The parents and stepfather of 14-year-old Amber Dubois, who vanished in February 2009 while travelling to school in Escondido, California, are featured on NBC’s “Dateline: In Plain Sight.” After apprehending the person responsible for her rape and death, the authorities would discover her remains a year later. The topic of the programme is how that disastrous day altered the lives of the grownups forever. We’ve got you covered if you’re curious about what happened or where they are right now. So let’s get started, shall we?
Who Are Amber Dubois’ Parents?
Maurice “Moe” Dubois and Carrie McGonigle welcomed Amber Leeanne Dubois into the world on October 25, 1994 in Escondido, San Diego County, California. Following the separation of her parents, Carrie married Dave Cave and moved in with him. On February 13, 2009, Amber vanished while en route to school. At the time, Carrie shared a home with Dave, Amber, and Allison, his biological daughter, who was 7 years old. The tragedy forged a bond between the trio. Moe, Amber’s dad, submitted a leave of absence request from his position as an electrical engineer in Los Angeles. He and his partner, Rebecca Smith, relocated to a close-by hotel in Escondido.
“I usually end my night with about two or three hours of crying,” Moe recalled. I must have my releasing point. If the volunteers and everyone else around here sense my annoyance, it will trickle through them. As the search teams and the authorities were unable to find Amber, they began to suspect her stepfather, Dave. He remembered how the chief searcher had forbidden him from taking part in the searches.
When Dave questioned why, he replied that the head searcher had warned him that if he found Amber, the police would blame him for the crime. Police repeatedly questioned him because he was the last person to see the missing girl alive. Amber allegedly hounded him for a cheque because she wanted to purchase a lamb for her school’s future farmers programme. The last time he had seen her, he claimed he gave it to her and she went to school. Even though Dave insisted he went to the gym and filed his taxes that day, the cops thought it odd that he didn’t report to work.
The fact that Amber’s high school secretary had sent Dave a message saying she wouldn’t be attending class that day raised suspicions in the eyes of the cops. Carrie eventually developed doubts about her partner. “Dave came to my job that day and brought me some roses and strawberries covered in chocolate,” she remarked. It was for Valentine’s Day, which fell on a Wednesday. But Dave doesn’t observe Valentine’s Day… He remained there that day for around 45 minutes. I then say, “I had to ask him to go.” “Dave, what are you doing here?” I ask. Go.’”
Where Are Amber Dubois’ Parents Now?
When the authorities found out about Dave’s conflict with Amber, they became concerned as well. This prompted them to seek family counselling. Amber and I didn’t always get along well, he said. There are rules in every home. She is a teen. She is unwilling to abide by the regulations. A certain amount of disagreement is inevitable. They were silent for the entire month prior to Amber going missing, Carrie recalled. There was frequent arguing. However, Dave asserted that he eventually declared a truce the evening before Amber vanished without a trace.
He said, “I know the night before she went missing, we went out and we went shopping and we went to the bookstore and stuff, and we had a good time.” Dave asserted that he passed eight polygraph examinations. They photographed him and checked his body for any blemishes or scratches. According to Dave, “They were looking for something to go on.” Six weeks after Amber vanished, Carrie and Allison finally moved out. She explained why she couldn’t do it, saying, “Because I couldn’t lay in the same bed with the man I thought might have done something to my daughter.”
After Amber disappeared a year later, Chelsea King, then 17 years old, went missing from the same area, and Carrie assisted the King family in their search for their daughter. Amber’s parents continued to be suspicious of John Albert Gardner III’s participation even after the authorities discovered Amber’s remains and accused a convicted sex offender with the crime. When a host questioned Carrie about whether she thought John was at fault, she responded, “No, but I don’t know if that’s just denial.”
She said, “He seems a little careless in his – in what he does… They haven’t discovered anything linking him to Amber as of yesterday. The family only reached an agreement after the prosecution presented evidence linking John to Amber’s rape and death, such as the whereabouts of his GPS monitor. According to reports, Carrie McGonigle has been deploying search-and-rescue dogs to look for missing children and adults in memory of her daughter since 2010. In 2011, she and her dog even assisted law enforcement in Northern California in locating the remains of a local nursing student. She established Team Amber Rescue and still resides in Escondido.
