Amber LeeAnne DuBois

[dan_uk]

Missing teenager Amber DuBois of Escondido, California, vanished while walking to school on the morning of February 13, 2009. Reports say a classmate claims she saw the 14-year-old DuBois two days after she disappeared, walking with an "unidentified person" near her home. Police continue to search for the teen, and a massive volunteer search effort on Saturday, February 21, 2009, turned up no clues. The FBI has been brought in to assist in the investigation.

http://www.bigcatdesigns.com/amber/amber.htm

http://missingexploited.com/2009/02/22/14-year-old-amber-leeanne-dubois-missing-since-february-13-2009-in-escondido-ca-runaway-abduction/

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=454447308

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Cops-Searching-for-Missing-Teen-.html

[dan_uk]

Searchers Comb East County for Missing Girl

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Searchers-Comb-East-County-for-Missing-Girl.html

[dan_uk]

New Sighting, New Search, New Reward For Amber

http://www.cbs8.com/Global/story.asp?S=9949168

[dan_uk]

Search For Escondido Teen Passes Three-Week Mark

ESCONDIDO, Calif. -- Police personnel and civilian volunteers traipsed through brushy gullies and muddy wetlands again Friday in hopes of finding any sign of a 14-year-old North County girl who went missing three weeks ago.

The continuing search for Escondido High School student Amber Dubois was bolstered by help from two high-profile victims of child abduction but turned up no clues to the whereabouts of the brown-haired, blue-eyed teen.

On hand to help draw attention to the increasingly urgent effort were Marc Klaas, who became a well-known child advocate after his 12-year-old daughter, Polly, was kidnapped and murdered in 1993, and Brenda van Dam, whose 7-year-old daughter, Danielle, was abducted and slain by a neighbor in 2002
Today's searches mostly centered on open areas near Amber's school and in the area of Mesa Rock Road, near Interstate 15, Escondido police Lt. Craig Carter said.

Roughly 100 seemingly viable tips in the case -- including numerous possible sightings -- have produced no evidence of what has become of the girl, who has no history of running away from home, Carter said.

There also have been no indications of an abduction, according to Carter.

The last confirmed sighting of Amber was on the morning of Feb. 13, as she was walking to school.

The girl's family plans to lead more searches Saturday and Sunday, working out of an operations center in a vacant commercial space at 755 N. Quince St., the lieutenant said.

Authorities asked anyone with information on the missing teenager's possible whereabouts to call 760-743-TIPS.

http://www.10news.com/news/18875326/detail.html

[dan_uk]

Dad: 'Clues' Turned Over In Missing-Teen Case


The father of a missing teenager girl told a local paper that some "clues were turned over to" local investigators.

Maurice Dubois' 14-year-old daughter, Amber Dubois, was last seen Feb. 13 as she walked to Escondido High School.

Dubois also told the North County Times that the "clues" may be helpful but that he did not know anything specific about them.

Searchers that included family,friends and volunteers combed the county for the fourth weekend on Saturday and Sunday. KFMB reported that the searches had turned "up possible evidence." The station's Web site said representatives of the sheriff's department said several items of clothing had been located that would be checked for connections to the case.

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Dad-Clues-In-Missing-Teen-Case.html

[Livia]

Dan, thank you for posting this and for keeping us up to date on this sad case! :patriot:

I'd heard about this for a few days but lately, no one has said any more about it. This girl is so pretty and from what her parents said, she does not sound like the kind of girl to run away or wander off without telling anyone. It's scary just thinking about what might have happened to her. :confused:

And what kind of sickos would call up her mom in the middle of the night as a joke?! :flamemad:

Have you heard anything new about the case?

I really really hope Amber comes home safely. :rose:

[dan_uk]

havent found anything new livia

[dan_uk]

Family of missing teen not giving up

ESCONDIDO ---- The number of volunteers searching for Amber Dubois has dwindled. Leads have dried up, and optimism has waned in the more than five weeks since the 14-year-old girl disappeared.

Still, Amber's parents are not giving up hope. They can't, they said.

"It gets harder and harder every single day," said Maurice Dubois, her father, who lives in Orange County but has stayed in an Escondido hotel since his daughter vanished Feb. 13 on her way to school. "Knowing that she's not here ... you want to do everything possible to get her back."

About 60 volunteers searched again Saturday and Sunday for the Escondido High School freshman. That's down from the hundreds of volunteers who helped earlier this month.

Carrie McGonigle, Amber's mother, said memories of her daughter keep her going.

"That's about the only motivation there is," she said.

Both parents said they hoped Tuesday's benefit at local Applebee's restaurants and Saturday's motorcycle run, raffle and barbecue will stoke new interest in their daughter's case.

From 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, 13 Applebee's in San Diego, Riverside and Orange counties will donate 15 percent of all checks from diners who bring in a flier found at www.bringamberhome.com.

Registration for the motorcycle run starts at 9 a.m. at The Swallow's Inn in San Juan Capistrano, 31786 Camino Capistrano. The ride will end at the search center established for Amber at 755 N. Quince St. in Escondido.

Her parents believe Amber was abducted by strangers. They described her as a bookish teen and a model student who never spoke of running away. Escondido police list Amber as a missing juvenile, noting they have no evidence she was abducted or ran away.

Very little new information has been released by police over the past month.

Both parents said they are eager to speak with police investigators this week about what they've learned from a forensic probe of the family's computer. A search warrant affidavit filed by police earlier this month said there was an increase in activity on the computer in the week before the teen's disappearance, but did not specify what kind of activity.

The affidavit also said a friend of Amber's told police the teen had been chatting with boys online.

Amber's parents have said they were unaware of their daughter chatting online.

While the family continues its search, emotions at Escondido High have calmed somewhat, said Karyn O'Brien, a spokeswoman for the Escondido Union High School District.

"I think there was a heightened concern (early on)," said O'Brien, noting warnings were sent out to parents and extra counselors were placed at the school right after Amber vanished.

O'Brien said the district is prepared to add administrators and counselors if and when Amber is found.

"We have a plan ... no matter what the resolution," O'Brien said.

Amber is described by her family as 5 feet 5 inches tall, 130 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes.

Another search for the teen is planned Sunday.

Anyone with information about her disappearance is asked to call police at (760) 743-8477.

http://www.northcountytimes.com/articles/2009/03/23/news/inland/escondido/z979dc148916552978825758200670db2.txt

[dan_uk]

anyone heard any more about this case please?

[One2Snoop]

Missing teen's family pushes on after closing volunteer center

updated 9:31 a.m. EDT, Mon June 15, 2009

(CNN) -- The parents of a California teen who disappeared on her way to school in February have closed the center that was the staging ground for search efforts, citing a lack of volunteers and a shift in direction.

But the parents of 14-year-old Amber DuBois say the search will continue with a small group of dedicated volunteers.

"We're absolutely going to keep going. Anyone who wants to volunteer can log onto Amber's site (http://www.bringamberhome.com/) and see where we're going to meet," Amber's father, Maurice DuBois, said.

The decision to close the center -- a nondescript, 7,500-square foot building donated by an Escondido businessman -- did not come easily.

"I don't want people to have the impression that we're giving up. I'm scared that the fact we're closing will make people stop volunteering, but we still need them because we won't stop looking until we find her," DuBois said.

Initially, hundreds volunteered to assist in the search for Amber, who was last seen walking to Escondido High School on February 13. Relatives, friends and members of the community have met at the center every weekend since to plan searches and pick up fliers for distribution throughout San Diego County.

As time passed without progress, the number of volunteers dwindled and leads slowed to a trickle, while bills for liability insurance, telephone service and electricity continued to come in.

Amber's mother said she never liked spending time at the center because it was a constant reminder that her daughter was missing. And while she is saddened by the implications of its closure, she maintains hope that the decision will help advance their efforts.

"It makes me sad because we used to have over 200 volunteers a day and now we have about 10," Carrie McGonigle said. "But people have lives, and even though I just want them to look for Amber, it's a lot of time to ask of someone. This way, we can use her search and rescue fund for getting the word out nationwide."

Based on the time and location where Amber was last seen on February 13 by two witnesses who knew her, she should have crossed in front of a school surveillance camera about 100 yards away, Escondido Police Lt. Bob Benton said.

But she never made it, and around the same time, a red truck appeared in surveillance camera footage from a school bus parking lot. The quality of the image prevents identification of the truck, and authorities are still seeking to find out why it was there, Benton said.

Otherwise, investigators have been stymied by a lack of viable leads.

The "good news" is that searchers have covered a large chunk of Escondido without finding a body, which means they can take a new approach, said Mark Klaas, founder and president of KlaasKids Foundation, a child safety advocacy group.

"They've combed the area and found nothing, so it's time for a new direction," said Klaas, who created the foundation in 1994 to give meaning to the kidnapping and murder of his daughter, Polly.

Klaas said he met with the family on the weekend to discuss the possibility that the bookish teen is a victim of a human trafficking ring that sold her into the sex trade.

"There's no doubt that there is a very robust and vigorous human trafficking problem in that part of the country, in and around San Diego, near the border. Unfortunately, you have to consider the scenarios: She's dead, she ran away or she was kidnapped," he said.

"It's about keeping hope alive and giving the family a way to remain proactive in the case," he said. "They have to keep hope alive because as soon as they throw in the towel, it's all over and there's no hope for this kid."

Benton said investigators were considering all potential angles, including the possibility that Amber had been abducted, but did not elaborate.

Amber's parents agree that it's up to them to keep the case alive, which is why they are expanding search efforts beyond San Diego County.

"At this point we've saturated San Diego County with fliers and publicity, so if she were in San Diego County and someone saw her, we'd know it by now," DuBois said.

"Four months is a long time. I feel she was abducted by a stranger and who knows where she could be at this point. She could be anywhere. It's very difficult to think about, but it's a harsh reality."

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/06/15/california.missing.teen/index.html