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POLICE ASK FOR HELP IN PINE BLUFF WOMAN’S DISAPPEARANCE

By Ray King/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Saturday, December 17, 2005 11:00 PM CST

Police are asking for help in solving the case of a Pine Bluff woman who has been missing for more than 11 years.

“This department is seeking information into the disappearance of Cleashindra Denise Hall,” Lt. Bob Rawlinson said. “All information will be vigorously explored and there is a substantial reward for information leading to the identification, arrest and indictment of anyone involved in Cleashindra’s disappearance.”

Cleashindra Hall was last seen on May 9, 1994, when she reportedly left a house where she had been working about 8:30 p.m.

“This case has been persistently examined and re-examined for the past 11 years and will continue to be open and actively investigated as leads develop in the future,” Rawlinson said. “Detectives have traveled throughout Arkansas as well as several Southern states in search of Cleashindra. Only when Cleashindra Hall is found and the reason for her disappearance revealed will closure come for the case, and most importantly for the family.”

He said the case was opened on the afternoon on May 10, 1994, when Laurell D. Hall contacted police and reported that her 18-year-old daughter did not return from work on May 9.

“On May 11, detectives met with Mr. and Mrs. Hall and then-Police Chief Joe Thomas,” Rawlinson said. “The meeting was to obtain background information on Cleashindra to assist in the investigation.”

The girl did clerical work for Dr. Larry Amos in his office, which is located in his home at 5309 Faucett Road, Rawlinson said.

He said Cleashindra was dropped off at the house between 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., and was wearing a navy blue and white two piece shorts set with large polka dots on the shorts and stripes on the blouse, white socks and tennis shoes, and had a white bow in her hair that was fixed in a short pony tail that day.

“Ms. Hall told detectives that Cleashindra called home shortly after 8 p.m. and asked if anyone had called for her,” Rawlinson said. “It was learned that Cleashindra did this each night and it was not out of the ordinary for her.”

He said the girl would also call home when she finished work so that one of her parents could pick her up.

“Ms. Hall said that Cleashindra did not call back and she (Ms. Hall) fell asleep on the bed,” Rawlinson said.

Laurell Hall told officers she woke up at about 1 a.m. and, after discovering that her daughter was not home, called Amos to see if Cleashindra was still at work.

“Dr. Amos informed Ms. Hall that Cleashindra had left work at approximately 8:30 p.m. the night before, May 9, 1994,” Rawlinson said. “This is the last time anyone was known to have seen or heard from Cleashindra Denise Hall.”

Cleashindra’s mother described the long search for her daughter as “frustrating and stressful” for the family.

“My husband was in the coronary care unit at the hospital recently, and it reminded me of just how short our mortality is,” Laurell Hall said Friday. “He had never been in the hospital overnight in his life, and now he is suffering not just heartache but heart problems.

“We’re still waiting for somebody to come forward with information before we leave this earth,” she said.

Rawlinson said telephone calls and written correspondence with information in the case will be kept strictly confidential.

“Please telephone or come by the Pine Bluff Police Department’s Detective Division, located at 200 E. 8th Ave., or call 870-543-5111 or 870-543-5112,” Rawlinson said.

“They can even write it on a rock and throw it in our yard if they want,” Laurell Hall said.

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