Searchers Comb East County for Missing Girl
Updated 12:17 PM PST, Thu, Mar 5, 2009
New developments are being reported in the case of an Escondido girl missing since mid-February.
Amber Dubois was last seen walking to Escondido High School on the morning of Feb. 13. Her family told "America's Most Wanted" that the 14-year-old left for school carrying Valentine's Day gifts for her friends and a $200 check for a deposit on a lamb she planned to raise as part of her school's Future Farmer's Association.
At 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Amber's family announced a major increase in reward money. The family is now offering $60,000 for information leading to the girl's safe return and the arrest of the persons involved in her disappearance.
Also at the news conference, child-safety advocate Marc Klaas said his foundation is also helping the family search for Amber. In 1993, Klaas' daughter Polly was abducted in Northern California. She was later found dead, a murder victim.
Klaas said his foundation, Klaaskids Foundation for Children, which helps missing and exploited children, will provide support for the family as they search for their daughter.
In other developments, the Escondido police and the San Diego Sheriff's Department search-and-rescue unit have been searching for Amber in an area in Northern Escondido where teenagers often hang out and party. So far, officers have not found any clues to Amber's whereabouts, according to Lt. Craig Carter of the Escondido Police Department.
Have You Seen Amber Leeanne Dubois?
The family told producers of "America's Most Wanted" that Amber sent four texts to her grandmother before leaving the house that morning for the roughly mile long walk to school. Amber was last seen by two family friends only about 300 yards from the school's gate. Police interviewed hundreds of students at Amber's high school. The girl's family members were also given polygraph tests, they all passed.
The FBI is assisting police in the investigation. Amber's family also hired private detective Bill Garcia.
First Published: Mar 4, 2009 1:38 PM PST
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