The Missing Files is a weekly special feature that looks into cases of missing people across America that have shattered communities and families. It delves into the known facts and the latest updates on these mysterious disappearances.
HAMILTON, OHIO: It has been more than a year since Kara Hyde, then 23, went missing from Hamilton, Ohio. Kara reportedly left her mother's Grand Boulevard home on December 5, 2021, at 1.30 pm. No one has heard from her since.
A year after her disappearance, Kara's mother, Lisa Hyde, is fighting to bring her home. "Kara was a beautiful young lady. She struggled with personal issues and mental health, but she soldiered on. She was smart, creative, funny, and caring, but she was also naive, trusting, and childlike in nature," Lisa, 61, told MEAWW.
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"Kara and I were two peas in a pod as she was growing up," she recalled. "She was a shy and fearful child. She slept in my bed until she was 14 years old. We were very close as mother and daughter, but we were also buddies. We had so much fun and giggles."
Kara's struggle with mental heath issues
Kara, however, began struggling with mental health issues very early on in life. "When Kara turned 15, she started showing symptoms of being bipolar. She became plagued with anxiety and depression. She developed severe abandonment issues. She was a sad and angry young lady. At this time she was also being bullied and jumped by several mean girls. She became suicidal and went to the hospital for three different attempts," Lisa said.
"This is a sore spot for me," Lisa continued. "I feel the medical profession failed Kara repeatedly. The hospital did not take her attempts seriously, and she was never held for evaluation. I did get Kara to go to a counselor once. This counselor told Kara she could leave if she didn't want to be there, and Kara left, of course. As she approached her 20's, she started showing signs of histrionic disorder and borderline personality disorder. Her moods and behavior became very uncontrollable. She was now full of rage and sadness."
Kara's struggle with drugs
"At 21, Kara was tricked into ingesting meth. Everything changed, she changed. The self-loathing of her situation/herself sent her on a path of self-destruction," Lisa said. At this time, she was in love with a guy, but she couldn't maintain the relationship. It broke her heart and left her vulnerable. However, she kept her routine, worked every day. She was very proud of the fact she had not had a teen pregnancy, and that she didn't do drugs. Then it happened, she was tricked into taking the drug." Lisa did not specifically mention who tricked her into doing drugs.
Kara soon had a new boyfriend, and Lisa said she believes he turned her daughter against her, to the extent that Kara claimed Lisa abused her. "I have read some of Kara's messages to friends where she tells them I was abusive toward her. I have never abused or mistreated Kara a day of her life. She would tell these stories for sympathy to get what she wanted. It hurt reading those messages, but I understand why she did it. Kara and I did argue a lot over her drug use. I got her to rehab three times, and she left every time. Our relationship was strained and very stressful, but we still had our good days and our laughs," Kara recalled.
