Amber Harris Memorial Is Today Memorial Comes On National Missing Children Day POSTED: 8:28 am CDT May 25, 2006 UPDATED: 9:58 am CDT May 25, 2006 OMAHA, Neb. -- Amber Harris will be remembered Thursday morning in a public memorial service. The slain 12-year-old's remains were identified last week after being found in Hummel Park two weeks ago. Harris was last seen exiting a school bus Nov. 29. The memorial service is at 10 a.m. Thursday at Grace Apostolic Church at 2216 Military Ave. in Omaha. It could be weeks before the girl's family can hold a funeral service and burial. Harris' mother, Melissa, said police are still examining the girl's remains as part of their murder investigation. She said she might not be able to bury the girl until sometime in June. The memorial service is being held on the same day as National Missing Children's Day. The U.S. Postal Service will issue a new stamp honoring the Amber Alert System, which is used to find missing children. The stamp depicts a mother and child embracing and reads "Amber Alert saves missing children." Omaha's main post office will offer the stamps for free on Wednesday between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Volunteers will offer free fingerprinting to children and adults. Project Jason is helping with the post office event. That group was started locally by Kelly Jolkowski, whose son Jason disappeared in June 2001. Also expected at Thursday's memorial is a nationally recognized spokesman for missing children. Marc Klaas got national attention 10 years ago when his daughter, Polly, was kidnapped and murdered. Klaas is in Omaha to comfort Michael and Melissa Harris. Klaas said the Harrises' story should help to remind people that there is still a killer out there, even as the family tries to heal from their loss. He said their situation puts him right back in his own sorrow over his daughter. "It just breaks your heart. It takes me back to our situation many, many years ago," Klaas said. Volunteers looked for Polly Klaas for 65 days before she was found murdered. Klaas subsequently founded the KlassKids Foundation to shine a light on missing children's cases. His message at Amber Harris' memorial is that, while now is the time to say goodbye to the 12-year-old, the case is not over. "Priority No. 1: There is a killer out there, and he has to be found. That's a huge, huge, huge priority," Klaas said. Hundreds of volunteers turned out in Omaha in March to help the KlaasKids Foundation hunt for Harris, who had been missing since Nov. 29. Foundation director Brad Dennis said his group came to Omaha with a very broad search plan. The searchers hit 25 identified sites all over the city. They collected items such as clothing, lip balm, outerwear, notebooks and cell phones. Klaas said that while he understands the Harrises' recent remarks expressing anger and frustration towards the Omaha Police Department, there may be a more measured response. "People might want to step back and diffuse the situation a little bit, so that's it not about pointing fingers, it's not be recrimination, it's about working together to try and find the killer," Klaas said. Klaas said he hopes Amber's story leads to new safety measures and prevention, from Capitol Hill to closer to home. "Turn it into something positive for children. Create a legacy in Amber's name that will hopefully be protective of other children," Klaas said. Klaas said that just like the Harrises, he was also very upset with police when his daughter disappeared. He said he now realizes those officers did everything he could. But he said that he hopes that the next time a child disappears in this community, law enforcement is better prepared. He said there are ways that can be done. Klaas said the Omaha Police Department has not returned calls from his organization. http://www.ketv.com/news/9272357/detail.html

Amber Harris Murder Case: Search Warrant Revealed POSTED: 8:57 pm CDT May 31, 2006 UPDATED: 9:35 pm CDT May 31, 2006 OMAHA, Neb. -- A search warrant recently uncovered in the murder case of Amber Harris reveals new information about her disappearance. The body of the 12-year-old girl was discovered in Hummel Park almost three weeks ago. She was last seen getting off a school bus in November. In February, police recovered the girl's backpack in a trash barrel just blocks from her home. A search warrant issued at the time revealed police searched the home where the bag was discovered and ran criminal background checks on the people who lived there. One of those men was Gino Lindsey who said he initially discovered the backpack outside his house near 22nd and Lake Streets. The search warrant affidavit revealed that Lindsey, and renters in his home all had extensive criminal backgrounds, and that one of the men was evicted from the home the day Harris disappeared. The affidavit said Lindsey has a long criminal history involving weapons, drugs and sexual assault dating back to 1997. So far, no one's been arrested for Harris' murder. http://www.ketv.com/news/9302250/detail.html?rss=oma&psp=news

Woman Found Amber Harris' Calculator Days After Disappearance Woman Upset By Police Treatment POSTED: 4:49 pm CDT June 1, 2006 UPDATED: 5:26 pm CDT June 1, 2006 OMAHA, Neb. -- More details of the hunt for Amber Harris' killer were revealed on Thursday. A calculator that allegedly belonged to Amber Harris, the 12-year-old whose body was found last month in Hummel Park after she'd been missing for six months, was turned over to police the week after the girl disappeared. The woman who found it wants to know whatever happened to that piece of evidence, and whether it generated any leads in the case. The woman, who does not want to be identified, lives in a boarding house at 16th and Lothrop streets, which is just around the corner from the Harris home. She said she found the calculator inside the caretaker's apartment. "My cousin and I were sitting in there when my cousin noticed the calculator," the woman said, saying the pair didn't think much of the device at first. "Until she looked at me and turned the calculator around so I could see the name -- Amber Harris." The woman said that at the time, Harris had been missing only a few days. "I panicked, because this other side of the house is boarded up. Everything but the back door. So there still was access, and because her things were here, it made me get that eerie feeling that she's still in the building," the woman said. The woman immediately took the calculator over to the Harris family and contacted police. "The first thing my daughter said is, 'That's Amber's calculator,'" Melissa Harris said. "But the police told us no, it was another Amber, and we just left it alone." Melissa Harris said she didn't think anything more about the calculator. But the woman who discovered it said police interviewed her twice, along with everyone who lived in the boarding house. She said police made her feel like a suspect, when she said she was just trying to help. "The same detectives that were so friendly the first time looked at me in the eye a week later and they didn't believe me, that I was lying and withholding information. I was mad," she said. Police had no comment on Thursday about the calculator. In February, police recovered the girl's backpack in a trash barrel just blocks from her home. A search warrant issued at the time revealed police searched the home where the bag was discovered and ran criminal background checks on the people who lived there. One of those men was Gino Lindsey who said he initially discovered the backpack outside his house near 22nd and Lake Streets. The search warrant affidavit revealed that Lindsey, and renters in his home all had extensive criminal backgrounds, and that one of the men was evicted from the home the day Harris' bag was found. The affidavit said Lindsey has a long criminal history involving weapons, drugs and sexual assault dating back to 1997. So far, no one's been arrested for Harris' murder. http://www.ketv.com/news/9307942/detail.html?rss=oma&psp=news

Sex Offender Arrested Near Where Harris Bag Found POSTED: 2:51 pm CDT June 2, 2006 UPDATED: 2:59 pm CDT June 2, 2006 Roy Ellis OMAHA, Neb. -- Investigators won't say if a level 3 sex offender who was arrested near the home where Amber Harris' backpack was found is a suspect in her death. Police arrested Roy Ellis on Friday morning at 21st and Ohio streets. Ellis is charged with making terroristic threats, first-degree false imprisonment and domestic abuse charges against a woman. Ellis was convicted of raping two young girls in 1999. Police said they're looking at all sex offenders living near the area where Harris' book bag was found in February near 21st and Lake streets. Police won't confirm or deny whether Ellis is one of the people they're investigating. http://www.ketv.com/news/9313834/detail.html?rss=oma&psp=news

County's Request For $3M Bond Denied Bond Set At $100K POSTED: 3:20 pm CDT June 6, 2006 UPDATED: 4:14 pm CDT June 6, 2006 OMAHA, Neb. -- Douglas County asked on Tuesday for a $3 million bond for a convicted sex offender arrested near where Amber Harris' book bag was found, but was denied. Police arrested Roy Ellis, 52, on Friday morning at 21st and Ohio streets. Ellis is charged with making terroristic threats, first-degree false imprisonment and domestic abuse charges against his girlfriend in September. Ellis was convicted of raping two young girls in 1999. Police said they're looking at all sex offenders living near the area where Harris' book bag was found in February near 21st and Lake streets. Police won't confirm or deny whether Ellis is one of the people they're investigating. On Tuesday, a Douglas County prosecutor asked a judge to set Ellis' bond at $3 million. The prosecutor said Ellis' girlfriend, Antoinette Pollock, reported to police that Ellis took her from her home to a wooded area and threatened her with serious bodily injury. The public defender assigned as Ellis' attorney, Peder Bartling, said the figure was too high considering the three felony charges Ellis faces. The defender suggested that the county is trying to hold Ellis on charges it isn't yet ready to reveal. Bartling argued that Ellis can't be held on "collateral matters" which the county attorney has not disclosed. The judge agreed with the defender and set Ellis' bond at $100,000. Ellis' girlfriend acknowledged that she discussed Amber Harris with police, but said she doesn't know anything. Police said they are looking at sex offenders in Harris' neighborhood. http://www.ketv.com/news/9330210/detail.html?rss=oma&psp=news

Search continues in Harris case On June 2, police raided the home of Roy Ellis, Jr., whose girlfriend, Jean Fischer, said police questioned her about Amber Harris, a missing 12-year-old whose body was found May 11 in Hummel Park. Police arrested Ellis for allegedly making terroristic threats and violating a protection order. Ellis’ home, at 2125 Ohio St., is only one block from where Amber’s backpack was found Feb. 14. Ellis, 52, is a Level 3 sex offender, convicted in 1999 of sexually assaulting two female minors who were his relatives. Police also searched a home near 22nd and Lake when Amber’s backpack was found in February. Renters of the home had extensive criminal backgrounds, including one who was evicted from the home Nov. 29 — the day of Amber’s disappearance. Another resident of the home, Gino Lyndsey, has a criminal history including weapons, drugs and sexual assault dating back to 1997. Fischer said police also questioned her about Lyndsey, who she said is a friend of Ellis. Ellis was being held on a $100,000 bond. Antoinette Pollock, a former girlfriend of Ellis, filed a protection order against him last September, in which she stated he threatened to harm her in N.P. Dodge Park, which is adjacent to Hummel Park. In light of increasing criminal activity in Hummel Park, the Omaha City Council passed a resolution June 6 to temporarily change the park’s hours from 5 a.m.-9 p.m., effective until the end of 2006. The park is currently open until 11 p.m. http://www.thereader.com/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1149702050&archive=&start_from=&ucat=6&

Autopsy Shows Amber Harris Died Of Blunt-Force Trauma POSTED: 2:12 pm CDT June 14, 2006 UPDATED: 2:15 pm CDT June 14, 2006 OMAHA, Neb. -- An Omaha 12-year-old died of blunt-force trauma, the Omaha Police Department reported on Wednesday. An autopsy showed that the cause of death of Amber Harris was blunt-force trauma. The investigation into the death is still ongoing. Harris disappeared in November. Her body was found in Hummel Park last month. No arrests have been reported in connection with her death. http://www.ketv.com/news/9370401/detail.html?rss=oma&psp=news

Cause Of Death Named Amber died of blunt force trauma The Omaha Police Department confirms that 12-year-old Amber Harris died as a result of blunt force trauma. The child disappeared in November and her remains were found in Hummel Park last month. The autopsy revealed the cause of death and the information was formally released by police on Wednesday. The investigation has now turned to a search for Amber's killer. Until the child's remains were found, the only key evidence to surface was a book bag that she owned. It turned up in a trash can near 21st and Lake on February 14. Anyone with information about the case should contact police http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/3051231.html

Detective Interviewed Sex Offender About Amber Harris Bond Raised On Friday For Roy Ellis POSTED: 2:29 pm CDT June 16, 2006 UPDATED: 3:20 pm CDT June 16, 2006 OMAHA, Neb. -- Bond was raised on Friday for a convicted sex offender who police acknowledged publicly for the first time has been interviewed in connection with the Amber Harris case. Roy Ellis is a Level 3 sex offender who is charged with making terroristic threats, first-degree false imprisonment and domestic abuse charges against his girlfriend for a September 2005 incident. In court on Friday, the detective working the Amber Harris homicide case said he spoke with Ellis about Harris' death. The 12-year-old girl's body was found last month in Hummel Park after she disappeared in November. No arrests have been made that have been directly linked to her death. Detective Steve Henthorn said in court that he decided to interview Ellis after her learned that Ellis had violated a protection order filed by his girlfriend. The girlfriend told Henthorn that Ellis took her from her home in September on a frightening journey around Omaha and into Washington County. During the trip, the girlfriend told police, Ellis stopped repeatedly to try to put her in the trunk of his car, threatened to slice her throat and cut her head off, and took her to wooded areas near Hummel Park and into Washington County before returning her to her home. Ellis' attorney asked in court why Henthorn had waited until May to talk to the girlfriend about her September 2005 police report. Henthorn said it was because he wanted to "talk to him about Amber Harris." Henthorn said he took a DNA swab from Ellis to compare against evidence in the Harris investigation. The judge raised Ellis' bond from $100,000 to $500,000 and bound him over for trial in District Court. Ellis was convicted of raping two young girls in 1999 and he has been convicted on drug and numerous other charges. http://www.ketv.com/news/9383841/detail.html?rss=oma&psp=news

Amber Harris Burial Set Remains returned to family The remains of Amber Harris have been returned to the family and burial has been scheduled for Friday afternoon. Amber disappeared last November after getting off a bus on her way home from school. Her remains were found in Hummel Park in May. Burial will be at Forest Lawn Cemetery on Friday at 2 p.m. The public is invited to attend. http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/3478627.html

Amber Harris Will Be Laid To Rest POSTED: 11:37 am CDT August 3, 2006 UPDATED: 11:48 am CDT August 3, 2006 OMAHA, Neb. -- The mother of Amber Harris said that her daughter will finally be laid to rest. Melissa Harris told NewsWatch 7 that the police called her Wednesday and said she can now bury her daughter. Amber's remains were found in Hummel Park in May. The 12-year-old had been missing since last November. The public service starts at 1:30 p.m. at Myers Funeral Home at 22nd and Lake streets. Amber will be buried at 2 p.m. at the Forest Lawn Cemetery. No arrests have been made in her case. http://www.ketv.com/news/9623162/detail.html?rss=oma&psp=news

Unanswered Questions Unresolved Cases Mysteries cloak three deaths Autopsy results on Tracy Tribble are expected to be released Friday. The Council Bluffs woman's body was found in the Missouri River in May, 16 days after she vanished from her home. County Attorney Matt Wilber says he received the autopsy report late Thursday afternoon and will share the results with the Tribble family before making a public statement on the findings. That's expected Friday afternoon. We spoke with the Tribble family Thursday evening but they had not yet heard from Wilber. In another high-profile case, three months after police confirmed that human remains found in Hummel Park were those of missing 12-year-old Amber Harris, tests are complete and Amber's remains have been returned to her family for burial. Melissa Harris says, "Probably the last week has been the hardest of all -- most of all yesterday -- through the whole thing because it brought a finality when I saw her, to her life, and all the hope we had." Amber's murder remains unsolved. "There's really been nothing new," Melissa says. "We're just kind of waiting." Police say they're working on the case daily. The same can be said in the case of Jessica O'Grady. Douglas County Chief Deputy Sheriff Marty Bilek says, "We need to find Jessica O'Grady, no question about it. We'll continue to look." It's been nearly three months since the 19-year-old disappeared and her body has yet to be found. Bilek says, "The tips that we are getting right now, I can tell you, are sporadic. We are not getting the steady flow like we once were." But the sheriff's office has moved forward with its case. O'Grady's boyfriend, Chris Edwards, has been charged with murder. Investigators collected evidence, including large amounts of blood, from Edwards' home. On Friday, the defense and prosecutors will meet with the judge to discuss issues before trial. Bilek says, "We feel like we have a very strong case. We have a suspect. We have a victim." But as with Tracy Tribble and Amber Harris, months after their deaths, questions remain unanswered. http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/3488616.html

Looking For Closure One piece of puzzle remains One day after burying her 12-year-old daughter, Melissa Harris says closure will now be a work in progress for the family. Who killed Amber Harris and why are questions left unanswered for the family. No arrests have been made in connection with her murder. Melissa says that might be the last piece of the family's tragic puzzle. "You don't want to assume or jump to conclusions," she says. "You want to make sure that they catch the right person or persons. That's what gives you the patience." Had Amber lived, she would be celebrating her 13th birthday this Tuesday. On that day her family plans to hold a balloon release to celebrate Amber's life and spirit. http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/3500106.html

Family, Friends Remember Amber Harris' Birthday August 9, 2006 OMAHA, Neb. -- A somber remembrance was held Tuesday on the birthday of an Omaha girl who was killed. Tuesday would have been Amber Harris' 13th birthday. Close friends and family came to her parents' home to send off pink balloons. Pink was Amber's favorite color. Last November, Amber disappeared after exiting a school bus. Her body was found in Hummel Park last May. Omaha police are not saying convicted sex offender Roy Ellis is a suspect, but last month a detective testified in court that police swabbed Ellis' cheek for a saliva sample to compare it to Amber's DNA, NewsWatch 7 reported. Ellis goes to court on domestic violence charges on Sept. 5. http://www.ketv.com/news/9653597/detail.html?rss=oma&psp=news

Man Who Found Harris's Body Gets Lawyer POSTED: 5:48 pm CDT October 16, 2006 UPDATED: 9:45 pm CDT October 16, 2006 OMAHA, Neb. -- The person who found the body of a missing Omaha 12-year-old has hired an attorney. Amber Harris's body was found in Hummel Park in May after the girl disappeared in November. KETV NewsWatch 7 has learned that the unidentified man has not been paid the reward money, and that's why he sought legal counsel. http://www.ketv.com/news/10090652/detail.html?rss=oma&psp=news