On January 13 1996 in Arlington Texas Amber Hagerman was riding her new pink and white bicycle that she’d just gotten for Christmas in the parking lot of an abandoned Winn-Dixie grocery.
Store the nine-year-old girl scout was with her five-year-old little brother Ricky they were playing down the road from their grandmother’s house when apparently Ricky remembered they were only supposed to go around the block and headed back home Amber stayed and continued to play around the parking lot it was a Saturday.
And they were at their grandparents that day because their mother was being interviewed for a local news special about families that successfully got off welfare and rejoined the workforce Amber.
And Ricky left their grandparents home around 3 10 p.m with Ricky returning shortly after without his sister family soon went looking for Amber and when they arrived at the parking lot they saw.
A handful of police officers surrounding Amber’s bike they were told that someone in the community saw something and then Amber had been abduct directed a witness.
And retired police officer Jim Cavill 78 at the time said he saw Amber riding alone when he saw a black pickup truck.
In quote he pulled up jumped out and grabbed her when she screamed I figured the police ought to know about it so I called them
Jim gave a description of the abductor he said that it was a man Caucasian Or Hispanic in his 20s or 30s shorter than six feet medium build with dark hair he was driving a black pickup truck with no markings or Chrome and seemed to be in clean working condition he noted.
The time of the deduction was 3 18 p.m and Amber had only been alone for a few minutes law enforcement the FBI and locals began a massive search for Amber and her abduction made national news.
But despite the Nationwide attention no other Witnesses ever came forward to identify the man or the vehicle.
Four days later A man was walking his dog when he saw something in a creek when he looked closer he found a body lying face down in the water police arrived.
The scene and the body was identified as the missing nine-year-old Amber Hagerman Amber’s body was found less than four miles from where she was abducted.
She was found completely naked except for a sock on her left foot and her throat had. been cut police believe that she was washed down the creek as there had been considerable rainfall the night before she was discovered.
Police work hard to find anything on Amber’s murder but there was little evidence it was later discovered that she had been alive for at least two days.
After her abduction making police believe that someone might have seen something also due to the circumstances of the abduction they believed that.
Amber was targeted and may have been stocked prior to her being taken since Amber’s death law enforcement has followed over 7000 possible leads.
There was a laundromat next to the abandoned grocery store where Amber was abducted authorities know that this area had many Hispanic people who may have felt uncomfortable talking to police at the time police have said in more recent press releases.
That they do not care about legal status and they just want any information on Amber and that it might be given anonymously and urge anyone with information to come forward. They want Justice for her family.
In a 2021 press conference it was released after all this time that they did have one piece of evidence with DNA.
Police have stated that they would not reveal the evidence as only the killer would know they had planned to test the evidence through more modern means later that year
Donna Williams Amber’s mother said quote to Amber’s killer I’m asking you today please turn yourself in give Amber Justice Amber needs Justice deeply.
It’s an emotional day for Donna Williams she’s back at the same place where 25 years ago her little girl was taken her last words that I heard from her is okay.
Mommy I will I love you Mommy and that was last I ever hurt her and I miss her voice while the years have gone by for Donna it feels like yesterday I remember everything about her there’s nothing I don’t I have forgotten about her she is the Lover of My Life.
It has been over 25 years since Amber was murdered police have never stopped looking for her killer and she’s had a significant impact not only on Arlington.
But across the country. Amber’s case was what inspired the Amber Alert system which was suggested by a local woman Diane Simone she wanted to help in search efforts but didn’t know.
How to best assist she had an idea to utilize radio station and News broadcasting to amplify missing or abducted children cases using the existing systems that were used to alert to weather warnings or civil defense alerts it has been called several names in honor of other missing children in other states but is now called the Amber Alert System nationally and even internationally with other countries adopting the system.
In the U.S the Amber Alert has saved over 1 1114 children.