By David Lohr
October 22, 2007
PAXTON, IL. (Crime Library) — There have been new developments in the search for 20-year-old Jamie Harper, a young woman who has been missing since last spring. According to Sgt. Jeff Wooten of the Rantoul Police Department, investigators recently searched a property on the west side of Route 49, just north of Route 136, in Vermilion County. The property allegedly belongs to a family member of an individual whom Jamie's family has long considered a person of interest in this case. That same individual is also allegedly connected to another missing persons case dating back to 1997.
"We've had some tips that there may have been evidence on that property detailing what may have happened to Jamie Harper," Wooten said in an interview with News-gazette.com Friday. "It's not a huge piece of property, but there are some nearby waterways. A lot of areas were searched in that general vicinity."
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| Paxton Illinois Map |
Nearly two-dozen investigators from the Rantoul Police Department, Paxton Police Department, Vermilion and Champaign County sheriff's offices, and the Illinois State Police assisted in the search, which included buildings, land and banks along nearby Middle Fork River. The search lasted approximately eight hours. After canvassing the area, investigators sifted through select areas with shovels, and K9 units were brought in to help identify points of interest.
Investigators have since confirmed they did not find any human remains during the search; and if anything of evidentiary value was found, it is not yet known. It also remains unclear if a second search of the property will be conducted.
According to Wooten, his department has been working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Jamie's case, and the bureau recently added her case to the kidnapped and missing persons section of their Web site. Wooten also said Jamie's case will be featured at the end of the CBS television show, "Without a Trace," later this month.
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| Jamie Harper Missing Poster |
Jamie Harper was last seen on the evening of March 8, 2007, when she left her mother's house with a male companion to attend a party in Rantoul. Jamie left the party the following morning, and no one has seen her since. Jamie's mother, Susan Kehrer, reported her missing the following week.
"Her friend was supposed to bring her home the day after the party, but he never did," Susan said in an April telephone interview with Crime Library. "I waited to report her missing, because there were times in the past where she stayed out for a couple days."
Not long after her disappearance, police received a tip from an anonymous caller that Jamie's body had been disposed of in an area southeast of Paxton known as Dogtown.
"Dogtown contains three gravel pits," Paxton Police Chief Robert G. Bane told Crime Library in April. "There are waterways out there and a lot of wooded area. On the first day, we conducted a massive ground search by foot and with the use of all-terrain vehicles. There were 42 officers and volunteers on the scene.
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