News Release

For further information please contact: Sergeant Dan Crain
573-368-2345
I02B09
February 6, 2008

EMPHASIS: Scott County Resident Arrested For False Imprisonment


At approximately 10 a.m., February 6, 2009, the Missouri State Highway Patrol was informed by the Scott City Missouri Police Department that a mother and her one-year-old son were being held against their will by her estranged husband, who is the child’s father. Intelligence indicated they were possibly en route to Tulsa, Oklahoma.
An amber alert was issued informing the public to be on the lookout for a white, 2001 Pontiac Grand Am, bearing Missouri license PC5-T2F. At approximately 12:30 p.m., February 6, 2009, Troop I Headquarters in Rolla, received a call from a motorist, who had heard the alert on a local radio station. The caller stated the vehicle was eastbound on Interstate 44, near the Phelps-Crawford county line. A short time later, Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers stopped the Pontiac Grand Am as it exited I-44 at Cuba.
The mother and child were located in the vehicle unharmed. The driver, Phillip M. Harris, 23, of Scott City, was arrested on an outstanding Cape Girardeau County warrant for false imprisonment without incident. The Federal Bureau of Investigation assisted the Patrol in this investigation.
The charges for which Harris has been arrested are mere accusations and are not evidence of guilt. Evidence in support of the charges must be presented before a court of competent jurisdiction whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
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