French
DeutschKidnapping of Amber Swartz-Garcia
Amber Jean Swartz-Garcia | |
|---|---|
| Born | Amber Jean Swartz August 19, 1980 |
| Disappeared | June 3, 1988 (aged 7) Pinole, Contra Costa County, California, U.S. |
| Status | Missing for 36 years, 10 months and 19 days |
| Nationality | American |
| Parents |
|
The kidnapping of Amber Swartz-Garcia (born August 19, 1980)[1] occurred on June 3, 1988, in Pinole, California, when she was seven years old.[2][3] She had been playing jump rope in her front yard when she was abducted. Curtis Dean Anderson, a convicted kidnapper, confessed to kidnapping and killing Swartz-Garcia shortly before his 2007 death, but doubts remain about his involvement.
Disappearance and possible killer
[edit]Amber was the daughter of Bernie Swartz, a police officer, and Kim Swartz. Her father was shot and killed four months before her birth, and her mother then lived with Al Garcia, and Amber took his last name.[3] Over the years, the police announced that suspects, including a volunteer who helped search for missing children[3] and a defrocked priest had been questioned intensively in the kidnapping.[4]
In 2009, Pinole police and the FBI announced that her killer was convicted murderer Curtis Dean Anderson, who died in prison in 2007 one month after confessing to her kidnapping and murder.[5][6] Anderson had a long criminal record and had been convicted of kidnapping and murdering Xiana Fairchild[7] of Vallejo, California, who was also seven years old, and also of kidnapping and sexually assaulting another girl named Misdi Sanchez,[8][9] who escaped. He had bragged about kidnapping eleven girls.[10]
Investigation and aftermath
[edit]Anderson told FBI agents that he sedated Amber while he drove to Arizona to visit his aunt. He said that he killed Amber in a motel room near Tucson, Arizona, and disposed of her body near Benson, Arizona.[5][6] No human remains or credible evidence of Amber's death has been found, other than Anderson's confession. As a result of his confession the case was declared closed. Kim Swartz was convinced that Anderson was lying to get attention. In 2013, after a petition campaign, the Pinole police agreed to re-open the case.[11]
See also
[edit]
- Disappearance of Michaela Garecht
- Kidnapping of Jaycee Dugard
- List of kidnappings
- List of people who disappeared
References
[edit]- ^ "The Doe Network: Case File 124DFCA". www.doenetwork.org. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
- ^ John Philpin (October 21, 2009). Stalemate: A Shocking True Story of Child Abduction and Murder. Random House Publishing Group. pp. vii, 59, 61, 183, 227, 229. ISBN 978-0-307-57400-8. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
- ^ a b c Hallissy, Erin (June 22, 2002). "Keeping watch / She doubts her daughter will ever come home, but Kim Swartz is a hard-charging advocate for other missing children". SFGate. Archived from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
- ^ Bailey, Eric; Glionna, John M. (June 7, 2002). "Ex-Priest's Yard Dug Up for Clues in Case". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
- ^ a b Ishimaru, Heather (July 9, 2007). "Police solve Amber Swartz-Garcia kidnapping and murder case". abc7.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2018. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
- ^ a b McLaughlin, Ken; Fischer, Karl (July 7, 2009). "CASE CLOSED: Police conclude that now-deceased Curtis Dean Anderson killed Amber Swartz". San Jose Mercury News. Archived from the original on September 4, 2018. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
- ^ PRESS, ASSOCIATED (December 16, 2005). "7-year-old Vallejo girl kidnapped, molested, killed in 1999". The Press Democrat. Archived from the original on June 20, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
- ^ "Her Story to Freedom After Kidnapping". CBN. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
- ^ Lee, Lauren (March 22, 2019). "How kidnapping survivor Midsi Sanchez uses her trauma to fuel a new purpose as an advocate for missing and exploited children". CNN. Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
- ^ Fagan, Kevin (July 7, 2009). "Portrait of 'an absolute monster'". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on September 3, 2018. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
- ^ "Pinole Police Re-Open Amber Swartz Garcia Case". NBC Bay Area. San Jose, California. October 2, 2013. Retrieved September 2, 2018.