The last memory Kimber Biggs has of her sister, Mikelle Biggs, the Mesa 11-year-old who disappeared in 1999, is of Mikelle riding a bike at the end of their quiet suburban street as dusk fell.
“She was standing on the pedals, and the sun was setting, and her hair was blowing behind her. With the sun in her hair, it looked very golden,” said Kimber, 34, who was 9 at the time. “She just looked so happy. She had a big smile on her face. She was just enjoying riding the bike.”
It’s been 25 years since Mikelle disappeared on Jan. 2, 1999. Her disappearance set off one of the largest searches in Arizona history and became a national news story, a symbol of every parent’s worst nightmare. An arrest was never made, and her body was never found.
Now, Kimber is hopeful that the Mesa Police Department could be close to solving the case and making an arrest.
A detective, Paul Sipe, who is now the lead investigator in the case, recently told Dateline that the Mesa Police Department believes Dee Lee Blalock, a former neighbor, kidnapped Mikelle during a 90-second window between the time Kimber left Mikelle riding a bike and when Kimber returned to find the bike lying on the street and Mikelle gone.