Cleashindra Hall - Missing since May 9, 1994

Cleashindra Denise Hall - Missing since May 9, 1994

12:08 PM

In May of 1994, just nine days before she was to graduate high school Cleashindra Hall disappeared.

She had just turned 18 and was working part time after school to save money for college. She was headed to Tennessee State University on scholarship and dreamed of becoming a pediatrician.

Ambitious plans for a girl who police originally assumed had simply ran away.

On May 9, 1994 between 5 and 5:30 pm Laurell Hall dropped her daughter off at work. She did clerical work for a 'non-profit' organization run by ~~Dr.~~ Larry Amos (he is not a medical doctor of any kind).

Larry Amos was the last reported person to see Cleashindra.

His office was in an upstairs room above the garage of Amos' home.

Before exiting her mother's vehicle, Cleashindra and her mother agreed Cle'a would call home when she was finished and her mother would drive over and pick her up. The Halls only lived a half mile away. She did call around 8 pm for an unrelated reason, but wasn't ready to leave just yet.

Laurell fell asleep a little before 10 pm. Her husband came home from work around 1 AM. Clea wasn't there and hadn't phoned for a ride.

They called Larry Amos who said Cleashindra signed out at 8:30 p.m. He did not see her leave but heard her exiting the garage and getting into a vehicle.

Police would later question and polygraph a male friend of Cleashindra's. The polygraph results were inconclusive.

Nearly a week later, investigators finally visited the Amos residence and looked around. They did not have a warrant so it was not an extensive search. After a brief time, Amos made them leave.

It would be nearly 18 years before police obtained a warrant to search the property.

According to Cleashindra's father, Willie Hall, Larry Amos was exhibiting strange behavior after his daughters disappearance. For instance, he saw Amos removing Cleashiadra's MISSING flyers that had been posted around the neighborhood.

March 29, 2012

Based on statements from two different individuals who once did construction work for Amos at his home- police were finally able to obtain and execute a warrant to search the property.

Investigators left the scene with bags of seized evidence to send to the Arkansas State Crime Lab for testing.

Friends and family were encouraged by the developments and anxiously awaited the results from the crime lab. After a month or so, with no word from the lab, Laurell Hall attended a Pine Bluff City Council to address the chief of police and ask for an update on the investigation. The Chief, Brenda Davis-Jones told Hall that they were waiting on results to come back from the crime lab. They called the lab each week and as soon as the results were in, they would inform the family.

However, the following day, officials at the Arkansas State Crime Lab released a statement saying they had not received any of the evidence obtained during the search. In a subsequent internal investigation, a PBPD crime scene technician admitted she forgot to submit the evidence. She was suspended for a week without pay.

During this time, Police Chief Davis-Jones also re-assigned the lead detective for unrelated reasons. Many local residents classify them as "petty" reasons.

It has now been 31 years since Cleashindra Hall vanished.

If you have ANY information regarding the possible whereabouts of Cleashindra Hall...please contact Detective Lt Terry Hopson at the Pine Bluff Police
Department. 870-730-2090 (detective division)

All calls will be kept confidential.

Other ways to communicate:

Dispatch Center at 870-541-5300

Facebook — www.facebook.com/pinebluff/pbpd

NO memory is insignificant.

[VIDEO INTERVIEW] Cleashindra Hall missing for over 20 years without a trace

11:55 AM

Cleashindra Hall Vanished on May 19, 1994 in Pine Bluff, Arkansas

2:30 PM

In May of 1994, just nine days before she was to graduate high school Cleashindra Hall disappeared.

She had just turned 18 and was working part time after school to save money for college. She was headed to Tennessee State University on scholarship and dreamed of becoming a pediatrician.

Ambitious plans for a girl who police originally assumed had simply ran away.

On May 9, 1994 between 5 and 5:30 pm Laurell Hall dropped her daughter off at work. She did clerical work for a 'non-profit' organization run by ~~Dr.~~ Larry Amos (he is not a medical doctor of any kind).

Larry Amos was the last reported person to see Cleashindra.

His office was in an upstairs room above the garage of Amos' home.

Before exiting her mother's vehicle, Cleashindra and her mother agreed Cle'a would call home when she was finished and her mother would drive over and pick her up. The Halls only lived a half mile away. She did call around 8 pm for an unrelated reason, but wasn't ready to leave just yet.

Laurell fell asleep a little before 10 pm. Her husband came home from work around 1 AM. Clea wasn't there and hadn't phoned for a ride.

They called Larry Amos who said Cleashindra signed out at 8:30 p.m. He did not see her leave but heard her exiting the garage and getting into a vehicle.

Police would later question and polygraph a male friend of Cleashindra's. The polygraph results were inconclusive.

Nearly a week later, investigators finally visited the Amos residence and looked around. They did not have a warrant so it was not an extensive search. After a brief time, Amos made them leave.

It would be nearly 18 years before police obtained a warrant to search the property.

According to Cleashindra's father, Willie Hall, Larry Amos was exhibiting strange behavior after his daughters disappearance. For instance, he saw Amos removing Cleashiadra's MISSING flyers that had been posted around the neighborhood.

March 29, 2012

Based on statements from two different individuals who once did construction work for Amos at his home- police were finally able to obtain and execute a warrant to search the property.

Investigators left the scene with bags of seized evidence to send to the Arkansas State Crime Lab for testing.

Friends and family were encouraged by the developments and anxiously awaited the results from the crime lab. After a month or so, with no word from the lab, Laurell Hall attended a Pine Bluff City Council to address the chief of police and ask for an update on the investigation. The Chief, Brenda Davis-Jones told Hall that they were waiting on results to come back from the crime lab. They called the lab each week and as soon as the results were in, they would inform the family.

However, the following day, officials at the Arkansas State Crime Lab released a statement saying they had not received any of the evidence obtained during the search. In a subsequent internal investigation, a PBPD crime scene technician admitted she forgot to submit the evidence. She was suspended for a week without pay.

During this time, Police Chief Davis-Jones also re-assigned the lead detective for unrelated reasons. Many local residents classify them as "petty" reasons.

It has now been 23 years since Cleashindra Hall vanished.

If you have ANY information regarding the possible whereabouts of Cleashindra Hall...please contact Detective Lt Terry Hopson at the Pine Bluff Police
Department. 870-730-2090 (detective division)

All calls will be kept confidential.

Other ways to communicate:

Dispatch Center at 870-541-5300.

Facebook — www.facebook.com/pinebluff/pbpd

Twitter — @pbpolicedept

Instagram — @pbpolicedept

NO memory is insignificant.

Today Marks 20 Years Since Cleashindra Vanished

12:12 AM

20 years ago today, Laurell Hall dropped her 18 year old daughter Cleashindra off at her after school job. She has not seen or heard from her since.

Cleashindra worked after school for a man named Larry Amos. Amos ran a non-profit business in an office above his garage at his home only .6 miles down the road from the Halls. She did clerical work for him after school.

Larry Amos was the last person to see Cleashindra that evening. According to him, she signed out at 8:30 pm and got into a vehicle waiting outside.

But according to Laurell Hall, she was supposed to pick her daughter up from the Amos residence later that evening once Cleashindra called home and told her she was ready. The phone never rang.

So what happened to Cle'a?

So far, those with any information have not come forward. According to a source close to the investigation, there are people out there who know the truth, but refuse to talk. Some have speculated deep connections within the community have created a virtual wall of silence and fear.

Word on the street is that Amos re-paved his driveway around the time of her disappearance. Investigators were unable to obtain a warrant to search the property until 2012. There was ground penetrating radar present the day of the search, many speculate the warrant was to dig on the property.

The warrants were granted based upon sworn statements from two indivuals. according to an FOI request, one man who said he did construction work for Amos in the late 1990's, told investigators he spotted blood in the home “like it had been splattered on the insulation” The documents also include the summary of an interview police conducted with another man who told them that he was hired to fill a hole in Amos’ backyard.

He reportedly said, “When the wind would blow he could smell an odor unlike anything he has smelled before.” --The documents do not indicate if blood was actually found at the home during the search or what specific items they seized. It is also unclear if the cadaver dogs located any evidence.

---Statements from Lt. Bob Rawlinson

“We have no viable suspect, and what we’re trying to do is narrow down the scope of the investigation,” “Until we are able to identify a person of interest, everybody associated with the case is (a person of interest).”He declined to discuss what items were seized from the home. Dr. Larry Amos decline to make any comments. He is not a suspect and has not been charged with a crime.

According to Laurell Hall, Cleashindra's friend at the time of her disappearance

Larry Amos calls and asks Mrs. Hall if they had heard from Cle’a. He tells Mrs. Hall that he is going to Hamburg, AR for some daycare business and would check that evening to see if she had returned.

24 Hours After She Was Last Seen:
Laurell goes to the police station at a little after 5 pm, 24 after she dropped Cle’a off at the home of Larry Amos, to file a report in person and Cleashindra was officially deemed a missing person.

Wednesday, May 11, 1994:

Cleashindra’s employer, Dr. Larry Amos flies out to Dallas to purchase equipment for his soon to open tanning salon. He said that he had to go because the company that he was purchasing the furniture from was filing bankruptcy and he had to go and pay cash. He left before giving any official statement to the police. Note: Mrs. Hall has always questioned why he could not have wired the money. No tanning salon was ever opened or furniture delivered. [According to Mr. Aaron Mouser, a freelance filmmaker looking into the case, he spoke with a man who said he was in Dallas with Amos and that he did not do any business with a tanning salon during his trip. I have attempted to contact Mr. Mouser for copies of his notes but have not heard back.]

POLICE INVESTIGATION:

LE wanted to know what kind of kid she was. Therefore, they went to the school to speak with school officials. They were told that Cle’a was a good student and did not get into trouble. Next, they questioned the family. According to Laurell, they asked her family a TON of questions. For example: they asked Mr. Hall, “Are you her real father?” His answer was,”YES!” In addition, “Could she be pregnant?” According to Laurell Hall, pregnancy was not possible due to a five -year birth control method that Ms. Hall encouraged Cleashindra to have inserted under her skin at Mrs. Hall’s job at the local Health Department in 1993. Because Cle’a wanted to be a pediatrician, this was Ms. Hall’s way of helping to prevent any accidents since Cleashindra would be going off on her own in a couple months. The police also wanted to know if she was having any problems at home with the parents or her brothers. They family was not aware of any issues. This was a close-knit family.

Police concluded it was not personal problems that caused her disappearance.

Friday, May 13 1994:

Police visit the Amos home while Amos was still out of town. They asked his wife to let them look around the office (no other area of the home). She agreed but then asked them to leave.

Saturday, May 14 1994:

Dr. Larry Amos returns home from Dallas and goes to the police department to give his first statement.

Note: On his way home, he drives by the Hall’s home and sees Mrs. Hall outside talking to a friend. He stops and tells Mrs. Hall he has been to the police station to give a statement. He hands a piece of paper and says the police gave him this name and number and it was a Smith and he did not know them.

Mrs. Hall said that after months of asking the police, about the number it turns out that the number belonged to his baby sitter.

Balloon Released on Missing Teen's Birthday is Found 791 Miles Away in Florida

9:01 PM

Where is Cleashindra Hall?

8:38 PM

An Update to Clea's Case To Be Aired Monday 2/25 on "Find Our Missing"

3:56 PM

Officer denies wrong-doing in handling evidence in missing woman’s case- Report from The Pine Bluff Commercial Newspaper

11:18 AM

This article is from the Pine Bluff Commercial. It is being posted here for informational purposes. This is a link to the original article,

Updated: 5:31 pm - July 31, 2012

By Ray King of the Commercial Staff
Pine Bluff police Lt. Bob Rawlinson said Tuesday he did nothing wrong when he took the evidence from the Cleashindra Hall case home with him until he could properly turn it in the next day. Rawlinson is appealing a two-day suspension given him by Police Chief Brenda Davis-Jones, who accused him of violating department policy with regard to the handling of the evidence in the case.

Testifying before a civilian review panel Tuesday morning, Rawlinson, who supervised the serving of a search warrant at 5309 Faucett Road on March 29, said he didn’t believe he had violated department policy which says “it is an officer’s responsibility to properly handle, mark and package all evidence and transport all physical evidence to the evidence room or other authorized secure location as soon as possible. ”Rawlinson said another segment of that policy allows officers three days to turn in evidence and “it’s not illegal in the policy to transport or hold evidence in your car. The first opportunity I had, I turned it in.”

The suspension followed an internal investigation resulting from the discovery that the evidence had sat at the police department for more than a month before it was sent to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory at Little Rock on May 8. Crime Scene Technician Cathy Ruhl was suspended for five days by Davis-Jones and Ruhl has reportedly admitted that she became involved in other cases and forgot about the evidence from the Hall case. The house, owned by Larry Amos, was the last place Hall was seen before she disappeared May 9, 1994.

Rawlinson said during the course of the time officers were serving the warrant and searching the house, there were several hundred people who gathered in front of the house and in the area, and Faucett Road was completely blocked and closed to through traffic because of all the vehicles parked on the street. He said a crime scene unit vehicle, which would normally be used to transport the evidence, was a long distance down the street while his unmarked police car was parked in the driveway of the house. After talking to Assistant Chief Ivan Whitfield, Rawlinson said the decision was made to put the four sacks of evidence into the trunk of his car so that an officer or crime scene technician “wouldn’t have to walk down the street and somebody possibly grab the evidence or compromise it.

”Rawlinson said he was one of the last officers to leave the scene, and was unsuccessful when he tried to call Ruhl on the radio so he could meet her and turn over the evidence then. A phone call to the crime scene technician’s office was also unsuccessful and Sgt. Bobby Vanlandingham, the department’s Evidence Officer “had already gone home,” Rawlinson said. He also said several small lockers at the police department “wouldn’t hold the evidence,” which consisted of four large grocery type paper bags. Later in his testimony, Rawlinson said the bags “ had pieces of sheet rock sticking out of them.” Police have declined to specifically identify the evidence collected but according to a search warrant return completed by Rawlinson, the items were removed from an interior wall inside the house. Rawlinson said he drove his police car to his house, parked it in the enclosed garage, and locked it until the next morning when he contacted Crime Scene Technician Amanda Hale and turned the evidence over to her on the parking lot of the police department.

“I didn’t authorize him putting it in the trunk of his car and Chief Whitfield didn’t authorize him taking it home,” Davis-Jones said. She said department policy calls for turning in evidence in a secure place, and “that doesn’t mean the trunk of a car.” “It should have been taken to the crime scene (technician’s) office,” Davis-Jones said, adding that crime scene technicians work 12-hour shifts. “If he couldn’t reach one at the office, MECA (Metropolitan Emergency Communications Association) can call one,” Davis-Jones said. She said that Rawlinson could have also driven to the crime scene office and waited for a technician to get there.

Davis-Jones also mentioned a drop box that officers could put evidence in but Rawlinson responded that the box “would hold a gun or some dope” but bags the size of the ones collected at the Amos residence could not be put in that drop box. Rawlinson, who was one of the lead detectives on the case, was reassigned by Davis-Jones on April 4 and is currently assigned as a patrol supervisor on the night shift. Davis-Jones said the transfer was unrelated to his handling of the Hall case. “I wanted to stay on the case,” Rawlinson said. It is a highly interesting case and I believe nobody knows more about this case than me. ”Davis-Jones described the Hall case as a “high profile case and I wouldn’t want a situation where taking home evidence possibly contaminated it.” She said she was responsible for reopening the case and requested Assistant Chief Kelvin Sargent assign someone to work on it. Davis-Jones said Officer Patrick Saffold, who was formerly a detective and is currently assigned to the Patrol Division, worked on the case before Rawlinson said Detective Jerry Lambert took it over.“ If he is so passionate about the case, he would have made sure the evidence got there (to the crime lab) the next day. He could have carried it there himself,” Davis-Jones said.

Rawlinson, who previously worked as Public Information Officer for the department under several different chiefs of police, said that working in that role under Davis-Jones, “nothing hit the newspaper until chief Jones approved it. If she was on vacation, we had to e-mail the release to her and she would e-mail changes back. It couldn’t be in the paper if she didn’t approve it, and Capt. (Greg) Shapiro (who is now department public information officer) said ‘the evidence wasn’t compromised.'” Shapiro made that statement in response to a question from The Commercial about Ruhl’s suspension which appeared in a story July 21. The review panel consisted of Capt. Mike Davis from the Pine Bluff Fire and Emergency Services Department, Inspection and Zoning Director Robert Tucker and Assistant City Attorney Daryl Taylor. They will have five days to make a decision on the appeal, and can uphold it, reverse it, or modify it.

Updated Flier with Reward

8:50 PM

UPDATE: Crime Scene Tech Suspended for Failing to Submit Evidence to Crime Lab

9:33 PM

An internal investigation into what caused the 40 day delay in submitting evidence to the Arkansas State Crime- has been completed.

On March 29, Pine Bluff Police executed a search warrant at the home of Dr. Larry Amos in relation to the disappearance of Cleashindra Denise Hall. Hall, who vanished on May 9, 1994- was last seen that night at the Amos home.

Information obtained via a recently filed Freedom of Information Act request- details a crime scene technician telling an investigator she packaged the items taken from Dr. Larry Amos' home. However, once the packaged evidence reached the PBPD's evidence room- she realized she needed additional information for the submission form. However, she did not get around to it.

The technician responded, "It's not that I forgot it was there. It just got pushed aside for something else. The first time I realized that I really had to get it done was when Sergeant (whose name has been blacked out) called me.

"If you're a crime scene technician and you're accustomed to handling evidence, what would make that day be different?" Laurell Hall, Cleashindra's mother, said.

Laurell Hall cannot understand how a technician with who has been with the department for nearly 20 years- wouldn't realize how crucial it was for that evidence to reach the lab- immediately.

"The fact that there were so many people, so many officers, it seems like that evidence would have important so what made it so different that you didn't follow the procedures that you follow everyday?" Laurell said.

The crime scene technician received a five day suspension without pay, however, the Halls are not satisfied.

"How can she verify that they weren't tainted and she handled them, handled them all the time and she can swear in a court of law that they weren't tainted," Laurell said.

** Meanwhile, the evidence is currently undergoing a second round of forensic testing. The lab announced in June that there was no presence of blood.

The March 29th search was the first time investigators were able to search the property in nearly 18 years

.

UPDATE: Crime Scene Tech Suspended for Failing to Submit Evidence to Crime Lab

2:16 PM

An internal investigation into what caused the 40 day delay in submitting evidence to the Arkansas State Crime- has been completed.

On March 29, Pine Bluff Police executed a search warrant at the home of Dr. Larry Amos in relation to the disappearance of Cleashindra Denise Hall. Hall, who vanished on May 9, 1994- was last seen that night at the Amos home.

The technician responded, "It's not that I forgot it was there. It just got pushed aside for something else. The first time I realized that I really had to get it done was when Sergeant (whose name has been blacked out) called me.

"If you're a crime scene technician and you're accustomed to handling evidence, what would make that day be different?" Laurell Hall, Cleashindra's mother, said.

Laurell Hall cannot understand how a technician with who has been with the department for nearly 20 years- wouldn't realize how crucial it was for that evidence to reach the lab- immediately.

The crime scene technician received a five day suspension without pay, however, the Halls are not satisfied.

"How can she verify that they weren't tainted and she handled them, handled them all the time and she can swear in a court of law that they weren't tainted," Laurell said.

** Meanwhile, the evidence is currently undergoing a second round of forensic testing. The lab announced in June that there was no presence of blood.

The March 29th search was the first time investigators were able to search the property in nearly 18 years.

No Blood Found on The Evidence- Now Time For DNA Testing

11:38 AM

Internal Investigation in to What Caused the Delay in Sending Evidence to the Crime Lab - COMPLETED

4:00 PM

PBPD to Provide Weekly Updates Regarding the investigation to the Mother of Cleashindra Hall

3:00 PM

PBPD is conducting an internal investigation to determine why evidence was submitted 40 days after search

2:00 PM

Police Chief to Hall Family: Delay in Progress Update Attributed to Waiting on Crime Lab. Next day- Crime Lab Receives Evidence. 40 days after police collected it

12:00 PM

Info Regarding Execution of March Search Warrant

11:00 AM

Cleashindra Hall case: Police search home for Ark. teen missing since '94

by theGrio | April 4, 2012 at 1:23 PM

PINE BLUFF, Ark. (AP) — Police obtained a warrant to search an Arkansas man’s home for clues into the 1994 disappearance of an 18-year-old woman after someone reported seeing blood at the house, according to court documents filed Tuesday.

Authorities seized four items when they searched Larry Amos’ home in Pine Bluff for evidence related to Cleashindra Hall, who was working part-time for Amos doing clerical work and preparing for college. Amos, who hasn’t been charged or named a suspect in the case, is the last known person to have seen her.

“We have no viable suspect, and what we’re trying to do is narrow down the scope of the investigation,” Police Lt. Bob Rawlinson said Tuesday, declining to comment on what police found. “Until we are able to identify a person of interest, everybody associated with the case is (a person of interest).”

According to the court documents, a man who said he did some construction work for Amos in the late 1990s told investigators in January that he spotted blood in the home “like it had been splattered on the insulation” Another man who was hired to fill a hole in Amos’ backyard said that “when the wind would blow he could smell an odor unlike anything he has smelled before,” according to a summary of a police interview included with the court documents.

The heavily redacted documents don’t indicate whether any blood was found. The paperwork also doesn’t say what items investigators took from the home when it was searched late last week. Rawlinson also wouldn’t comment on what was found, or whether two cadaver dogs that searched the home found anything.

Amos declined to talk to reporters when authorities searched his home in Pine Bluff, a city just south of Little Rock. A man outside the home Tuesday refused to comment or identify himself to an Associated Press reporter, saying only: “I have no comment no matter what you ask.”

Investigators believe that Hall went to work at Amos’ house on May 9, 1994. She called home around 8 p.m. to see if someone had called for her. No one had, so she hung up, her mother Laurell Hall said.

“That was the last time we heard her voice,” Laurell Hall said Tuesday.

Click below to continue reading the article which is copyrighted by The Associated Press.

http://thegrio.com/2012/04/04/cleashindra-hall-case-police-search-home-for-ark-teen-missing-since-94/

Photos

1:32 AM