Police ask for help to find Springfield woman missing a year

A Springfield mother has been searching for her daughter for almost a year and Springfield Police are asking for help finding her.

Amber Marie Whitmer was last seen by her mother Karen Whitmer in May 2016. She usually would check in at least once every three months, Karen Whitmer said.

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“She always contacted me on my birthday or Thanksgiving or Christmas,” Karen Whitmer said.

Karen Whitmer’s birthday is at the end of May and she can’t help but think of her daughter at this time. That’s because her birthday in 2016 was the last time she saw or heard from her.

Amber Marie Whitmer is a 31-year-old, white female with with brown hair. She’s about 5 feet, 4 inches tall and weighs about 150 pounds.

Her mother said she has tried to report her as a missing person in the past but police reports weren’t taken.

“No report was taken at that time because she had been seen,” said Lt. Jeffery Meyer with Springfield Police Division.

A Springfield Police information desk officer answered a call about Amber Whitmer, Meyer said. That officer asked other officers if they had seen Amber Whitmer.

One officer was familiar with her and stated he just seen her near Selma Road and York Street.

“York is a known prostitution area in the city,” Meyer said.

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Amber Whitmer has been charged in the past with solicitation.

Her mother said she would go to York Street early in the morning and late at night, before and after work, to see if her daughter was there but she never found Amber Whitmer.

A missing person report was filled with the police division on May 9 and police have opened an investigation into her disappearance.

The last time she was known to contact anyone was in June 2016 when she sent a picture to a friend, Meyer said.

Her mother was asked this week to submit a DNA sample to Springfield Police. Her DNA will be entered into a national database for missing people.

Springfield Police are in the beginning stages of the investigation, Meyer said, and no foul play is suspected at this time.

Any one who might have seen Amber Whitmer is asked to call the Springfield Police Division at 937-324-7685.

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