Question: Whatever happened in the Amber Jackson murder investigation after her body was found in a remote, wooded area on Kauai three years ago?
Answer: There have been no arrests, and the case remains under active investigation by the County Prosecutor’s Office and Kauai Police Department, according to county Prosecuting Attorney Justin Kollar.
Police continue to receive calls from the public offering information on the case, said homicide detective Sgt. Bryson Ponce.
“We have had calls over the years up until recently,” he said. “We have to do our best to sift through all of the information coming in and determining the credibility of it.”
A $20,000 reward was posted for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of her killer.
Jackson’s friends also have been searching for answers on what happened.
“We’re trying to do everything we can to keep this case alive,” said Tom Perry, director of the Hawaii State Teachers Association’s Kauai office, where Jackson worked as a secretary.
Perry was among Jackson’s friends who conducted a search on Kauai that included remote areas and hiking spots after she had disappeared on June 23, 2010. Friends found her car parked in the driveway of her Kapahi home with her purse and cellphone inside. Jackson was due to meet friends for dinner that night and didn’t show up, which was uncharacteristic of her.
A pig hunter found Jackson’s fully clothed body on July 3, 2010, in Kealia, about four miles from her home. She was 57.
An autopsy determined she suffered injuries from an assault. Details of the injuries were not made public because of the ongoing investigation, according to county spokeswoman Sarah Blane.
Perry said he hopes police will receive information that leads to an arrest.
“You would hate to think that sometimes people just get away with it,” he said. “You don’t want to think that.”
The prosecutor’s office is assisting the police department on the case in a partnership under a unit called Ke Ahi Pio‘ole, which means “The Fire that Never Burns Out.”
The unit comprises investigators from both departments as well as forensics experts who focus on unsolved murders on Kauai dating back to the 1970s.
———
This update was written by Rosemarie Bernardo. Suggest a topic for “Whatever Happened To …” by writing Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-210, Honolulu 96813; call 529-4747; or email cityeditors@ staradvertiser.com.
