Amber Elizabeth Cates was 16 when she vanished from her Columbia, Tennessee home on April 11, 2004. She left her mother’s residence on Tracy Lane with a friend, James Gordon, planning to spend a couple of days with relatives for spring break but never arrived. Amber has light brown hair and hazel eyes; she was last seen getting into a gold Mazda with Gordon.

Early on the case was treated as a runaway because Amber had lived in several states, spent time in foster care, and had recently begun associating with a concerning crowd. Her older half-sister, Brenda James, had just become her legal guardian days before the disappearance. Gordon told police he left Amber with another acquaintance, Ronald California Inzurriaga, who later said he dropped Amber off at a garage in Columbia after she bought hair dye; Inzurriaga is considered a person of interest. No activity has been found on Amber’s driver’s license or Social Security number.

The Maury County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI continue to investigate; the FBI is offering up to $25,000 for information. In March 2024 investigators reported a significant new lead and sent evidence for DNA processing. Does anyone in the Columbia area remember seeing Amber or that gold Mazda around April 11, 2004?