PINE BLUFF — Authorities in Jefferson County spent about six hours searching a property owned by of a Pine Bluff doctor who was questioned in the 1994 disappearance of an 18-year-old honors student.
Cleashindra Hall, who worked part-time as a clerk for Dr. Larry Amos at the office next door to his house, was last seen after being dropped off at his office on May 9, 1994.
Pine Buff Police Department Lt. Detective Bob Rawlinson said detectives had a search warrant when they arrived at Amos' residence, 5309 Faucett Road, around 10 a.m. Thursday. He declined to specify what prompted the search or to detail what it uncovered.
"We'll follow up anything else that we've been able to obtain or any other leads we've come across," Rawlinson said. "We can't go into what has or hasn't been found."
Detectives at one point were seen removing several paper bags from the residence. Earlier, scent-detecting dogs were led around to the rear of the building.
Rawlinson declined to specify details on either of those developments.
"This has been one more step that we've tried to take to not only determine what happened but also to eliminate things in the future that we're not going to have to do," he said of the search effort.
Hall's mother, Laurell Hall, thanked the police department for the search, but said neither it nor Amos has done enough to bring her family closure.
"Although I don't know all the details, this has been a long journey and a long time coming," she said. "Something as simple as a residence search 18 years ago might have brought us some evidence that could have ended this nightmare for us."
Laurell Hall, who said she wasn't told what prompted the search or what it uncovered, teared up after telling reporters that Friday is her daughter's birthday.
"It's like we're stuck in time," she said. "She was 18 when she disappeared. Tomorrow she'll be 36 and all I have is the 18-year-old reference ... Even if she wasn't alive, I would just like to know that that's the case."
