Amber Swartz Missing: Case Of California Girl Who Disappeared In 1988 Reopened

Police Reopen Case Of Girl Missing For 25 Years

Police, possibly spurred on by public outcry, have decided to reopen the case of a California girl who's been missing for a quarter century.

Amber Swartz was 7 years old when she disappeared from her front yard in Pinole, Calif., on June 3, 1988, according to NBC Bay Area. Police are hoping new forensic technology will provide fresh clues from old evidence.

Authorities' decision to reopen the case after it was closed in 2009 may also have been influenced by an online petition started last month. The petition, which asks cops to renew their efforts in the Swartz case, has garnered more than 1,300 signatures.

"I'm totally excited," Swartz's mom, Kim told KTVU. "Like maybe my days of running into brick walls is over with."

Swartz told the station she doesn't believe the confession issued by Curtis Dean Anderson in 2007.

"I think he wanted to make a name for himself, " Swartz said.

The Contra Costa Times reports that, at the time he confessed to killing Swartz, Anderson was serving a 251-year kidnapping sentence for abducting and sexually assaulting an 8-year-old Vallejo girl.

He was also serving an additional 50 year sentence for kidnapping and murdering another 7-year-old Vallejo girl, Xiana Fairchild.

Police said they have no reason to doubt Anderson's confession, but they remain committed to finding Swartz's remains.

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