As Philadelphia police and the FBI continue investigating an Olney home linked to at least seven missing women, the case is drawing attention to a broader issue: How missing persons cases are solved years after someone disappears. Investigators have recovered more than one million photos and vide os from the West Chew Avenue property and say evidence has led them to believe five of the seven women connected to the home are deceased. Despite months of searching, police say they have found no human remains. Advocates, law enforcement experts and community leaders say the case highlights the challenges families face when loved ones go missing and remain unaccounted for years later. The investigation into what happened inside the Chew Avenue home began about three months ago, but police say the timeline stretches back more than a decade. The home on Chew Avenue as it appeared in September 2026. For many in Olney, the revelations have been difficult to process. “These things are happening right before our eyes and right in our backyards. And we got to say things,” Philadelphia City Councilmember Anthony Phillips said. Phillips, whose district includes the neighborhood, said residents have been shaken by the investigation and are concerned about both the families involved and the impact the case has had on the community. “To live next to a house of horrors, a lot of the neighbors are concerned about how this impacts their quality of life,” Phillips said. “They’re also concerned about the victims and their families.” Amy McHale was in her mid 40s when she disappeared in 2016. She was married to R.C. Horsch before divorcing him. Her daughter told NBC10 that McHale was actively using heroin and receiving methadone treatment at the time she vanished. As detectives continue analyzing the massive collection of evidence recovered from the home, families across Philadelphia continue searching for missing loved ones. According to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), 58 women older than 14 are currently listed as missing in Philadelphia. Some of the women listed in NamUs are among those investigators believe may be connected to the Chew Avenue property, including Maribel Fresses, Nicole Fusaro, Amy McHale and Blair Tonzelli. The database, operated with support from the U.S. Department of Justice, serves as a national repository for missing persons and unidentified remains cases. Doug Black, who runs the Facebook group Found in Kensington, said requests for help locating missing people appear almost every day. Some of the women listed in NamUs are among those investigators believe may be connected to the Chew Avenue property, including Maribel Fresses, Nicole Fusaro, Amy McHale and Blair Tonzelli (pictured). “We see probably three to four posts a day of people who are just looking for their loved ones,” Black said. Many of those posts involve women struggling with addiction, homelessness and other challenges, he said. Black said community members often become an important source of information when families are searching for answers. “Our message is always keep hope alive, keep looking, and keep relying on the community to do the work,” he said. Former Major Crimes Detective Peter Valentin said missing persons investigations become significantly more difficult as time passes. “You have this huge challenge in that you just don’t have the amount of information at your disposal that you’d like,” Valentin said. Investigators often face fading memories, missing records and little physical evidence years after someone disappears. “In a situation that we’re now where we are always relying on physical evidence, you really do want something more objective,” Valentin said. Last week, a cousin of Nicole Fusaro, who disappeared in 2018 at age 27, told the NBC10 Investigators that police believe they have video of Horsch strangling her. Her body has not been recovered. (NamUs) Those challenges are especially relevant in the Chew Avenue investigation, where authorities are trying to piece together events that may date back more than a decade. Phillips said he hopes the ongoing investigation sparks a broader conversation about how missing persons cases are handled and whether enough resources are dedicated to finding vulnerable people before cases go cold. “I think that this is an eye-opener for all of us to really step up our game to figure out how we can be there for our families,” Phillips said. The councilmember said he and city officials are planning a community meeting in Olney to address concerns surrounding the investigation. Investigators have recovered more than one million photos and videos from the West Chew Avenue property and say evidence has led them to believe five of the seven women connected to the home are deceased. Despite months of searching, police say they have found no human remains. While investigators have linked seven missing women to the property on Chew Avenue and believe five are deceased, police say they have found no human remains. Philadelphia police told the NBC10 Investigators they continue searching for the 58 women currently listed as missing in Philadelphia through the NamUs database. Meanwhile, detectives continue reviewing more than one million files recovered from the Chew Avenue home, searching for answers about the women connected to one of the city’s most perplexing investigations. NBC10 investigative reporter David Charns can be reached at [email protected]. ...read more read less