Missing Boy: Justin Harris--WY--02/15/2004

[Dan]

   




DOB: Aug 20, 1990
Missing: Feb 15, 2004
Age at disappearance: 14
Sex: Male
Race: White
Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Green
Height: 5'0" (152 cm)
Weight: 110 lbs (50 kg)
Missing From:
CASPER
WY
United States


He was last seen at his residence on February 15, 2004. Justin may still be in the local area. He is in need of medication which he does not have with him.

Casper Police Department (Wyoming) 1-307-235-8278

Print a poster: http://www.projectjason.org/aan/AAN_JustinHarris.pdf

Print a poster: http://www.missingkids.com/missingki...archLang=en_US

Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
www.projectjason.org
Read our blog about missing persons:
http://voice4themissing.blogspot.com/

If you have seen any of our missing persons, please call the law enforcement agency listed on the post. All missing persons are loved by someone, and their families deserve to find the answers they seek in regards to the disappearance.

[Dan]

Originally posted on 11/30/04



http://www.casperstartribune.net/art...5600671fea.txt

Youngster still missing after a month

By DEIRDRE STOELZLE
Star-Tribune staff writer




Four weeks ago today, 13-year-old Justin Harris was discovered missing from the R.L. Mills Home in north Casper.

The teen's bed was stuffed with clothes when staff there tried to find him at breakfast Feb. 15, police said.

A ground and air search by several agencies in Natrona County, massive circulation of a missing child flyer and an investigation by top experts from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children have failed to locate him.

But Casper Police Sgt. Larry Baker said Friday he remains hopeful that Justin will be found.

"I think we have to be -- if we don't, we lessen our chances of looking in the right places," he said. "We have to be optimistic and stay broad in our focus."

Police so far have narrowed Justin's disappearance to three scenarios: That he ran away; that he was abducted by a stranger; or that he was abducted by someone he knew.

Detectives have conducted polygraph examinations of an undisclosed number of people in the case, including Justin's father, Phillip Ernest Harris.

Phillip Harris has been conducting an independent investigation, he said. He said he is concentrating that inquiry on the bed-check policies and security at the R.L. Mills Home. He wants to know how his son could have left the facility unnoticed, he said, and why the child's bed apparently wasn't checked between midnight, when he was last physically seen by a staff member, and 9:15 a.m., when he was discovered missing.

He said Friday he is convinced his son did not run away from the facility.

"There was a crime or something happened right there in that home," he said. "It's a cover-up."

Police, however, deny any such allegation.

"It's entirely possible from anyone I've talked to that this boy is a runaway," Baker said. "He could function within runaway circles -- kids that aid each other when they do run away."

Meanwhile, Baker continues to keep in close contact with the experts from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, he said.

The center's Team Adam program dispatches nearly 40 retired investigators to assist in some of the thousands of cases reported each year, according to the program's director, Bob O'Brien.

The week after Justin's disappearance, the center sent Lee Reed, formerly of the Abilene, Texas, Police Department and Ray McCauley, formerly of the New York City Police Department, to aid in the missing-person investigation.

O'Brien would not comment on what, if any, conclusion had been drawn by those experts, but he did praise the efforts of the Casper Police Department, which made the request of the center.

"My two consultants were very impressed with them," he said. "The people (in Casper) are very talented."

He said he is optimistic that Justin will be found.

[Dan]

Originally posted on 1/07/05



www.casperjournal.com/

Missing teen

Casper police still are actively working the case of Justin Harris, 13, who has been missing since Feb. 15. The boy ran away from the R.L. Mills Group Home and hasn't been seen since.

Sgt. Larry Baker police still get a few leads, but nothing that has led them to the boy. He says they still consider this to be a runaway case, because they don't have anything else to indicate otherwise.

His office continues to work with National Child Find, but that group also is coming up empty handed. Baker says officers still have hope that the teenager is alive.

Anyone with any information about Justin Harris can call Casper police, or the Crimestoppers Hotline at 577-TIPS.

[Dan]

Originally posted on 02/20/05



www.casperjournal.com

Casper police have begun distributing an updated flier, as they continue their search for missing Justin Harris, 13.

The new flier will replace others that were handed out in the first few days of the investigation, when the teen-ager turned up missing after running away from the R.L. Mills Home in Casper.

The flier now lists Justin as a missing person and endangered runaway. Sgt. Larry Baker says police still don't have any reason to believe that Justin has run into foul play, but they believed it was necessary to update the case to a missing teen and endangered runaway because the boy has been missing for so long.

Baker says police still are receiving some tips, and they follow up on each one of them. But they still have no idea where the teen-ager is.

Anyone with information about Justin Harris can contact Crimestoppers at 577-TIPS or the Casper Police Department.

[Dan]

Originally posted on 03/03/05




Search for Missing Boy Now a Year Old
www.casperstartribune.net

Search for missing boy now year old

By ANTHONY LANE
Star-Tribune staff writer Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Casper College - 268-2100

His face appeared recently on an Interstate 25 billboard in Casper.

A poster describing Justin Harris' disappearance last February from the R.L. Mills Home in north Casper still hangs in the window at the Natrona County district attorney's office.

Just over a year since the teenager's bed was found stuffed with clothes one February morning, investigators say, the central question of whether Harris was abducted or ran away remains a mystery.

"There's probably someone out there who knows something," Sgt. Larry Baker of the Casper Police Department said Monday morning. "We've got to talk to that person."

Investigators last week revisited the R.L. Mills Home and other places and pieces of evidence connected with the then-13-year-old's disappearance with a Texas-based agent from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

"We found some things we hadn't seen before," Baker said. But rather than providing new directions for investigators to look, Baker said, taking a fresh look at evidence a year after the boy's disappearance has been a "process of elimination."

Baker said officers also faxed notices about Harris' disappearance to homes and businesses in Wyoming and nearby areas last week.

So far, he said, these notices have not generated any new directions for investigators to look.

The investigation into Harris' disappearance has already produced reports that he was sighted in as many as a dozen different states, Baker said, explaining that in each of these reports there was information beyond a simple call saying, "I think I saw him."

Harris is described as 5 feet tall and 110 pounds, with blond hair and green eyes.

Anyone with information about Harris' whereabouts is asked to call the Casper Police Department at (307) 235-8278 or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-843-5678.

[Dan]

Originally posted on 08/24/05



Star-Tribune Story

Missing child's parents left out

By TOM MORTON
Star-Tribune staff writer Wednesday, August 24, 2005




The latest local effort to find teenager Justin Harris, who's been missing for 18 months, has included the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the U.S. Postal Service, and local and federal law enforcement agencies.

It did not include the boy's parents Tuesday.

Phillip Harris said he didn't receive any response to questions when he heard of a news conference Tuesday announcing letter carriers would distribute 38,400 missing child fliers to area households and businesses.

"They failed to return my phone calls," Harris said. "I was supposed to be there."

Stephanie Sidebottom didn't hear anything, period, she said.

"I'm stunned," Sidebottom said. "I feel like I'd been kicked in the gut."

Sidebottom learned of the event late Tuesday afternoon after a reporter contacted her.

"This was a complete surprise," she said. "Nobody said, 'hey, this is coming.'"

Participating agencies had good intentions.

"This is to help aid in the search for Justin Harris," Casper Postmaster Susan Gray said at the main Casper Post Office at 411 S. Forest Drive. "Few things are more frightening than the abduction of a child."

Justin was reported missing from his residence at the R.L. Mills home in north Casper on Feb. 15, 2004, acting Casper Police Chief Mike Moore said.

Justin, who would be 15 now, had blond hair and stood 5 feet tall, he said.

He also required medication but did not have it when he was reported missing, Moore said.

"It is our sincere belief that somebody and someone, somewhere knows where Justin is," Moore said.

Police detective Stacia Francisco said Justin's parents have been cooperating with authorities in the search.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the nation's oldest federal law enforcement agency, joined the Deliver Me Home Network two years ago, said Andrew Rivas of the Postal Inspection's Denver regional office.

Rivas said later Tuesday that he didn't know why, nor could he comment, on why Justin's parents weren't at the news conference.

"It's the Casper Police Department's case," he said.

On the other hand, Moore said late Tuesday that the Postal Inspection Service set up the event.

"The news conference was organized by the Postal Inspection Service and law enforcement felt it would be best to be there at that," Moore said.

Gray could not be reached for comment.

Sidebottom expressed gratitude toward those looking for her son and would have attended the event had she known about it, she said.

But the lack of communication has been a recurring problem, Sidebottom said. "We've asked to be kept informed of this investigation, and we have not been."

The past 18 months have been painful enough, and were made that much more poignant when she and her other four children honored, but did not celebrate with cake and presents, Justin's 15th birthday Saturday, she said.

Members of law enforcement agencies should spend a week with her family to understand the pain, Sidebottom said.

"A little compassion would go a long way," she said.

Phillip Harris, a truck driver who lives in Fort Towson, Okla., believes Justin is alive and knows of his possible whereabouts, he said.

Harris also said he and Sidebottom are now working together to solve the mystery of their son's disappearance.

"I will get it done," he said. "I will nail the sons-of-b--s behind it."

[Dan]

Originally posted on 08/30/05




http://www.billingsgazette.com

Teen's folks surprised by fliers
Associated Press

CASPER - The parents of a 15-year-old who has been missing for a year and a half say they were not told about plans for letter carriers to distribute tens of thousands of fliers with information about their son.

Justin Harris was 13 when he disappeared from the R.L. Mills boys home in Casper on Feb. 15, 2004.

Clothes were found stuffed in his bed and it wasn't clear whether the developmentally disabled boy, who functioned at the level of a 6- or 7-year-old, ran away or was abducted.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Postal Service and local law enforcement held a news conference to announce plans for letter carriers to distribute 38,400 missing-child fliers with information about Justin.

But the boy's parents weren't there.

Justin's mother, Stephanie Sidebottom, learned of the news conference from a reporter who called.

"This was a complete surprise," she said.

"Nobody said, 'Hey, this is coming.' "

The boy's father, Phillip Harris, of Fort Towson, Okla., said he also had difficulty getting information.

"They failed to return my phone calls," he said.

"I was supposed to be there."

The fliers are being sent out through U.S. Postal Inspection Service's Deliver Me Home Network. Denver-based postal inspector Andrew Rivas said he didn't know why Justin's parents weren't at the news conference.

"It's the Casper Police Department's case," he said.

Police Chief Mike Moore said the Postal Inspection Service organized the news conference.

"Law enforcement felt that it would be best to be there," he said.

Sidebottom said lack of communication has been a recurring problem.

"We've asked to be kept informed of this investigation and we have not been," she said.

Police detective Stacia Francisco said Justin's parents were cooperating with authorities.

[Dan]

Originally posted on 10/15/05



Press Release from 411gina.org:

For Immediate Release: Oct 10, 2005

5 Year Disappearance of Lincolnite Brings Music, International Webcast and NASCAR!

In honor of: Gina Bos Missing since Oct. 2000

5th Annual “GINA Concert�

OCTOBER 16, 2005

2-4PM
Meadowlark Coffee House
1624 South Street
Lincoln, NE

Jannel Rap with Yvonne Perea

Local talent: Shawn Benjamin, Brian McDonald, Von Rap, Patty Sullivan, Leann and Tammy (Rap) Smith, Mick Damian, Mike Johnson & Steve Ekery

Profiling Midwest MISSING:

**Family members will be in attendance

**Gina Bos and **Melissa Schmidt-Lincoln, **Jason Jolkowski-Omaha, **Jackie Rains-Krachman-Columbus, **Erin Pospisil-Cedar Rapids, Molly Datillo-Indianapolis, Ashley Martinez-St Joseph, Justin Harris-Casper, Wyoming, Robert Thomas Pillsen-Rahier-Colorado Springs and April Wiss-Wichita

SPECIAL WEBCAST

Saturday Oct 22 from 10-12PM CST or 8-10 PST

Web Cast to highlight Gina and Midwest Missing. Tune in early to watch this interactive event! www.Kulakswoodshed.com

In Concert: Jannel Rap and the C Street Band, The Squirts and other Midwest Artists

NASCAR NOV 10, 2005

in honor of GINA Bos' Nov 4, 1959 Birthday! A larger than life image of Gina Bos on the hood of the Napa Auto Parts Chevy Monte Carlo in the NASCAR Elite Division Southwest Series #94. in front of a crowd of nearly 60,000 people.

ABOUT“G.I.N.A. (Greater Information Now Available) for Missing Persons: Over 100 GINA Concerts have been held from LA to NYC and most recently have evolved to a monthly LIVE WEBCAST. These concerts feature artists and the missing from their area of the country each month.

100’s of missing children and adults have been profiled on our Web sites, CD’s, America Lost and FOUND, Warrior’s for the Missing the GINA Concerts. Some of the missing have been brought home to their families.

For More Info: www.411Gina.org

[Dan]

Originally posted on 05/27/06
by Dan



Justin Harris will be featured on the television program "Missing".

http://www.usamissing.com

The show will air the week of August 21, 2006, and in most areas, is shown on the following weekend.

Please check out which station airs the program in your area by visiting the following link.

http://www.usamissing.com/findus.htm

Then check out the station's site (provided in the above link) for the exact day and time the show airs.

All the following adults and children will be featured on this episode.

Patricia Freeman-Wright, Monica Carrasco, Cassandra Sanchez, Rosa Sanchez, Yesenia Sanchez, Irwin Stewart, Stella Moss, Christina Battin, Garrett Bardsley, Bonnie Cale, Samantha Burns, Justin Harris, Tracy Byrd, Trevor Angell, Fred Wright, Sarah Avon, Lakeisha Archie, Kurtis Patterson, Georgina DeJesus, Rene Romero, Muhammed Saad Siddiqui, Anna-Marie Erts, Craig Frear, Bianca Piper, Rachel White, Christopher Gulbraa, Michael Gulbraa.


http://www.usamissing.com/index_files/Page733.htm

[Dan]

Originally posted on 10/12/06
by Kelly



New age progression of Justin:

ÂÂ

Justin's photo is shown age-progressed to 16 years. He was last seen at his residence on February 15, 2004. He may still be in the local area. Justin is in need of medication which he does not have with him.


Be sure to print and place a poster for him.

Thank you.

[Dan]

Originally posted on 11/22/06
by Dan



Justin Harris will be featured on the television program "Missing" Episode M-417.

Visit USA Missing Homepage

The show will air the week of November 20, 2006, and in most areas, is shown on the following weekend.

Please check out which station airs the program in your area by visiting the following link.

Links to TV Stations airing "Missing"

Then check out the station's site (provided in the above link) for the exact day and time the show airs.

All the following adults and children will be featured on this episode.

Patricia Freeman-Wright, Kenneth Ulrey, Cassandra Sanchez, Rosa Sanchez, Yesenia Sanchez, Irwin Stewart, Stella Moss, Christina Battin, Garrett Bardsley, Bonnie Cale, Samantha Burns, Justin Harris, Tracy Byrd, Trevor Angell, Fred Wright, Sarah Avon, Lakeisha Archie, Kurtis Patterson, Georgina DeJesus, Rene Romero, Muhammed Saad Siddiqui, Kianna Young, Craig Frear, Bianca Piper, Rachel White, Christopher Gulbraa, Michael Gulbraa.


The Weeks' featured cases on Television

[Dan]

Originally posted on 03/24/07
by Linda



Please download and place Justin's 18 Wheel Angels poster...Click link below.

Thank you for your support!

http://www.findjustinharris.com/18Wh...stinHarris.pdf

[Dan]

Originally posted on 05/27/06
by Dan
[out of sequence]


Please visit Justin Harris's website at:

http://www.findjustinharris.com

[Denise]

Justin has now been missing for 4 years.  We hope and pray he is found soon.

[Denise]

http://www.trib.com/articles/2008/08/23/news/casper/5762e8cc23da9d60872574ad000457d1.txt

Without any leads, Justin Harris case remains unsolved after four-plus years
 
By CHRISTINE ROBINSON
Star-Tribune staff writer
Friday, August 22, 2008 7:50 AM MDT

A missing Casper boy would have turned 18 on Wednesday, and four-and-a half-years later his father still hopes for his return.

"I want his body," Phillip Harris said, "good bad or indifferent."

Justin Harris was 13 when he disappeared from the R.L. Mills Home on Feb. 15, 2004.

Police and public safety agencies mounted a massive search for the developmentally disabled boy and ultimately found very little information to aid in his discovery.

"There are still no leads, no nothing," Phillips Harris said. "This case is cold as ice water."

Justin's file is still open, according to Casper Police Sgt. Mark Trimble, but police haven't had any new information for the past couple of years.

"We certainly hope he is out there and alive," Trimble said.

Police have sorted through all existing information and exhausted all possible leads, Trimble said. Eventually, after years of no new information in a missing person case, it is listed as cold and filed away until something else is found.

The teen was staying in the north Casper boys' home when workers discovered he was missing, said home director Dick Dresang in an interview the day of the search.

When R.L. Mills Home staff members called the boys to breakfast on a Sunday morning, Justin didn't appear. Dresang said the workers shook the boy's bed and found it was stuffed full of clothes to make it look like he was there.

No one connected with the case knows if the boy ran away from the home or was abducted.

Phillip Harris, however, is convinced his son didn't run away. All of the child's clothes were in his room, he said. "Nothing was missing but him."

Police detectives conducted polygraph tests on an undisclosed number of people during the investigation, including Phillip Harris.

"If I had him, I wouldn't be sitting here," he said, from his home in Oklahoma. "I would be with him."

Since his son's disappearance, he has performed several independent investigations and searches for Justin.

The father participated in a joint effort with police and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to place a billboard of Justin's face and information on Interstate 25.

On Justin's 17th birthday, he said he started a four-month, nationwide search for the boy in every truck stop in the country.

"Since I had that billboard in Casper, he's also been in truck stop magazines," he said. "All that, and not one lead."

A week after Justin's disappearance the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children sent two retired investigators to Casper to help aid investigators in the search.

One year later, Casper investigators reexamined the home and the evidence but reported that instead of providing new direction it was more a "process of elimination."

Even after a child turns 18, Wyoming's Department of Family Services can still keep his or her file open, according to Juliette Rule, the department's public information officer. Rule can't release whether or not Justin ever had a case open, but said the department is allowed to remain involved in a case until the child is 21.

The Center's Web site still lists Justin as lost, missing or injured. He has blond hair, green eyes, stood about 5 feet tall and weighed 110 pounds when he disappeared.

Phillip Harris hopes that since Justin had his 18th birthday, he might reappear.

In the mean time he will keep waiting, he said, with the belief that he will see his son again.

Anyone with information about Harris' whereabouts is asked to call the Casper Police Department at (307) 235-8278 or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at (800) 843-5678.

Contact city reporter Christine Robinson at (307) 266-0639 or christine.robinson@trib.com

Print a poster: http://www.projectjason.org/aan/AAN_JustinHarris.pdf