ESCONDIDO: Distraught father writes letter to missing teen

By CHRIS NICHOLS - cnichols@nctimes.com | Sunday, June 21, 2009 9:07 PM PDT ∞

ESCONDIDO ---- Late Saturday night, with Father's Day just hours away, Moe Dubois sat down to write a letter to his daughter ---- missing teen Amber Dubois.

His grief and melancholy would not stay inside any longer.

"I just had to air out my feelings somewhere," Dubois said of the letter, which he sent to local news outlets Sunday. "I needed to get it out."

In the letter, Dubois expressed his deep sadness and also his hope that he'll be reunited with his 14-year-old daughter who vanished on her way to school in Escondido more than four months ago.


Read the letter

"I hope you can stay strong and have faith that someday, someday very soon, we find you and get you home," Dubois wrote. "I promise you that your family will never stop looking for you until you are found."

Unlike Father's Days past, there was no bonfire on the beach with Amber and the rest of the family this year, Dubois said. There was no hunt for sea shells, card games or photographs with his only daughter.

Amber's parents believe their daughter was abducted by a stranger. They describe her as a structured teen and a model student who never spoke of running away.

She was last seen Feb. 13 as she walked to Escondido High School on North Broadway.

Police have classified her case as a missing juvenile, stating they have no evidence to support an abduction or that Amber ran away.

A once steady stream of tips about her case has slowed to a trickle, police have said.

Though the family's search center closed in Escondido earlier this month, Dubois says he and a small group of volunteers have continued to look for Amber. He and others passed out fliers in Temecula and Murrieta on Saturday, part of an effort to spread Amber's story north of San Diego County.

Dubois said writing to his daughter, passing out fliers and speaking with volunteers are all therapeutic. They don't take away the sadness, he said, but instead allow him to move forward with it.

He added that he hopes to organize a golf tournament to raise awareness of Amber's case in coming months.

"We're staying very productive," he said.

Nicole Elsbernd, Moe Dubois' sister, said her brother remains hopeful despite the sadness of days such as Father's Day.

"We're trying so much to keep (Amber's search) going," Elsbernd said. "I know in my heart she's still alive and so does (her father)."

A link to Moe Dubois' letter can be found at www.nctimes.com, with this story.

Call staff writer Chris Nichols at 760-740-5426.

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