Wisconsin police hunt third suspect in murder of suburban teen
Editor's note: This article was originally published in the Daily Herald on Nov. 17, 1998.
Wisconsin police are focusing on one suspect in the investigation of a Northwest suburban girl killed last year.
So far, two of three suspects have not matched DNA evidence taken from the crime scene where 14-year-old Amber Gail Creek was found dead of asphyxiation.
Her body was found Feb. 9, 1997, in a public hunting ground in western Racine County, Wis.
Although the two suspects whose DNA did not match the scene evidence have not been eliminated as suspects, police say the investigation is taking a different direction.
Lt. James Scherff of the Racine County Sheriff's Department said the probe is focusing on a man witnesses report was last seen with Creek, who had lived in Palatine and Lake Zurich.
"We don't know who he is," Scherff said. "We're still looking for him."
A police sketch of the suspect released last month has generated some leads, he said.
Meanwhile, police have ruled out John Fields, a man recently charged with sexual assaults near the University of Wisconsin-Parkside campus, near Kenosha.
The unknown suspect in the Creek case was last seen with her on Feb. 1, 1997. He is described as being in his 30s, clean-shaven, of average height and having a medium to heavy build with brown hair and eyes. Police said they were told he was wearing a shirt and tie.
They were seen near the Columbus-Maryville Center in Chicago, where the runaway lived before her death.
The car they were seen in was described as a large, gray, newer model, four-door luxury automobile, possibly a Lincoln. It had gray leather seats and a placard on the dashboard that included the word "mayor" on a white background.
Anyone with information should call the Amber Creek Hotline at (414) 636-3842 or toll free at 1 (877) 722-4633. A $2,500 reward will be given for tips leading to an arrest and conviction.