Family offers $25,000 reward for information

On the night of June 12, Katherine Waring went to a West Ashley gym, a pharmacy downtown to pick up a prescription and then a Japanese steak house. She hasn't been seen since.

On Monday, friends and private investigators hired by her family gathered under the portico of St. Michael's Episcopal Church to announce a $25,000 reward for information leading to her whereabouts.

"It's been over 50 days since we last heard from Kate," said Andy Savage, a longtime friend of her parents, Thomas and Janice Waring. "It's time to bring her home, and we need your help."

Waring, 28, is a part-time student who lives with her parents on Murray Boulevard. Her friends on Monday described her as a smart, headstrong and beautiful woman who kept in constant touch with them and her family.

"It's not like her to disappear at all," said Stanyarne Reid, a friend who has known her since kindergarten. "I've been praying for her safe return."

Savage, a local attorney, said the "dark side" of her disappearance is that no calls have been made from her cell phone, no charges have been made on her credit card and she hasn't checked her Facebook page or left any other electronic trail. Savage said Waring also had no means of financial support other than her parents. "We are extremely worried about her," he said.

Unlike some missing person's cases, Waring's has some leads:

Waring's father, a local attorney, told authorities that before his daughter's disappearance, she received threatening text messages but wouldn't tell him who they were from. One of the texts reportedly said, "If you caused this to happen you will be the first to die," the police report said.

Also, on June 15, three days after she was last seen, a man identified as Ethan Carlos Mack of Johns Island tried to cash "one of Katherine's personal checks in the amount of $4,500" at a Bank of America branch on Folly Road, according to a police report. The teller refused to cash the check, and Mack left in a silver Chevy Malibu, the police report stated.

Mack couldn't be reached at his home for comment Monday, but his sister, Tichka, said that her brother had nothing to do with Waring's disappearance.

"Ethan was her best friend in the whole world," she said, adding that he had known her for about four years and helped her through difficult periods in her life. "She would come over to our house because he would pick her up wherever she was, so no one would cause any harm to Katherine."

Tichka Mack said he's talked to police several times about the case. "He's been very cooperative the whole time."

Police refused to discuss whether they had spoken with Mack or if he is a part of the investigation.

During the news conference Monday, Savage said that Waring went to West Ashley Aerobics and Fitness about 6:30 p.m. June 12.

Surveillance video captured her buying a prescription at the CVS pharmacy on George Street about 8 p.m. At the time, she was wearing dark blue denim shorts, a brown T-shirt and white Adidas shoes.

She then went to Wasabi Japanese Steakhouse on State Street after 9 p.m., he said.

A friend, Jason Luck, said during the news conference that he received a message from Waring on his voice mail at 10:06 p.m. that night. He declined to say what the message was but that in retrospect it was "ominous."

Last month, based on a tip, authorities in Anderson County searched near the Seneca River. Savage said that tip turned out to be false.

Police still consider Waring's disappearance a missing person's case, said Charles Francis, press officer for the Charleston Police Department. He declined to say whether the case is a high priority or whether investigators feel foul play is involved.

Savage said a tip from the public is the family's best hope in solving this mystery.

"We're convinced that somebody knows something that will be the link in the chain that brings her home," he said.

Reach Tony Bartelme at 937-5554 or tbartelme@postandcourier.com.