Family believes critical clues were missed during investigation of missing security guard
MEMPHIS, Tenn. Jan 22 2020 A Mid-South family wants to know if critical clues were missed in the search for a security guard who vanished from his job.
Curtis Harris was found dead in a pond just feet from the property where he had been working.
“That’s the most hurting part, that he was down there in that water and nobody cared nobody cared,” wife Adorthy Harris.
Harris believes no one cared because she says she tried repeatedly to get law enforcement to search the pond on American Way by the Ten Mile Creek Apartments where her husband Curtis, a security guard at the complex, ended up after he disappeared a month ago when he went on a dinner break.
“I’m walking home one day. I noticed the sign was missing and then when I told the city, I told them the guard rail was also torn down,” said Malcolm Mathis a security guard.
Mathis works for another company and said he noticed the guard rail down and one of the signs leaning a week after Curtis Harris disappeared. He said he called the city sign shop to report it, something he says he has done with other sign issues.
“I made no connection with the security guard,” said Mathis.
But Harris’ wife did. She says two days after her husband went missing her neighbor went by the pond.
“He called me. Adorthy, he said, it looks like somebody ran off in here. He said it’s oil in the water. He said you need to call the police you need to check this out. I did,” said Adorthy.
She said police told her a woman ran over the guard rail, but apparently the guard rail was enough to keep her from ending up in the pond. After a few more calls she says police did check out the pond telling her they did a foot patrol and helicopter search but found nothing.
“Nobody ever got in the water with a boat to see if anybody was in there until they found him floating on top of the water,” said Adorthy.
That was a week ago. Curtis Harris’ truck was also pulled out. Adorthy says it was in several feet of mud on its side.
We asked the City of Memphis when crews were informed about the broken guard rail. The city sent us an internal document showing a report was made on Jan. 13, the day the truck was discovered.
The work order was assigned to Public Works and is still in progress. But as you can see the damaged guard rail is still not repaired — something that causes even more anguish for Adorthy Harris.
“I would like to see if fixed,” she said.
I asked police to check to see when the guard rail was damaged initially.
WMC
