in a summary. -Maybe
Convictions in his daughter's case
Three men are convicted in connection with Crystal Rogers' murder. They are not convicted in Ballard's death.
Victims
A father who searched for his daughter.
Photo: FBI Seeking Information page. The photo's original owner is not stated; shown at the site owner's direction. Contact us to have it removed.
DiedTommy Ballard
He formed Team Crystal after his daughter Crystal Rogers disappeared and was killed 16 months later.
We found no freely licensed photo, so a silhouette is shown. Family members or others who want a photo added, changed, or removed can use the contact form at the bottom of this page.
Evidence
What exists, and what each piece may or may not mean.
| Item | What is known | Disputed or unknown |
|---|---|---|
| The shot | One shot to the chest, per the FBI. | Caliber: not stated by the FBI. |
| The site | Family property beside the Bluegrass Parkway. | Where the shooter stood: not public. |
| The rifle | Summaries say a same-caliber rifle was under FBI testing. | Results: not public. |
| Classification | The FBI calls it a murder; state police reportedly called it a death investigation. | The state's reasoning: not public. |
Public documents
The FBI page is the main public record.
| Document | Holder | What it shows | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| FBI: Tommy Ballard | FBI | Reward and circumstances. | Online, free |
| 2025 trial records in the Crystal Rogers case | Warren Circuit Court (trial moved from Nelson County) | Evidence that may touch his death. | Request needed |
| Case file | FBI; Kentucky State Police | The investigation. | Withheld or sealed |
Access labels: Online, free = we could open it. Fan-hosted copy = a private researcher posted scans; originals are held by the named agency, and we cannot vouch for completeness. Quoted in news = reporters read it; we did not see the document itself. Request needed = held by an agency or court. Withheld = the holder has not released it. We cannot reach non-public records, and we do not try to.
Online discussion (unverified)
Where people talk about this case online, and how to read it.
| Platform | Live search | What you tend to find |
|---|---|---|
| Google: Reddit | site:reddit.com search | Public Reddit threads that Google has indexed, including old discussions. |
| Google: X and Twitter | X and Twitter posts | Public posts and profiles that appear in search results. |
| Google: Facebook | Public Facebook pages and posts | Only public pages and groups that Google can see. Private groups never appear. |
| Google: Instagram and TikTok | Instagram and TikTok | Public posts, memorials, and videos. |
| Google: forums | Forums and message boards | Long-running true-crime forums. |
| Google News | Latest news | Newest reporting, which is usually more reliable than posts. |
| Search Reddit | Long discussion threads and theories, often by amateur researchers. No sign-in needed to read. | |
| X (Twitter) | Search X | Short posts, news links, and anniversary notes. May require sign-in. |
| Search Facebook | Public groups and family or community pages. Requires sign-in. | |
| Search #tommyballard | Memorial and true-crime posts. Requires sign-in. | |
| YouTube | Search YouTube | Documentaries, news clips, and interviews. Quality varies widely. |
Be careful with online theories. Naming a private person as a suspect can harm an innocent family, and many "identifications" on forums have been wrong. Our own tools could not read these platforms: Reddit blocks automated access, and the others require an account. The Google searches above work from your browser. To get new public mentions by email, make a free Google Alert for the case name in quotation marks.
Coverage timeline and verification
What local and national reports say, and when we last checked for a solution.
Status is re-checked on a regular schedule. If you know of a development we missed, use the clue form near the top of this page or the contact form, and include a link.
Suspects
There is no publicly named suspect in his death.
The shooter
Why named: An unknown subject fired one shot.
Against: No name or description is public.
People tried in his daughter's case
Why named: Reports connect his death to the investigation of his daughter's disappearance.
Against: None has been charged in his death. Their 2025 convictions concern Crystal Rogers.
Where a card shows a silhouette, we found no photo. Anyone who wants a photo added, changed, or removed can use the contact form at the bottom of this page.
Latest lead: the rifle and the link to his daughter's case
The public thread is the possible connection to his daughter's case and a rifle test.
What is known
- The FBI offers up to $10,000.
- Reports in 2023 said the FBI awaited test results on a rifle.
- The 2025 convictions concern his daughter, not him.
What would settle it
- The rifle test results and any comparison to the bullet.
- Whether prosecutors will treat it as a homicide alongside the Rogers case.
- Any new witness from the 2025 trials.
A killing tied to the search for his daughter
We put the chance that his death is connected to his daughter's case at roughly 70%, as authorities have suggested. We put the chance of a charge in his death within five years at roughly 15%, because of the 2025 trials and the pending rifle tests.
Editorial judgment, not statistics.
Elimination matrix
"—" means no public information, not a clean result.
| Person or idea | Link to the case | Physical link | Legal outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| The shooter (unidentified) | ✓ inferred | ? rifle test pending | — none charged |
| People tried in his daughter's case | ? authorities suggest a link | — none published | ? convicted for her case only |
✗ excluded or contradicted · ✓ supports · ? disputed · — nothing public. No cell is an official finding.
Our hypothesis
Editorial reading of public records. A working theory, not a finding, and it names no individual.
A killing connected to the search for his daughter
- He was a leader of the search. Team Crystal.
- The shot was precise. One shot, from a distance.
- His grandson was spared. The boy was with him.
- The test results matter. A rifle comparison may decide it.
Judgment, not statistics.
Missing links
Questions raised by gaps in the public record.
1. The rifle test
The result and any link to the bullet.
2. The classification
Why state police used a different label.
3. The shooter's position
Where the shot came from.
4. The trial evidence
Anything from the 2025 trials about his death.
5. Phone data
Records near the property.
6. The grandson's account
What he saw, handled carefully as he was a child.
Evidence gaps
"Not public" means we could not find a report.
| Item | Tested | Gap |
|---|---|---|
| Bullet and rifle | Tested by the FBI. | Results: not public. |
| Scene evidence | Collected. | Not public. |
| Case files | Held by the FBI and Kentucky State Police. | Public index: not available. |
Forensic tech
| Tool | What it could do | Status here |
|---|---|---|
| DNA from retained evidence | Identify a donor or exclude people. | Unknown; not reported |
| Forensic genetic genealogy | Identify an unknown donor from relatives. | Needs usable DNA; none reported |
| Ballistics database (NIBIN) | Link recovered casings or bullets to other crimes. | Not reported |
Solved cases
Local cases that moved after decades.
Carol Sue Klaber (Boone County, KY, 1976)
Investigators say a private genealogy investigation helped them identify Thomas Dunaway, who died in 1990, as the man who killed the 16-year-old. He cannot be indicted, so prosecutors sent a letter saying he would have been charged. The lesson: genealogy can name a killer after decades, even when no trial is possible.
Forensic genetic genealogy training
In 2024, local investigators were being trained in the technique, which has already helped solve Cincinnati-area cases, according to FOX19. The lesson: the tool is now local, so cases with usable DNA have a real path forward.
Golden State Killer
Old crime-scene DNA matched relatives in a public database and led to a 2018 arrest. The lesson: a usable sample can still work after decades.
Case details come from public news coverage and the Boone County Sheriff's cold-case list. Confirm in court records.
False leads
| Claim | Source and date | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|
| His death was an accident or suicide | Early speculation | Summaries say police ruled out suicide and the family disagrees. |
| The 2025 convictions solved his death | Common confusion | They concern his daughter's case. |
| Linked to Jason Ellis or the Netherlands | Online theories | The Netherland family says no evidence links their case; none is shown for Ellis. |
Where
The shooting happened on family property beside the Bluegrass Parkway in Bardstown, Nelson County, Kentucky.
Open in maps: Bluegrass Parkway, Bardstown. We show no photograph of the scene.
Source ratings
| Source | Type | Rating | Use with care because |
|---|---|---|---|
| FBI Seeking Information page | Federal agency | A | Brief. States the reward and the shot. |
| WDRB, WHAS11, Oxygen | Media | B | Search-result summaries; not opened. |
| Wikipedia, Disappearance of Crystal Rogers | Encyclopedia | B | Seen in search results; not opened. |
Records
FBI Louisville Field Office
Tip line 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov.
Kentucky State Police
Involved in the investigation.
Nelson County Commonwealth's Attorney
Charging decisions.
Sample public-records request
Under the Kentucky Open Records Act, I request copies of non-exempt records relating to the November 19, 2016 death of Tommy Ballard on family property in Bardstown, including incident reports, laboratory reports, and any evidence inventory. Please send electronic copies. If any part is withheld, please identify the exemption relied on and release all reasonably segregable material.
Agencies often withhold records of open investigations, so expect partial answers.
Remembering the victims
Tommy Ballard was Crystal Rogers' father.
News & databases
In the news
Loading headlines…
Sources
Every fact on this page comes from one of these. Where they disagree, we say so above.
- Tommy Ballard, FBI Seeking Information (date, circumstances, reward, tip line).
- Disappearance of Crystal Rogers, Wikipedia (seen in search results; not opened).
- Verdict in the Crystal Rogers trial, Spectrum News, July 2025 (seen in search results; not opened).
The classification as a death investigation, the grandson details, and the 2023 rifle claim are from search-result summaries and are unverified. The Crystal Rogers case is considered resolved by convictions in 2025 and is not listed on this site. We found nothing newer on Ballard's case.
Change log
- Oct 8, 2026: File published.