Corpus Christi police provided an update through social media on Tuesday concerning the ongoing search for missing 21-year-old Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi student Caleb Harris.
In a post that published on the Corpus Christi Police Department webpage on NextDoor, Senior Officer Jennifer Collier wrote that detectives with the police department are aware of some recent activity on Harris' cell phone that has caught the attention of concerned individuals following the case online and through social media.
Detectives and forensic computer examiners with CCPD learned about the activity on May 28, immediately sharing the information with the entire investigative team, which includes the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and the Texas Rangers, Assistant Chief Todd Green said through written comment in a follow-up interview on June 4.
The chief emphasized that the information does not mean Harris has reactivated his cell phone. It is only intended to inform the public--particularly those who have been following the investigation closely, he added.
"Detectives, at this point in the investigation, do not wish to disclose the specific investigative technique being used, other than it is one of many investigative techniques that detectives and forensic computer examiners are using to solve Caleb's disappearance," Green wrote.
More than three months after the New Braunfels man vanished from his off-campus apartment, The Cottages at Corpus Christi, located in the 1900 block of Ennis Joslin Road, where he was last seen walking a roommate's dog in the early morning hours of March 4, CCPD detectives say they continue a diligent investigation to find the student.
Searches began immediately after Harris' roommates reported him missing, starting with a preliminary investigation of the sidewalks, fields and wetlands surrounding the area on March 6, with police officers, college students, residents, friends and family in attendance, and progressing to deeper expeditions of the roads, shorelines, nature preserves and heavily vegetated and secluded areas of North Padre Island, Oso Bay and Flour Bluff in the last several months.
A rigorous investigation followed, with teams of detectives interviewing potential witnesses in Corpus Christi, San Antonio and New Braunfels to try to solve the case, including neighbors, close friends, roommates and acquaintances. The case has generated interest on social media, and an online community has formed with people sharing pictures, snapchats and chat logs intimating details of the students' last known whereabouts.
An avid fisherman, Harris had been chatting with friends about a planned fishing trip and ordered food between 2 and 3 a.m. the morning he disappeared.
The student's last known location was confirmed by data that his cell phone shared with the nearest cell phone tower at 3:12 a.m. His keys, wallet and vehicle were left at the apartment complex.
Without having Harris' cell phone, detectives do not know its whereabouts, nor have they been able to trace the location of the missing phone, Green said.
"Without the phone in our possession, detectives are unable to determine whether the cell phone lost power or was deliberately powered off," he noted. "The recent activity does not impact that facet of the investigation."
He said they are exhausting every investigative tactic to recover the device.
On May 24, the department publicized for the first time that they suspected foul play in the man's disappearance.
Green, who works in the department's CID to investigate cases of missing people, said in a written statement provided on May 29 that no single piece of evidence suggested foul play, but rather an amalgamation of information gathered immediately following Harris' disappearance, as well as during the intensive investigation in the weeks following.
"The time of night that he is believed to have disappeared, combined with the fact that his wallet, keys, and pickup were left behind at his apartment, the lack of activity on any of his electronic devices, lack of any financial activity, along with the lack of any credible sighting in the past 11 weeks, leads investigators to believe foul play may have been involved in his disappearance," he said.
A $50,000 reward has been offered by Harris' family for anyone with information leading to the safe return of their son. They encourage anyone with information to call (361) 826-2950. A GoFundMe campaign created by a family friend has raised more than $69,000.
CCPD investigators continue to meet on a bi-weekly basis with investigators from the Texas Rangers and the FBI to share information, discuss leads and plot strategy, police say.
Harris was wearing teal pants and a white shirt the night he was last seen. He weighs 180 pounds, and is 5 feet, 11 inches tall.
More:Police ask for eyewitnesses to come forward with information on missing student
More:
More:
