100 attend candlelight vigil for missing girl By The Associated Press OMAHA — About 100 people attended a candlelight vigil for a 12-year-old girl who has missing for more than two weeks. Amber Harris was last seen getting off a school bus about four blocks from her home Nov. 29. Police have said there is no indication of foul play. Amber recently was placed on the registry of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. She is listed as an “endangered runaway.” Tuesday night’s vigil was held on the street corner where Amber got off the bus. “I love you, Amber. I want you to come home,” said her mother, Melissa Harris. “Mommy misses you. Daddy misses you.” Amber’s father, Michael Harris, said the family has not given up hope that she will be found. “Baby, we love you, and we want you home with us where you belong.” Fliers with Amber’s picture were distributed and prayers of hope were offered. The Harris family received a check for $1,000 from the Delta Epsilon Omega chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. The donation increases the reward for information leading to the location of Amber to $2,000. Amber Harris is black, 4-foot-8, weighs 120 pounds and was last seen wearing light blue jeans, a black and white windbreaker and K-Swiss shoes. http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2005/12/15/nebraska/doc43a06d29a2458115353586.txt

Search For Girl Squad asks for help The child victim sexual assault squad is conducting an investigation into the disappearance of 12-year-old Amber Harris. Owners of vacant property in the surrounding areas of 16th and Locust Streets are asked to check their property for signs of someone having been on their land. Anyone who finds evidence of this is urged to call the child victim sexual assault squad at 444-5636 or the main console at 444-5600. http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/2086772.html

Family's search for Amber expands; volunteers enlist The family of a missing 12-year-old girl returned Saturday to the corner where she was last seen, pleading for her safe return and asking for help in the continued search. Amber Harris, who has been missing since Nov. 29, was last seen stepping off a school bus near Florence Boulevard and Pinkney Street, four blocks from her home. http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=1636&u_sid=2084411

Search Continues Police say protocol followed The FBI is now assisting in the search for 12-year-old Amber Harris who has been missing for three weeks. She was last seen getting off of a school bus at Florence and Pinkney on November 29. At a news conference on Monday, Police Chief Thomas Warren says a videotape from the bus shows Amber getting off the vehicle there, walking south and then turning east toward her home at 3210 N. 16th. But Chief Warren said on Monday that Amber might have asked to be let off at other locations such as Miller Park or Kountze Park. He says the department followed standard protocol in the investigation as soon as Amber was reported missing by checking with businesses, the bus company and by canvassing the area. "Some of the bus occupants indicated that Amber may have asked to be let off at Millar Park, which is prior to her normal stop," Warren said. Chief Warren says officers spent the evening searching the area around Millar Park and Harris' home. Police notified the media of the girls' disappearance the next evening. "At the time of the original radio call, we had no indication that this was anything other than a potential run-away," said Warren. "But certainly as time goes by, there's a growing concern for a 12-year-old unaccounted for." "It's tears," said Michael Harris, Amber's father. "You name it -- it's there." The girl's family hands out flyers and has joined the police in asking those living near 16th and Locust, where the Harris' live, to check garages and outbuildings. While police have conducted searches, they can't enter private property without cause. "Anyone that owns property in the neighborhood -- they're asked to come forward," said Michael Harris. "Please check your property." The family says police searched the family computer and found nothing noteworthy. Investigators still don't know if the girl is a runaway or has been abducted. "We can't say definitely she's in the company of anyone," said Warren. "One would suggest that someone would have had to assist a 12-year-old to sustain her for three weeks." Behavioral scientists with the FBI have been called in to assist Omaha Police in the investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call 444-5636 or 444-5600. http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/2091652.html

Published Tuesday December 20, 2005 Police release few details in case of Amber Harris The last anyone saw of Amber Harris, she was walking toward her home. The 12-year-old girl got off her school bus at 5:41 p.m. Nov. 29 at Florence Boulevard and Pinkney Street. She walked south on Florence Boulevard - about 20th Street - then east on Lothrop Street. Her house is on 16th, a block from Lothrop. Police released few details Monday morning about the investigation. They said their main goal is to keep Amber's face and story in the public eye. With no confirmed sightings of Amber and no clear evidence of what happened to her, police are relying on help from the public to find the girl. Amber Harris might have asked to be dropped off at Miller Park, more than two miles from her home. Police that night searched near Miller Park as well as the area around 24th and Lothrop Streets, which is where Amber normally was dropped off. Amber left Beveridge Magnet Center, 1616 S. 120th St., at 4:30 p.m. on the late bus, according to her parents. The seventh-grader sometimes stayed at school to get help on assignments or to tutor other students. The bus dropped off Amber at 5:41 p.m. But Amber didn't come home, leading her parents to call the police at 6:50 p.m. Police now question the validity of the Miller Park information, said Sgt. Teresa Negron. Investigators spent two Sundays searching the area between the spot where Amber was dropped off and her home near 16th and Spencer Streets. The citizens patrol, police helicopter and mounted patrol assisted in the search. Police also began working with the FBI's behavioral analysis unit to construct profiles of what could have happened. Investigators have asked owners of vacant property near 16th and Locust Streets to check the property for signs that anyone has been inside the buildings. Anyone who finds any evidence that someone has been inside vacant property is urged to call 444-5636 or 444-5600. RELATED AUDIO (can be accessed at link below) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- » Chief Warren describes the initial police response to Amber's disappearance » Chief Warren explains why the media was not contacted immediately http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=1636&u_sid=2085276

'I paid my debt' for the past, says dad Melissa and Michael Harris married 20 years ago while he was doing prison time for rape. Authorities in the past have accused Michael Harris of excessively disciplining his kids. Just last year, Melissa Harris accused Michael of physically and verbally abusing her. Today, they are facing the toughest challenge of their marriage - the disappearance of their 12-year-old daughter, Amber. The girl has not been seen since Nov. 29, when she stepped off a school bus. Melissa Harris said she wants to explain her husband's past because of suggestions that the girl ran away from an abusive household. "I want to clear him because he's not a bad man," his wife said. "Him and Amber were closer than any of the kids." Omaha police declined to say whether Michael Harris' past has been a consideration in the investigation. Sgt. Teresa Negron said officers gather information in any missing person case by interviewing people and looking at a family's dynamics and history. "That is perfectly fine with us," Melissa Harris said. Michael Harris spent five years in prison for raping an Omaha woman in 1983. The woman was standing outside her apartment when two men forced her into a car in which a third man waited. They repeatedly raped her in an abandoned house near 18th and Lothrop Streets. Harris, then 18, was arrested and turned in the other men. "Whatever I did in the past, I paid my debt," Michael Harris said Wednesday. "I'm no longer that individual." Melissa Harris said she and her husband have been through a great deal together. Four of the family's six children have been temporarily placed in foster care at different times since 1992 because of excessive discipline by Michael Harris, court records show. Amber has not been in foster care. The couple attended counseling and parenting classes. In 1994, Michael Harris was ordered to take an alcohol and drug education class. In March 2004, he was sentenced to probation and was ordered to enroll in substance abuse testing after beating his son Justin, then 12, with a belt. That same month, Melissa Harris filed a protection order against her husband. On the application, she wrote that he had physically and verbally abused her and that her children were uncomfortable around him. He had a long-standing alcohol problem, she wrote. A month later, a judge dismissed the protection order at Melissa Harris' request. She says now that she obtained the protection order to retaliate against her husband. He had threatened to call the police on Justin, she said, for what she described as Justin's out-of-control behavior. She changed her mind after realizing that her son was manipulating her, she said. Michael Harris also has four drunken-driving convictions in Douglas County. Despite that, Melissa Harris said, her husband is not an alcoholic. "I wouldn't stay married to some kook who was going to drink and beat everybody up." Michael Harris said that his household is not perfect but that the couple are caring parents. "Me and my wife, we love our children," he said. "We're going to keep doing everything we can to get our daughter back." Michael Harris, a 40-year-old self-employed laborer, now spends his days searching for Amber. His wife rocks back and forth in her chair while fielding phone calls and providing updates to friends and relatives. Nearby, a Bible opened to Psalms sits on a coffee table. Framed family photos hang from the walls. A sheet listing disciplinary measures for bad behavior is displayed above an organ. The paper describes what will happen to a child who is dishonest, talks back, does not go to bed on time or calls others names. The measures include warnings, extra chores, writing assignments and going to bed early. "We don't use the word 'punishment' here - only 'consequences,'" she said. Melissa Harris, 42, who does seasonal work in a company's call center, speculates that Amber was abducted by someone the girl knows. Otherwise, her daughter would have fought back, she said. "And she has a little, teeny mouth like mine, but a lot of sound comes out of it." http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=1636&u_sid=2078865

Missing Girl's Parents Take Polygraph Police Worked Through Initial Night In Search For Amber Harris POSTED: 8:45 am CST December 19, 2005 UPDATED: 5:18 pm CST December 19, 2005 Video Of Harris On Bus Released OMAHA, Neb. -- The father of a missing Omaha girl said he and his wife took a polygraph test on Monday as part of a police investigation into the girl's disappearance. Omaha's police chief sought during a news conference on Monday to defend the department's handling of the case of a missing girl who disappeared nearly three weeks ago. Police Chief Thomas Warren said his officers worked through the night of Nov. 29 after the department was first told that Amber Harris did not make it home after she was seen getting off her school bus near Florence Boulevard and Lothrop Street. Harris' father, Michael, told KETV NewsWatch 7 on Monday that he would do anything to get his daughter home. "It'd be the best Christmas present I ever had in my life -- the best," Michael Harris said. Harris said he and his wife took a polygraph test in an effort to cooperate with police in any way they can. Police confirmed Monday that the Harris family has been very cooperative, and are considered victims in this case. Court documents show Michael Harris, Amber's father, and two others raped a woman 22 years ago. According to his wife, he also has at least three arrests for driving under the influence. Also, Melissa Harris took out a protection order on her husband last year after, she said, one of her six children manipulated her. Melissa Harris told KETV NewsWatch 7 that the protection order was a mistake. On Monday, the police chief listed a day-by-day analysis of what his department has done to try to locate the girl. Warren said his officers went to 3210 N. 16th St. on a report of a missing juvenile after 7 p.m. on Nov. 29. The child's mother, Melissa Harris, told officers that she last saw her daughter get on her school bus at 6 a.m. on the 29th. Warren said officers talked to the Harris family and others who were on the same Laidlaw bus that Amber Harris boarded after school that day. One of the bus riders told officers that Harris may have asked to get off near Miller Park on that day. Warren said his officers covered the area around Miller Park and between there and Harris' home. The night the 12-year-old disappeared, Warren said, a K9 unit was not used to track the girl. They worked through the night, and continued to interview the family and other bus riders. The media was not notified that the girl was missing until the evening of Nov. 30. At that time, a photo of the girl and the phone numbers for Omaha police were released to the public asking for help to find the girl. "We had no indication (initially) that there was any foul play involved," Warren said. "We investigate these matters from all possible perspectives -- from worst-case scenario, if there may have been an abduction, to the individual running away voluntarily. At the time of the initial radio call, we didn't have any indication that this was anything other than a runaway. But as the time elapsed, you have concern that there's a missing 12-year-old." Investigators said on Monday that Amber Harris was dropped off at Lothrop Street and Florence Boulevard and was seen headed east on Lothrop toward her home. Warren said his department has expended considerable resources in the hunt for Harris, including many officer hours, the use of the department's helicopter and use of the FBI for help. "We looked at the dynamics of the family, interviewed family and friends and associates of the missing person," Warren said. "I cannot tell you that we've had any confirmed sightings of Amber Harris since her disappearance. We're working, literally, hundreds of leads." Omaha police have now enlisted the FBI to help search for the girl. "We are involving as many resources from the FBI as possible to track down any and all leads," said the FBI's Paul Lacotti. "We are involving the behavioral analysis unit. This task force is growing in an effort to find Amber and resolve this matter. The biggest thing we can do is make sure this stays in the media attention." Police said they had a tip early on that Amber Harris might be with a boyfriend. "We initially pursued a lead that she may be in the company of a boyfriend, but we, obviously, haven't been able to locate her. I can't say it was that one boyfriend that she was in the company of," Warren said. The police chief said that, while investigators can't conclusively say that Amber Harris is with someone, it is reasonable to assume that a 12-year-old would need some help to stay away from home for three weeks. Amber Harris has been listed by the National Center for Exploited and Missing Children and on the Nebraska State Patrol's Missing Persons Information Clearinghouse. The Child Victim Sexual Assault Squad is asking for help in the case. They are asking owners of vacant property near 16th and Locust streets to check for evidence that someone may have been on the property. If you have information about Harris' disappearance, call (402) 444-5636. http://www.ketv.com/news/5575607/detail.html?rss=oma&psp=news

FBI Joins Hunt for Missing Girl Dec. 19, 2005 — The FBI has joined the search for a 12-year-old Omaha, Neb., girl who has been missing for nearly three weeks, as the Omaha police chief defends the department's actions in the case. Amber Harris was last seen getting off her school bus on Nov. 29, and officers worked through the night talking to the girl's family and others who rode the same bus that she did, Police Chief Thomas Warren said today. One of the other riders told police the girl may have asked to get off near Miller Park, an 80-acre recreation area that police searched along with surrounding areas near Harris' home. Police notified the media the following evening, and Harris' photo and police phone numbers were released to the public. Community search parties were formed. ABC's Omaha affiliate KETV reported that Warren said police had a tip early on that Harris might be with a boyfriend. "We initially pursued a lead that she may be in the company of a boyfriend, but we obviously haven't been able to locate her," Warren said. "I can't say it was that one boyfriend that she was in the company of." The police chief said that, while investigators can't conclusively say that Harris is with someone, it is reasonable to assume someone her age would not be able to stay away from home for three weeks on her own resources. "We had no indication that there was any foul play involved," Warren said, according to ABC's Omaha affiliate KETV. "We investigate these matters from all possible perspectives — from worst-case scenario, if there may have been an abduction, to the individual running away voluntarily. At the time of the initial radio call, we didn't have any indication that this was anything other than a runaway. But as the time elapsed, you have concern that there's a missing 12-year-old." Investigation Gets Help Omaha police have now enlisted the FBI to help search for the girl. "We are involving as many resources from the FBI as possible to track down any and all leads," said Paul C. LaCotti Jr., special agent in charge of the FBI's Omaha division. "We are involving the behavioral analysis unit. This task force is growing in an effort to find Amber and resolve this matter." In the three weeks since her disappearance, details have emerged about Harris' parents' history with law enforcement, though Warren said the girl's family has been extremely cooperative with the investigation and they are considered "victims" by the department. Court records show Amber's father, Michael Harris, and two others raped a woman 22 years ago and he spent five years in prison for the crime. His wife, Melissa Harris, told KETV that their six children did not know about the sexual assault conviction until it came to light during the investigation into Amber's disappearance. She also said her husband has at least three arrests for driving under the influence. In addition, Melissa Harris took out a protection order against her husband last year. Harris told KETV that one of her six children manipulated her into doing so and that the protection order was a mistake. Still, the girl's mother told KETV that Amber and her father have a very close relationship and she has no reason to be scared of him. She added that she and her husband have taken parenting classes to improve their skills. Meanwhile, the search for Amber continues, and she has been listed by the National Center for Exploited and Missing Children and on the Nebraska State Patrol's Missing Persons Information Clearinghouse. "I cannot tell you that we've had any confirmed sightings of Amber Harris since her disappearance," Warren said. "We're working literally hundreds of leads." http://abcnews.go.com/US/LegalCenter/story?id=1421713

Published Tuesday December 20, 2005 Police, FBI ask public for help In their search for Amber Harris, Omaha police have mounted horses, flown over parts of north Omaha and walked alleys, streets and a vacant lot. There haven't been any confirmed sightings of Amber since Nov. 29, when she last was seen getting off a school bus near Florence Boulevard and Pinkney Street, said Omaha Police Chief Thomas Warren. But a task force continues to look into leads, now numbering in the hundreds, he said. Warren stood with FBI special agent in charge Paul LaCotti on Monday morning to assure Amber's family and the city's residents that law enforcement has done - and continues to do - everything in its power to find the 12-year-old. The last anyone saw of Amber, she was walking toward her home. She got off her school bus and walked south on Florence Boulevard - about 20th Street - then east on Lothrop Street. Her house is on 16th, a block from Lothrop. Warren said police are looking at every possible scenario, from the possibility that Amber was abducted to her running away from home. He offered no details, however, on the tips passed to police or the evidence collected so far. At this point, he said, the main goal is to keep Amber's face and story in the public eye. Police need the public's help in finding the girl, he said. Responding to a report that Amber might have asked to be dropped off at Miller Park, police on the night of her disappearance searched near that park as well as the area around 24th and Lothrop Streets, which is where Amber normally was dropped off. Amber left Beveridge Magnet Center, 1616 S. 120th St., at 4:32 p.m. on the late bus. The seventh-grader sometimes stayed at school to get help on assignments or to tutor other students. Omaha police released video footage of the 70-minute bus ride, which showed Amber getting on the bus and taking a window seat near the back with 19 other school kids. She appears relaxed and unworried, staring out the window and ignoring the other kids' hijinks. About 10 minutes before leaving the bus, she is shown wiping makeup off her eyelids and using her sleeve to wipe her mouth. The bus dropped off Amber at 5:41 p.m. But Amber didn't come home, leading her parents to call the police at 6:50 p.m. Police now question the validity of the Miller Park information, said Sgt. Teresa Negron. Investigators spent two Sundays searching the area between the spot where Amber was dropped off and her home near 16th and Spencer Streets. Police also began working with the FBI's behavioral analysis unit to construct profiles of what could have happened. Investigators have asked owners of vacant property near 16th and Locust Streets to check for signs that anyone has been inside the buildings. Anyone who finds any evidence that someone has been inside vacant property is urged to call 444-5636 or 444-5600. http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=1636&u_sid=2085276&u_rnd=1065075

On Anniversary Of Girl's Disappearance Police Hold Checkpoint POSTED: 11:21 pm CST December 20, 2005 UPDATED: 8:53 am CST December 21, 2005 OMAHA, Neb. -- On the three-week anniversary of a Omaha 12-year-old's disappearance, police held a checkpoint. Amber Harris was last seen getting of her school bus on Nov. 29. On Tuesday evening, Omaha police created a road block at the site where she was last seen, at 16th and Pinkney streets. They wanted to talk to the drivers who frequent the area to ask whether they had seen anything that might relate to the girl's disappearance. The road block was the FBI's idea, according to police. http://www.ketv.com/news/5593174/detail.html?rss=oma&psp=news

Police: Harris Has Not Been Found POSTED: 5:42 pm CST December 27, 2005 UPDATED: 5:46 pm CST December 27, 2005 OMAHA, Neb. -- Omaha police continued their search Tuesday for a missing 12-year-old, and want to dispel rumors that the girl has been found. Amber Harris hasn't been seen since she got off her school bus on Nov. 29. Police said there are rumors going around that Harris has been found. They said there have been no confirmed sightings of Harris, and they are still following up on all leads. If you have any information on Harris, you are asked to call (402) 444-5636 or (402) 444-5600. KETV

Published Friday December 30, 2005 Vigil marks month since girl vanished BY JASON KUIPER Melissa Harris accepted hug after hug Thursday night. Fellow mothers and pastors took her hand and spoke to her in low tones near the front pew in Prince of Peace Church. Michael and Melissa Harris were joined by more than 50 people Thursday night at a vigil for their missing daughter, Amber, at Prince of Peace Church in Omaha. Amber, 12, was last seen Nov. 29. The church, at 7818 Raven Oaks Drive, was the scene of a vigil for Amber Harris, the 12-year-old daughter of Melissa and Michael Harris, on the one-month anniversary of Amber's disappearance. "I believe she is alive," Melissa Harris, a streak of mascara smeared down her cheek, softly told a well-wisher. Melissa and Michael Harris sat in the front pew and listened to the prayers and pleas of various pastors from the metro area. A pair of poinsettias - a reminder of Christmas - were visible at the front of the church. It will still be Christmas, Melissa Harris said, whenever Amber comes home. "It makes it easier," she said of the community's support. "It makes your spirit full." Amber was last seen Nov. 29, when she stepped off a school bus at Florence Boulevard and Pinkney Street and headed to her home a few blocks away, at 16th and Spencer Streets. Omaha police have said there have been no confirmed sightings of Amber since. More than 50 people attended Thursday's vigil service to pray, sing and offer support. Pastors asked for Amber's safe return. The Rev. Thomas L. Smith Sr., pastor of Paradise Baptist Church, even offered his phone number, asking anyone who has Amber to call him and he would come get Amber and take her home. "A chain has been broken in this family and it needs to be mended," he said. Anyone with information about Amber is asked to call Omaha Police at 444-5636 or 444-5600. The girl's family has established a reward fund that has grown to $2,800. Donations to the fund can be made at any First National Bank of Omaha branch. Copyright ©2005 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or distributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald. http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=1636&u_sid=2090516

Missing Omaha girl may have been seen in C.B. Nicole Weis, Staff Writer 01/02/2006 A missing Omaha girl may have been spotted at a Council Bluffs gas station in the early morning hours of New Year's Day. Authorities received a report of a suspicious vehicle with several occupants at the Shell Speedee Mart located at 3624 Ninth Ave. around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday. An employee informed the responding officer that a girl who resembled 12-year-old Amber Harris, who has been missing since Nov. 29, 2005, had gotten out of a brown van and was "slightly forced" back inside. Another passenger in the van came into the store and removed a missing poster of Harris from the bulletin board and took it back to the van. The license plate number the employee gave the officer did not match the vehicle's description. The officer checked numerous possible addresses and similar plate numbers, but could not locate the vehicle or the occupants. Because of a lack of evidence of foul play, Harris has been listed as a possible runaway, according to www.crimelibrary.com, a missing children's Web site. However, Harris' parents, Michael and Melissa Harris, have said they firmly believe she has been abducted. The child is considered to be missing and endangered. The Beveridge Middle School student was last seen getting off the bus at 5:41 p.m. on the Nov. 29 only a couple blocks from her home wearing light blue jeans, a black and white wind-breaker jacket and white K-Swiss shoes. Friends and family of the missing girl are now offering a $2,000 reward for her safe return, according to www.crimelibrary.com. Anyone with information on her whereabouts and/or this case is urged to immediately contact the Omaha Police Department at (402) 444-5600. http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15853252&BRD=2703&PAG=461&dept_id=555106&rfi=6

Police Report Sighting Of Missing Girl POSTED: 8:31 am CST January 3, 2006 UPDATED: 8:37 am CST January 3, 2006 OMAHA, Neb. -- Omaha police are investigating a new sighting of a 12-year-old who has been missing since Nov. 29. Amber Harris was last seen getting off her school bus. According to investigators, early Sunday morning, employees at the Shell Speedee Mart in Council Bluffs, Iowa, saw a young girl they say resembled Harris. The employees told police the girl got out of a van and was slightly forced back inside. Someone in the van then came into the store and removed a missing person poster of Harris from the bulletin board. Employees plan to hand surveillance tape over to police. It was the latest in hundreds of sightings as far as Missouri and Minnesota. "It's mostly encouraging," said Harris's mother, Melissa. "The frustrating thing is when they lead to nowhere, but the positive thing is that means people are looking and calling in, even if they think they see her." http://www.ketv.com/news/5814885/detail.html