Disappearance of Michele Anne Harris

Michele Anne Harris
Harris in 2000
Born	(1965-09-29)September 29, 1965
Disappeared	September 11, 2001 (aged 35) Smithboro, New York, U.S.
Status	Missing for 22 years, 7 months and 18 days
Other names	Michele Anne Taylor
Alma mater	SUNY Morrisville
Known for	Disappearance on same day as September 11 terrorist attacks. Husband tried for murder four times before his acquittal.

On the night of September 11, 2001, Michele Anne Harris (born September 29, 1965)^[1] of Spencer, New York, United States, left the restaurant where she worked as a waitress in nearby Waverly after finishing her shift, and shared drinks with two coworkers (one of whom she had been romantically involved with) in the parking lot. She then went to see a boyfriend in Smithboro and left shortly after 11 p.m. This was the last time anyone is known to have seen her. The next morning, her car was found on the road near the home she shared with her children and estranged husband, Cal. He was later tried for her murder four times and convicted twice before being acquitted.^[2]

The investigation into her disappearance was hampered since many of the state troopers who would normally have been involved had been bused to New York City the previous day in response to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.^[3] Suspicion centered on Cal, whose divorce from Michele had grown acrimonious as he could have lost a considerable portion of his family fortune in a settlement. Cal was described by some as seemingly unconcerned in the aftermath of his wife's disappearance, dating other women and selling her belongings within weeks. Further evidence of foul play was also circumstantial, largely consisting of some blood in the house and a secondhand account of his threatening her.

Cal Harris was eventually charged with second-degree murder, and convicted despite Michele's continued absence. The morning after Harris was convicted, a witness emerged who claimed to have seen Michele outside the family home on the morning of September 12. Cal was retried and convicted again. After he had served several years in state prison, his conviction was overturned on appeal. A jury in a different county deadlocked on a verdict, leading to a bench trial, which acquitted him.

Harris has continued to protest his innocence; he has sued the state police, the Tioga County District Attorney's office and several others for malicious prosecution.^[4] In 2017 he was arrested again after allegedly stalking one of the investigators. The lead defense investigator has written a book alleging his theory of how Cal Harris was framed, and focuses on one of the men Michele had reportedly dated at the time as a more likely suspect given some evidence found at his former house. Her friends and family believe just as strongly in Cal's guilt, and continue to search for stronger evidence even though he cannot be prosecuted again; this has led to her family and her children becoming estranged from each other.