Mikelle Diane Biggs-Missing 14 Years

 IT was January 2, 1999 (a Saturday) when 11 year-old Mikelle was riding her bike with her younger sister near her home in Mesa, Arizona. Mikelle and her sister thought they heard the music of an ice cream truck drift in from the distance, so they asked their mother for some money. The girls waited outside for the ice cream truck near Toltec Street and El Moro Avenue until 5:50 PM. Mikelle's sister got cold and left for about 90 seconds to get a coat from the house. When she came back to get Mikelle, she had vanished. Mikelle's bike was found right where she was last seen standing, tipped over with the wheel spinning. Her two quarters for ice cream was also found by the bike. She has not been seen since, and it was never established if an ice cream truck was ever in the area.

At the time of her disappearance, Mikelle was 4'8" and weighed 85 pounds. She has brown hair and hazel eyes, and her upper front teeth are prominent. Her ears were pierced and she has several moles on the left side of her neck. At the time of her disappearance, Mikelle was growing her hair out, and she had it in a perm.
Mikelle was wearing a red T-shirt with Lindberg imprinted on the front (the name of her elementary school). She had on bell bottom jeans with embroided seams on the sides of both pant legs, white canvas shoes and possibly earrings.

These are sketches of possible suspects in the disappearance of Mikelle Biggs. Do you know them?

Immediately after Mikelle vanished, authorities searched the entire area for any trace of Mikelle. Search dogs lost her scent only a few feet away from where she was last standing, and besides her bike and two quarters, no evidence was ever recovered. All ice cream vendors in the area were cleared of any involvement in the case along with known sex offenders in the area. Despite this, Mikelle's father has always believed that one registered sex offender was cleared too quickly: Dee Blalock, who lived two blocks away from their home. He carried with him three convictions for sex offenses in three other states, and in 2001, was found guilty of raping his neighbor, along with trying to kill her. His wife provided an alibi for him, saying he was at home in their garage the entire night. He is in an Arizona prison serving 15 and a half years for a prior conviction, and Mikelle's parents have visited him to ask him directly if he took Mikelle. He has denied any involvement in her case. There have been two sketches of possible suspects released, one of which carries a resemblance to Dee Blalock.

The investigation into Mikelle's disappearance has carried much heartache with all the false leads generated. On January 9, police dug up what appeared to be a freshly dug grave, which proved to be nothing. Houses within the neighborhood were searched with no luck, and on March 10, 1999, it was reported a man tried to abduct multiple young girls. This tip proved to be a hoax. A car seen within the area at the time Mikelle vanished was found, but the driver was also cleared of any involvement. 

Mikelle was an artistic girl who was very involved with her school. Her family continues the search for her.

First, I believe that there really wasn't an ice cream truck. Whether the music was purposely played to lure young kids or was a misunderstanding, I don't believe some ice cream truck swooped down and took Mikelle. I am very interested in the man Mikelle's father believed took her: Dee Blalock. First off, this guy has a long history of violent, sexual offenses. Just because someone is a registered sex offender, doesn't mean they are always watched 24/7 to prevent another occurrence, especially in the '90s. After Mikelle disappeared, he also had another incident where he raped and almost killed his neighbor in 2001. Trouble follows him everywhere, and it's no coincidence. I find it hard to believe that out of all places he has moved to, he magically chooses Mesa as the one spot to not commit a crime. Let's remember he committed another crime as a registered sex offender-can we really believe Mesa was his only place of residence he was crime-free when a little girl two blocks away vanishes? I also find it interesting his wife came up with his alibi for him-a weak one at that that can't really be legit. He is only serving 15 and a half years in prison-he still has some of his life left to live, and giving away what happened to Mikelle would take that away, so I am not surprised he denied any involvement. I wonder if his wife was questioned now, fourteen years later, if they would get a different statement.
Of course, we can't focus entirely on Dee Blalock (although one of the possible suspect sketches does resemble him) because then we run into tunnel vision. There is always a chance someone not local, maybe even passing through, took Mikelle. It is possible she was a victim of opportunity. The suspect could have been watching Mikelle and her sister the whole time they were playing outside, then grabbed Mikelle when they saw the opportunity. I am positive she was grabbed off the street and thrown in a vehicle, because the search dogs lose her scent right away. It also seems more likely one person took Mikelle instead of two or more. More than one person would have been able to possibly take both the girls, or even grab one within the other's presence.

Mikelle is described as a socialable, honor student who played the clarinet and was on the student council. Her favorite color was purple, and she wanted to be an animator when she grew up.

With my second scenario, which I think is the more likely one, the suspect could be a local, who had been watching Mikelle for sometime, planning on making a fantasy their reality over time. If any one passing through or within the neighborhood could remember ANY vehicle that was around Mikelle's residence that day, it would be a HUGE help, because this person had to be sitting in the vehicle for awhile waiting for an opportunity. They only had 90 seconds to take her, so they were not far from her at all. Someone had to have seen this person, who was lurking nearby. In either scenario, I believe Mikelle's abductor has committed crimes similar to what he did to Mikelle before he took her, and probably afterwards as well. I believe they were a stranger to Mikelle because how her bike was found (with the wheel spinning), makes it look as if she was running away from a car pulling up to her. She knew she was in danger.
I do not know how long Blalock lived in Mesa, or what other states he has lived in, but I decided to look at other disappearances within Arizona. For others not familiar with Arizona, Mesa and Phoenix flow into one another, being about 26 minutes apart (according to Google Maps). After researching multiple cases on the NAMUS database, I found a lot of missing girls from Arizona, especially in Phoenix. This is logical, because crime is more likely to occur in bigger cities, but there were a few that stuck out to me with some similarities to Mikelle Biggs' abduction.

 Above are images of Brandy Myer, who vanished off the streets of Phoenix while doing a fundraiser for her school. Image Credit: findthemissing.org.

First, we have 13 year-old Brandy Myers, who vanished in the Sunnyslope Area of Phoenix, Arizona on May 26, 1992, seven years before Mikelle would go missing. She was last seen around 8:00 PM by her friend. The girls were going door-to-door trying to sell items for a Read-A-Thon Fundraiser. There are two accounts of the circumstances that Brandy vanished under, one being she waited outside of Smitty's grocery store while her friend went in, who exited to find Brandy missing. The second account states the girls parting ways, with Brandy going home to baby-sit, with plans to continue going door-to-door later. Brandy has never been seen again.

Shannon Aumock lived a hard life in and out of foster care, and remained unidentified until 2011 after she ran away in 1992, when it was discovered she was an unidentified Jane Doe found in May 1992. Her murder remains unsolved.

Around the same time, 16 year-old Shannon Aumock ran away from a foster home establishment. Shannon was never listed as missing. She had a hard life. She was given to CPS by her mother, and lived in foster care her entire life, from which she constantly ran away from in hopes of finding a happy life. In the article link under her names listed in my "Sources", a psycologist asked Shannon what she'd want on her tombstone, since running away could result in a violent death, and she said she did not care for anything on it, because no one ever cared or loved her anyways. I got teary-eyed reading this, and up until 2011, that is how it was. Shannon's remains were actually recovered in a pile of trash by Deer Valley Road by an ATV rider on May 28, 1992. She had been missing for a month prior to that, which is a close time frame to Brandy Meyers. Authorities believe these girls' cases are connected, and I would think it would not hurt to look at Mikelle along with these girls as well. All girls were in their pre-teen stages, with Shannon just slightly older. Phoenix is under 30 minutes away from Mesa, and all these girls were most likely taken off the streets in the '90s. Brandy is still missing and Shannon's murder is unsolved.

Karen vanished while playing outside of her apartment in 1996. Her case is believed to be related to others and the area, and remains unsolved.

Two years before Mikelle vanished, another little girl, 7 year-old Karen Rosalba Grajeda vanished while playing outside of her family's apartment in Tuscon, Arizona on January 11, 1996. She had been rollerblading with her sister earlier, and returned home to put her skates away so she could go back to playing outside more. Her mother noticed she was missing at 6:30 PM when she went outside to get her for supper. She was nowhere to be seen. Another little girl,  6 year-old Esther "Lizette" Galaz vanished outside of her family's apartment by a convenience store in Tucson, Arizona on December 19, 1994. Children nearby witnessed Esther getting into a blue car, similar to a Ford Taurus or Tempo. She was found in a drainage ditch the next day. Authorities believe these cases are connected with one another, but both remain unsolved.

This is a sketch of the man believed to be involved in the murder of Esther and abduction of Karen, along with other crimes in the area. Can you identify him? Photo Credit: charleyproject.org

An unknown Caucasian or Hispanic man seen in the area is wanted for questioning in three other child abductions (where he let the girls go), Karen's disappearance and the abduction, beating, rape and murder of Esther. The other abductions happened on January 16, 1994 and May 16, 1994 during the afternoon. The man lured the girls in his car with an offer of money and candy, and would drive the girls to the desert where he would try to molest them. The incident occurred in July 31, 1993 to another 7 year-old girl. He is described as having light brown hair and green/hazel eyes with a mustache. He looked to be 30-46 years old, and 5'6"-5'8", weighing about 170 pounds. Once again, this man is wanted in many other cases as well.

I am not sure if any of these cases are related to Mikelle's disappearance, but these cities are not too far from each other, and suspects do not stay in one area for too long. The time window for these cases is very consistent, majority being in the late 1980's and throughout the '90s. I believe there are multiple predators and serial killers at work in Arizona-the endless dessert and landscape of Arizona offers the perfect opportunity to conceal any crime. According to DoeNetwork.org , there were previous child abductions in Tucson, Arizona, but the man let the girls go. If they were Hispanic, I believe Karen and Esther's abductions to be the work of a separate offender from Mikelle, even though all three circumstances were eerily similar. With Karen, the abductor watched while she played with her sister outside, taking Karen when he saw her by herself for a few minutes. He also did this with Esther, and the three previous girls before them, starting in 1993. We see this same thing in Mikelle's disappearance. This man has gotten away with it for so long, I do not see him stopping until he is caught, dead or locked up. I strongly believe he would be a good person of interest in Mikelle's abduction. Blalock is a good suspect too, but focusing just on him could be a mistake when there are so many other similar crimes that kept happening not too far from Mesa.
As for Brandy and Shannon, I believe both cases could be connected to Mikelle's, and they could not be. In any event, all suspects for all these cases should be considered in the disappearance of Mikelle as well. I searched unsolved homicides within Arizona, and a lot came up, especially for children. Some of them have to be connected, but figuring out which is which would be a hard job.
Mikelle's family continues to search for her. They believe she was murdered shortly after she was abducted and buried an empty casket in 2004 for closure. They continue to search for their daughter, and hope to bring her abductor to justice.

This is an age progression of what Mikelle may look like at age 25. Photo Credit: findthemissing.org

If you have any information about the disappearance of Mikelle Diane Biggs, please contact:

Detective Thomas Denning
480-644-2211
 OR
 Phoenix Police Missing and Unidentified Persons Unit
602-534-2121

                                                   A photo of Shannon Aumock. Photo Credit: silentwitness.org

An age progression of what Brandy may look like at 21 years old.
 
If you have any information about the disappearance of Brandy Myers or the unsolved murder of Shannon Aumock, please contact:

 Detective Melissa Lutch
(602)495-5394

An age progression of what Karen may look like now. 

If you have any information of the disappearance of Karen Grajeda or the murder of Esther Galaz, please contact:

Sergeant Kevin Hall
(520) 791-4444 
  
 

Sources:
Mikelle Biggs
https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/5851/0%22
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/biggs_mikelle.html
http://www.azfamily.com/news/Father-of-Mikelle-Biggs-talks-about-his-daughters-disappearance--206534951.html
Shannon Aumock-Unsolved Murder Victim
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/local/article_a5c452bc-5671-11e0-8f63-001cc4c002e0.html
Brandy Meyers
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/myers_brandy.html
https://identifyus.org/cases/8642
Karen Grajeda
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/g/grajeda_karen.html
Ester "Lizette" Galez- Unsolved Murder Victim
http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue2/1997/03/20/27550-2-moms-cling-to-hope-and-each-other/
Unsolved Child Crimes in Arizona
http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue2/1996/05/22/9106-artist-sketches-molest-suspect/