Body in car identified as missing Newburyport woman
April 27, 2006
ROCKPORT, Mass. --The body in a car submerged in 25 feet of water off a pier was positively identified Thursday as that of a 53-year-old Newburyport woman who had been missing for more than a month.
Essex County district attorney's spokesman Steve O'Connell said Thursday night that investigators used dental records to confirm that woman found inside the car was indeed
Michele Harrison.
A diver setting a boat mooring spotted the white Subaru station wagon Wednesday off Rockport's Granite Pier. The wagon's license plate matched that of Harrison's car, and the vehicle was towed out of the water and secured by police.
Harrison, a special education teacher at the Greater Lawrence Educational Collaborative, had been missing since March 17. Investigators do not suspect foul play in her death, O'Connell said.
Harrison's E-ZPass highway toll account showed that she had passed through the Interstate 95 tolls in Hampton twice on March 17, heading north and south, and a Salisbury man reported seeing Harrison in the town of Millinocket, Maine. She was last heard from on March 16, in a phone conversation with her son.
It is unclear when and why her car ended up in the water off Rockport.
Have You Seen This Woman?
By Lisa Wiley
Mar 30, 2006, 16:22
Michelle Harrison, a 53 year-old woman from Newburyport, Massachusetts, has been missing since March 16. Those closest to her are absolutely distraught over what has become of their mother and loved one.
A friend of the family has come to Millinocket to search for Michelle, posting signs in stores regarding her mysterious disappearance, and plans to talk to people who have reported seeing her. I met Brody, a young man just back from spring break, outside of the Katahdin General Store, and he says that the family has been given very little information in terms of what the investigation has turned up. The leads that have been reported here in Maine on the local news have not even been told to the family back in Massachusetts. They are under the impression that very little is being done to find her, so lets do whatever we can to get the word out to be looking for Michelle Harrison and her vehicle. She drives a white 2005 Suburu Outback, with Massachusetts License Plate number 7644 PA.
If you have seen this woman, or have any information about her whereabouts, please contact authorities with any information that you have, so that she can be reunited with her loved ones. You can contact the Newburyport, Massachusetts Police at (978) 462-4411 or Millinocket, Maine Police at (207) 723-9731.
Search Expands For Missing Michelle Harrison
Three People Report Possible Sighting In Maine
POSTED: 6:18 pm EST March 23, 2006
NEWBURYPORT, Mass. -- Police have expanded the search for a missing woman to three states and are using helicopters to find any sign of the woman.
Michelle Harrison, 55, disappeared a week ago while moving from Massachusetts to New Hampshire. Massachusetts State Police on Thursday began searching her route by helicopter in the hope of finding her white Subaru Legacy station wagon.
"We really feel that if we can find the car, it could give us some leads about where we might be able to find herm, give us an idea of what might be going on here," Lt. Robert Gagnon said.
Harrison's disappearance has baffled police and her family. Her purse and wallet were found inside her apartment, but her license, credit card and spare car key were missing.
Harrison divorced from her husband years ago, and relatives said she was excited about starting a new life in New Hampshire. She loved her job as a special education teacher and was close to her two sons.
"She's very dependable, very honest, very reliable," said her son, Brad Harrison. "That's what's so difficult about this situation."
"There's no sign of depression," said her other son, Chris Harrison. "She's a loving mother. She recognizes that she has a great future ahead of her."
E-ZPass records show that Harrison's car went through the Hampton tollbooths the night she vanished at about 9 p.m. Two hours later, the car was driven back through the tolls headed south.
The search expanded to Maine after three people in the Millinocket, Maine, area called police, saying they saw a woman fitting her description.
"We try to turn over every leaf, every rock," Gagnon said. "We try to look everywhere that we can. Certainly by putting this out in the public eye, we're hoping to add those eyes to our search, as well."
There were no records that her car was taken through the Maine tolls, but police said there are other routes she might have taken.
Missing woman sighted in Millinocket
Thursday, March 30, 2006
MILLINOCKET - Two more sightings of a Massachusetts woman missing since March 16 have been reported in the Katahdin region, but the woman still has not turned up or responded to media appeals to phone home, police said Wednesday.
An employee at Millinocket Regional Hospital told police that she saw a white 2005 Subaru Legacy station wagon with Massachusetts plates and a Brown University sticker on the back window as she left work late last week, Officer Kevin Ingersoll said.
She reported the sighting to police at about 3 p.m. Friday, shortly after the women's disappearance started making local TV news. If genuine, the sighting matches the description Newburyport, Mass., police provided of the vehicle driven by
Michelle Harrison, 53, of Newburyport, Millinocket Police Chief Donald Bolduc said.
The hospital worker remembered the car because she drives the same type of vehicle, Bolduc said.
"You know how people notice the same cars that they drive? It was one of those deals," he said.
Another sighting was reported by workers at the Blue Ox Saloon on Penobscot Avenue, Bolduc said.
Ingersoll's was the first reported sighting of the woman. He was off-duty in Miller's Department Store buying a pair of pants on March 23 when he saw her. He said hello to her and she walked away with out saying anything, he said.
The woman remains missing, with only the town sightings providing any clue as to her whereabouts, Newburyport police said Wednesday.
As far as investigators can determine, Harrison is not a crime victim. Nor is she suffering from any ailment or personal problem that would explain her absence, Newburyport police have said.
She is a special education teacher at a private institution. She seldom misses work, has three adult children and enjoys a healthy family life. Harrison has no ties to the Katahdin region that anyone, including her grief-stricken family, is aware of.
Harrison apparently left her home on March 16 carrying a house key and a car key, Gagnon said. She left some money behind. EZ Pass hits traced her car along Interstate 95 north to the Hampton, N.H., tolls, where she was last tagged heading south at 10:44 p.m. that day. She was reported missing the next day.
Anyone who might have seen her or her car, which carries Massachusetts license plate 7644PA, is asked to contact Newburyport police at (978) 462-4411 or Millinocket police at 723-9731.
