Amber Hagerman cold case

Amber Rene Hagerman was just nine years old when she was abducted and murdered. Amber was riding her bike close to her grandparent’s home in Arlington, Texas on January 13, 1996 when she was snatched. Amber and her brother Ricky were riding around the block when they went a little further to an abandoned grocery store parking lot to ride on a ramp there that children often enjoyed riding on. Amber’s brother became worried that they were riding further than their mother had said to go so he told Amber he was returning home. Ricky started back home and Amber stayed for one more ride on the ramp. When Ricky got home the family asked about Amber and when he said that she had stayed a little longer the family sent him back to bring her home. Ricky returned, however, he could not find his sister. Jimmie Whitson, grandfather to Amber and Ricky jumped in to his truck and went to find her himself. At the parking lot Jimmie found a police car and pulled up next to it where the officer told him that a man close by had heard screaming and looked to see another man carrying a young girl in to his pickup truck. The man who lived close by had called 911 summoning the police officer but when the officer arrived at the scene all he found was a bicycle that Amber had been riding.

Amber’s family would appear on television pleading for her life and her safe return. Police believed that it was a stranger abduction that took place because the opportunity arose for the abductor. No witnesses were found other than the man who called 911 at the time of the abduction. Sadly, just four days after her abduction, Amber’s body was found naked in a creek bed near an apartment complex. Her throat had been cut. After finding Amber’s body, the police released a profile of who they believed the killer to be; however, this did not aid in capturing him.

While Amber’s killer has yet to be caught her legacy remains. The abduction and murder of Amber Hagerman led to the development of today’s Amber alert system.