I Found My Dead Twin Sister’s Body and Am Helping to Find Her Killer. Here Are the Questions I Still Need Answered

On June 20, 2025, Heather Lane received devastating news from her brother-in-law, Vinny Harp — her twin sister, 33-year-old mother of five Katlyn Harp, was missing from her home in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. Alarmed and unable to sit still, Heather led a desperate search to find her sister. Nine days later, Pennsylvania State Police arrested Vinny on suspicion of murder. He has pleaded not guilty to charges including criminal homicide and abuse of a corpse in connection with Katlyn’s death.

Now, in her own words, Heather, 34, reflects on the journey that led to finding her sister — and the bond that still connects them.

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A Bond That Couldn’t Be Broken

“My sister Katlyn was my soulmate,” Heather says. “We couldn’t have been more different — she was impulsive and carefree, while I was the practical one. But she was everything I admired.”

The twins marked their 30th birthday in 2021 with a weekend getaway in the Poconos. Katlyn convinced Heather to get her first tattoo. They left the studio with matching forearm ink: Heather’s read ‘You Keep Me Wild’, and Katlyn’s said ‘You Keep Me Sane.’

Heather never imagined that three years later, those words would help identify her sister’s body.

She last spoke to Katlyn on June 19. When her texts went unanswered the next day, Heather’s gut told her something was wrong. Hours later, Vinny claimed Katlyn had left after an argument — that she got into her car and drove away. “It made no sense,” Heather recalls. “She would never have left without telling me.”

She called police, filed a missing person report, and began her own search.

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A Sister’s Instinct

Nine days later, Heather made a heartbreaking discovery. “I found my sister’s body padlocked in a metal box hidden in the woods on property Vinny used to own,” she says. “Three hours later, he was arrested. I’ve always been Katlyn’s protector — I knew I was meant to find her.”

The sisters’ bond ran deep. They were born seconds apart — delivered by emergency C-section — and grew up inseparable on a Pennsylvania farm. Katlyn was mischievous, the one who would suggest switching places at school or running barefoot through the fields until dark. “She loved butterflies,” Heather remembers. “They followed her everywhere.”

Katlyn became a mom at 16, and Heather followed a year later. “Our lives were chaotic, but full,” she says. Then tragedy struck. In 2020, Katlyn’s longtime partner was killed in a car accident. Grief sent her spiraling into drug use, and she temporarily lost custody of her children. Determined to rebuild, Katlyn entered recovery and fought hard to regain her strength — and her family. “I was so proud of her,” Heather says. “She was close to getting all five of her kids back.”

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The Marriage That Changed Everything

When Katlyn met Vinny — a classmate from junior high who had also suffered loss — their shared pain brought them together. Within a year, they married. “It felt like a fairytale to her,” Heather says. “But it didn’t stay that way.”

Vinny’s temper quickly became a concern. “He could be jealous and controlling,” Heather says. “Once, he even turned off her phone so I couldn’t reach her.” To stay connected, Heather downloaded the Life360 tracking app. “That way, if her phone went off again, I’d still know where she was.”

On June 20, when Katlyn’s Life360 location suddenly went offline, Heather’s heart sank. “That’s when I knew my sister was gone,” she says. Vinny later sent her a text, allegedly from Katlyn, claiming she had left town. “I knew it wasn’t her,” Heather says. “I went straight to the police.”

While authorities waited to officially declare Katlyn missing, Heather took action. She printed fliers, called friends, and led search parties through rain and heat across properties connected to Vinny. “I couldn’t just sit at home,” she says.

On June 29, her persistence paid off. Returning to one of the properties, her father noticed faint tire tracks leading into a field. “Two yellow butterflies appeared out of nowhere,” Heather says softly. “We followed them — and there it was. A big green metal box.”

Heather called police but already knew. “She was inside,” she says. Hours later, Vinny was in custody.

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Searching for Answers

Three days after his arrest, Vinny told detectives that Katlyn had died accidentally after inhaling nitrous oxide. “There’s not an ounce of truth to it,” Heather says. “Katlyn had worked too hard to get clean. She would never throw away her progress.”

Police ruled Katlyn’s death a homicide, but her body was too decomposed to determine the exact cause. “I have so many questions,” Heather says quietly. “I want to know why. I want to know how. I just want one more day with her.”

In the weeks after the funeral, Heather struggled to feel her sister’s presence — until one afternoon, she heard Katlyn’s familiar laugh. “That’s when I knew she’s still with me,” she says. “I’ll always carry her in my heart. And from now on, I’ll try to live a little more wild — just like she taught me.”

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