California Teen Vanishes On Her Way To School

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Fourteen-year-old Amber Dubois went missing from her hometown of Escondido, Calif., on Feb. 13, 2009. Her remains were discovered March 7, 2010.

Amber Dubois went missing on Feb. 13, 2009, from Escondido, Calif., and for months, cops, her family, friends and her community searched for the missing teen.

Family members say Amber is a strong-willed but bookish girl who loves animals to the extent that, despite being a freshman at Escondido High School, she was looking into college programs specializing in animal sciences.

On Feb. 13, Amber not only had her books and Valentine's Day gifts for her friends, she also had a $200 check to put a deposit on a lamb that she was going to raise as a part of her school's Future Farmers Association.

Amber's dad, Maurice Dubois, says the lamb was something that Amber was already cherishing the thought of and she wouldn't have missed turning in the deposit for the world.

But police say somehow, that's what happened. At 6:45 a.m., Amber sent four text messages to her grandmother before heading out the door to school.

The one mile walk from her home was something she did every day. At around 7:15 a.m., she was seen by two family friends just about 300 yards from the school's front gate.

Hours later, school officials called Amber's home saying she hadn't shown up for class. Her friends hadn't seen her either. By the end of the day, the search for Amber had begun.

Months After Disappearance, A Tragic End

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Amber Dubois was an avid reader and loved writing and drawing.

In the days after her disappearance, police say there were a few unconfirmed sightings of Amber. On Feb. 14, 2009, a schoolmate thought he saw Amber near the Palomar Memorial Hospital in Escondido, Calif.

The next day, police say another schoolmate believed they saw Amber walking with someone near Rincon Avenue and Conway Drive at the north end of Escondido.

Police and search efforts in the areas have turned up few clues.

While family members believe that Amber may have been abducted, police say that there is no evidence that Amber was kidnapped. Police say her cell phone was turned on for a matter of seconds Feb. 14, 2009, and hasn't been on since.

In February 2010, the murder of Chelsea King turned the spotlight back on Amber's case. King, a 17-year-old high school senior from Poway, Calif., was found murdered 8 miles away from where Amber lived. Police arrested 30-year-old John Gardner for Chelsea's murder and are now looking at possible links to Amber's case. 

Escondido police announced on March 7, 2010 that Amber's remains had been recovered the day prior on a local Indian reservation. 

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