Tonight’s ‘Dateline’ on the disappearance of Alissa Turney unearths family secrets, pipe bombs and more

Friday’s episode of NBC’s “Dateline” promises to uncover shocking revelations about the 2001 disappearance of Arizona teen Alissa Turney.

17-year-old Turney went missing on May 17, 2001. Although her stepfather, Michael Turney, initially reported her missing as a runaway, police began investigating her case in 2006 after a Florida man convicted of murder claimed he had killed her.

While his statements were later proven false, investigators turned to Michael Turney as a potential suspect and eventually arrested him for Alissa’s murder. He was acquitted of all charges in July 2023, per NBC.

Alissa has never been found.

Who is Alissa Turney?

Alissa Turney was a junior at Paradise Valley High School at the time of her disappearance. Her family and friends remember her as a social, artistic girl, per ABC.

Alissa’s birth father was not involved in her life, and she and her older brother were adopted by Michael Turney after he married their mother, Barbara Farner, per ABC. Michael Turney had three children from a previous relationship, and he and Farner had one daughter together, Sarah.

Farner died when Alissa was 9, and Alissa’s relationship with her stepfather grew strained, according to an episode on the case from true crime podcast “Crime Junkie.” People reports that Michael allegedly used binoculars to spy on Alissa at work, and he had surveillance cameras throughout their home trained on Alissa.

What happened to Alissa Turney?

Alissa had long expressed a desire to leave her home and move to California, per ABC. Michael said he and Alissa got into an argument the day she disappeared, and “Crime Junkie” reports he found a note from Alissa later that day saying she had run away to California.

Michael reported her to police as a runaway, and although he alleged he received a call form her in California a few months later, she has not been seen since.

In 2006, a convicted murderer in Florida confessed to killing Alissa, but investigators determined his claims to be false, per ABC. However, they took a second look at Alissa’s disappearance and began to suspect she had not run away.

Investigators learned Alissa had left behind her phone, $1,800 in her bank account and her hairbrush and makeup, per ABC. Friends told police she had never tried to contact any of them and emphasized Alissa’s turbulent relationship with her stepfather and said Alissa had claimed he’d tried to molest her.

In 2010, police searched the Turneys’ home and found 26 pipe bombs, per the FBI. Over the years, investigators continued to look for Alissa, but never found her.

The case received renewed attention in 2019 when Sarah Turney, Alissa’s younger sister, began speaking out about the case on social media to advocate for her father’s arrest, as she says she believes he killed Alissa. Sarah started two true crime podcasts, “Voices for Justice” and “Disappearances,” and the additional attention led to Michael being charged with Alissa’s murder in 2020, per People.

Michael was acquitted of all charges in July 2023, per NBC. Alissa’s case remains open and unsolved.

Sarah said on social media Thursday that she was grateful for the “Dateline” episode but was anxious to see how her sister’s story was portrayed.

How to watch tonight’s ‘Dateline’

Friday’s episode of “Dateline,” “The Day Alissa Disappeared,” will premiere at 7 p.m. MST on NBC and will be available for streaming on Peacock.