Status change for Amber boosts parents' hopes
Published Friday
February 17, 2006
BY LYNN SAFRANEK
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
It was one word, but changing it made a difference to Michael and Melissa Harris:
Runaway.
Soon after the disappearance of their daughter, Amber, the 12-year-old was labeled a runaway by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. An official from the center said they based that label on information from Amber's parents and Omaha police, although neither Amber's parents nor police have used the word in discussing the case locally.
The "runaway" label grated on the Harrises. They worried that it led to less attention on their daughter's case.
On Wednesday, the label changed.
After Amber's mother called the center on Tuesday, officials changed the wording on an online poster of Amber to the more generic "endangered missing." However, they still haven't changed the "endangered runaway" label elsewhere on the Web site.
Whether the label made a difference in the investigation isn't known.
Changing the word was easy compared to the tension it caused, but the scenario isn't rare. In the absence of foul play, some groups will treat missing-person cases as runaways - even though little evidence exists to show a person ran away.
Her daughter missing nearly 80 days now, Melissa Harris says she wants to see changes in the way law enforcement treats missing children. She wants Amber Alert rules changed to include abductions that aren't witnessed. And she wants increased training for officers handling missing-children cases.
No Amber Alert was issued after Amber Harris was reported missing because police had no evidence that she had been abducted and did not know who might have been involved in her disappearance. Those criteria must be met before state authorities issue such an alert.
Omaha police records list Amber simply as a "missing juvenile."
At first, investigators didn't consider her endangered.
Twenty-six hours after Amber's parents reported her missing, Omaha police sent a press release about Amber to local news media outlets.
The message stated: "Harris is not thought to be in any danger, but due to the weather conditions and the age of the juvenile, assistance from the public in locating the juvenile is requested."
No evidence pointed to an abduction, police said. Nor did Amber have a history of running away.
The situation changed after Amber had been missing for a period of time. Investigators still don't know how Amber disappeared, but they're convinced that she is with someone, said police Sgt. Teresa Negron.
"She's too young to have sustained herself for this length of time," Negron said. "Obviously, as each day progresses, we get more concerned that something occurred."
Investigators are analyzing a book bag discovered Tuesday afternoon near 21st and Lake Streets. Amber's parents have identified the bag, which contained Amber's spare set of clothes, as their daughter's.
When Amber's parents initially contacted the center, they reported that Amber likely was a runaway, said Larry Upchurch, director of the center's operations in the missing children's division.
The center then contacted Omaha police investigators, he said, who used the same words.
"Whatever they tell us is what we put on our poster," Upchurch said.
Melissa Harris said her husband, Michael, made the initial call during the first hectic days after Amber's disappearance.
"He was so rattled," she said. "It could have been miscommunication. I know he said, 'My daughter's missing.'"
Negron said investigators provided the center with the same information that was given to the public: There was no information to indicate whether Amber was a runaway or that someone abducted her.
The center, she said, must have used that information to come to their own conclusion.
While the center listed Amber as a runaway, her label differed from the one given her on the Nebraska State Patrol's Web site. That listed Amber as a "missing person - endangered."
The classification was culled from the National Crime Information Center, which gets its information from local law enforcement agencies, said Deb Collins, a State Patrol spokeswoman.
Maureen Blaha, president of the National Runaway Switchboard, said reports of runaways can be challenging for police to investigate since most involve problems at home.
"Running away from home is not necessarily a crime," she said. "There isn't a whole lot that the police can do."
Omaha police officers must follow through on missing-children cases until they receive permission from a command officer to stop.
"An officer can't say, 'Well, it's a runaway,' and stop looking for them," Negron said.
Melissa Harris hopes that a change in Amber's status will help the case gain more national attention.
Already, Amber has been featured on the CBS TV show "Without a Trace" and the Fox TV show "America's Most Wanted." A dedicated group of Internet bloggers has started a letter-writing campaign to other national news media outlets.
Besides less national attention, being classified a runaway also can impact the services available to a family.
In disappearances categorized as abductions, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children sometimes dispatches a response group of retired investigators called Team Adam to help police. That isn't offered on runaways.
Those services are available only if local law enforcement wants the support, Upchurch said.
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