Reward of $25,000 offered for missing Texas A&M student Caleb Harris
The parents of missing Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi student Caleb Harris posted a $25,000 reward yesterday for any information leading to the safe return of their son by March 31.
The notice was published as Corpus Christi Police Department (CCPD) officers continue to conduct an exhaustive search for the New Braunfels man, who was last seen walking his dog in the early morning hours of March 4 from his off-campus apartment, The Cottages at Corpus Christi. It encourages people to call (361) 826-2950.
Family members reported the student missing when his roommates were unable to locate him later that morning. An avid fisherman, Harris had been chatting with friends about a planned fishing trip and ordered food between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m., after which his phone died or was turned off. He was wearing teal pants and a white shirt. Harris is 21 years old, weighs 180 pounds, and is 5 feet, 11 inches tall.
A preliminary search began at 7 a.m. on March 6, with police officers, college students, residents, friends and family gathering along a sidewalk near Harris’ apartment complex. CCPD police cadets looked for clothing items including shoes, a tie and belt in the adjacent field, while police drones scoured the area.
Efforts to find him have ramped up in the three weeks since the New Braunfels man disappeared, with volunteers from Texas Search and Rescue (TEXSAR) and Search and Rescue SATX journeying out with K-9 units, dirt bikes and underwater drones to search a wide ambit of North Padre Island, from Oso Bay to Packery Channel and Flour Bluff. The search has focused on roads, shorelines, nature preserves and heavily vegetated and secluded areas of the island.
Detectives from the CCPD Criminal Investigation Division (CID) continue to interview Harris' roommates, friends, family members and acquaintances and report they have found no reason to suspect that these individuals were involved in the student’s disappearance.
An investigative team consisting of CID detectives, the CCPD Organized Crime Unit (OCU), the FBI, U.S. Marshals and several civilian crime analysts formed within days of Harris’ vanishing and continues to work full time to solve the case. CCPD reassured the public that the police investigation is rigorous and ongoing, with teams of detectives persisting to interview potential witnesses in Corpus Christi, San Antonio and New Braunfels.
Amidst the professional investigation, friends, acquaintances and strangers have formed an online search community through mobile networks to share pictures, snapchats and chat logs on social media intimating details of Harris’ last known whereabouts.
Investigators have not settled on a motive for Harris’ disappearance or identified a suspect or person of interest. Detectives seek assistance from the public to solve the case, adjuring anyone with information related to his disappearance to contact the CCPD Special Investigations Unit (SPI) at (361) 886-2840 or the Non-Emergency phone line at (361) 886-2600.
Those who would like to keep their identity secret and still provide information to detectives should call Crime Stoppers at 888-TIPS (8477) or submit the tip online at https://www.p3tips.com/TipForm.aspx?ID=343&C=&T=.
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Reward of $25,000 offered for missing person Caleb Harris
