Amber Hagerman

On January 12, 1996, nine year-old Amber, her five year-old brother and their mother were visiting Glenda and Jim Whitson, the children’s grandparents, in Arlington, TX. Jimmie kept two bicycles at the house for the kids to ride when they were visiting. Amber and her brother, Ricky, asked if they could go on a quick bike ride. Jimmie and their mother said ok, but they had to go around the block only once. They biked to the nearby parking lot of a Winn-Dixie grocery store that had been closed for some time. Neighborhood kids enjoyed riding on a ramp there.

This area was not isolated and it was broad daylight. Amber and Ricky went down the ramp, and then Ricky said he was going back because they were told to go only once around the block. Amber stayed behind. Upon arriving back at his grandparents’ house, Jimmie asked Ricky were Amber was, to which Ricky replied that she was still at the parking lot. Jimmie informed Ricky to go get her. However, when Ricky went back to the parking lot, his sister was nowhere to be found. He bicycled back to Jimmie, who then got in his truck to go find Amber.

When Jimmie arrived at the Winn-Dixie parking lot, a policeman was there talking to a man. The police said this man, Jim Kevil, saw a man pull up in a truck, jump out of the truck and grab the girl. When Amber screamed, Jim called 911. It took only eight minutes from the time Amber and Ricky left Glenda and Jimmie’s house to the time Kevil called 911.

After extensive searches and media pleas for help, Amber’s naked body was found four days later in a creek bed near an apartment complex by a man walking his dog. Her throat had been slit. Authorities revealed that Amber had been alive for two full days after she was kidnapped.

Amber’s murderer has never been found. Profilers suggest he was at least 25 years of age and lived or worked near the Winn-Dixie. Police believe that something caused this man to snap, such as domestic dispute or loss of a job.

Throughout this horrifying ordeal, something amazing was created – the Amber Alert, an emergency alert system which broadcasts messages on highway billboards, emails, radio, and television. To read more about the Amber Alert, click here.

My Thoughts

The profilers say the person either worked or lived by the scene of the abduction. Considering Amber’s body was found near an apartment complex, maybe this is where the killer lived. What about businesses near Winn-Dixie? How close were they to the University of Texas – Arlington? Maybe it was a college student.

The police say this was a crime of opportunity, meaning the killer just happen to be there at the same time Amber was. He did not stalk her. So, that rules out any kind of revenge-against-the-family deal.

She was alive for two days. Did anyone see her with this man, like his family members or friends? Did he keep her in his apartment, home or whatever he lived in? Did anyone notice anything suspicious at the apartment complex near the location of the body? Was there any DNA taken from the body or crime scene?

I wish I knew more about the area where Amber’s body was found as well as the location of the old Winn-Dixie. I can’t find anything specific.