AZ MIKELLE BIGGS: Missing from Mesa, AZ - 2 January 1999 - Age 11

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Mikelle Biggs’ sister hired to train officers on handling families of missing people​

It’s been more than 24 years since one of Arizona’s most high-profile missing children cases began. Eleven-year-old Mikelle Biggs was abducted while riding her bike outside her Mesa home and never seen again. Her little sister was just 9 years old but she has spent much of her adult life advocating for her sister. Now, she’s been hired by a training center funded by the U.S. Justice Department to help train officers on how to better deal with families of missing children and victims.

Mikelle Biggs’ 1999 disappearance quickly gained the attention of America at the time. She was riding her bike, waiting for the ice cream man one second. The next, she vanished. Her bike tire was still spinning when Kimber Biggs came back outside. Kimber Biggs was two years younger than Mikelle and only in their house for 90 seconds when Mikelle was taken. “It’s a different type of effect on me than my parents, but it’s still very traumatic,” said Kimber.

It’s an unimaginable situation that’s been a part of her life, but now, in her 30s, it’s led to something new. “I just got a gut feeling that this is what I’m supposed to be doing,” Kimber said.

While Kimber isn’t new to advocating for her sister, she’s gotten the attention and respect of law enforcement, and now she’s starting a new journey because of it. The National Criminal Justice Training Center recently hired her to teach a training course to first responders and officers on how to best work with families with missing children and loved ones. “This is what it’s like to be a victim, and here’s how you can improve how you work with victims’ families and here’s what has been done that is beneficial to them,” she said.

In Mikelle’s case, she said a misstep in the police investigation quickly came to mind. “They kind of jumped to conclusions in my family’s situation and that made the whole thing that much harder,” Kimber said.

Those conclusions included casting suspicion on her father. Time and resources were spent on him as a potential suspect, only to have that not be the case in the end. “It’s really hard not to feel bitter about that. Not only for my dad’s sake but for the Mikelle’s case. What if? There’s always going to be that ‘what if.’ What if we missed something because of that,” Kimber said.

Kimber said she also wants to focus on how officers can ask questions with more compassion, especially with young kids like she was at the time her sister went missing.

Mikelle’s disappearance has shaped Kimber’s life, a situation she never asked for and was forced to grow up with. But now it’s not just having to talk about that horrific day but being able to actually smile about the difference she’s about to make for other families and detectives, all in Mikelle’s honor. “Taking something horrible that happened to me and using that to do good. That’s a really amazing feeling,” Kimber said.

The National Criminal Justice Training Center programs like the one Kimber will be a part of are funded by federal grants from the DOJ.

Kimber will undergo training in October and could begin speaking at trainings around the country as early as November of this year.
 

Family of missing Arizona girl Mikelle Biggs still looking for answers a quarter century later​

Twenty-five years ago today, 11-year-old Mikelle Biggs vanished from Mesa, Arizona.

Mikelle’s mother, Tracy Biggs, described her daughter as a “very kind and loving — very sweet” child. “She enjoyed art,” Tracy said. “She was very, very good at art and wanted to be a Disney animator from — from the time she was about 4 years old.” Tracy told Dateline that Mikelle took classes from a young age to help her fulfill that dream — calling it a “huge part of her life.”


And now, 25 years after Mikelle’s disappearance, the family is still looking for closure — and justice. “We still would like to find her body and have closure that way,” Tracy Biggs told Dateline. “We would like to find out who did it and make sure that they are accounted, you know, for their crime, and off the streets and can never hurt anybody else.”

Mikelle’s younger sister, Kimber, runs the Facebook account "Justice for Mikelle Biggs" where she shares information about coverage of Mikelle’s case and advocates for justice for her sister.

Since her sister’s disappearance, Kimber has become an advocate for other missing persons cases. At the end of 2023, Kimber was hired by the National Criminal Justice Training Center to give a presentation as part of a course aimed at teaching investigators how to properly handle victims’ families in missing persons cases.

She told Dateline that she felt like she was meant to become an advocate for missing people and their families. “I had many people thank me for what I do and give heartwarming feedback. I like to let them know I am eager to hear what could be improved to better help them, but every time they insisted it was perfect as is, which is both mind blowing and dignifying,” she wrote on Facebook after the event. “I am grateful, optimistic, and extremely motivated to continue in this, and beyond, to see what this world has in store for me.”

Tracy said that the family still holds Mikelle close to their hearts. “She’s still part of our family — always will be,” she told Dateline. “We love her and we care for her no matter what.”

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ABC15 shares an extended interview with the new detective assigned to the disappearance case of Mikelle Biggs. The 11-year-old was taken outside her Mesa home on January 2, 1999. We take a look back at the investigation and tell you where things stand 25 years later.

 

Family of Mikelle Biggs works on documentary about 1999 disappearance​

Over two decades have passed, and the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Mikelle Biggs remains unsolved.

Since that day, Kimber has dedicated herself to sharing her sister’s story.

She is currently involved in a documentary project that aims to shed light on Mikelle’s case.

The documentary has interviews with family members, including cousins who were present during the disappearance, as well as Mikelle’s mother and the detectives involved in the investigation.

For almost five months, the team behind the documentary has been piecing together the timeline of the case.

They are not only focused on the details of the investigation but also on portraying who Mikelle was as a person and the impact her abduction had on her family.

“We talk about the case. Exactly what happened. We talk about what my family went through. My parents, especially what my dad went through with Mesa PD. The detectives and the whole investigation, but there is still also a lot of the personal element about Mikelle and about our childhood,” Kimber said.

Kimber hopes that this documentary will not only keep Mikelle’s case in the public eye but also raise awareness for other families who may be facing similar situations.

The filmmaker behind the project is Elliot Feld, and although the documentary is still a work in progress, it is expected to be released next summer.
 

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