Double Amputee Vanishes From Home Mother Looking For 12-Year-Old Who Ran Away After Argument

A 12-year-old girl with artificial feet ran away from her Colville, Wash., home last week and has not been heard from since.

Julie Harris was having troubles at Colville Junior High School. On March 3, the double amputee and Special Olympics champion got up early, grabbed four slices of pizza and vanished.

Julie’s mother, Sherri Harris, was so stricken by her daughter’s disappearance that she was forced to check into a hospital.

Sherri Harris traveled to Spokane on Wednesday, looking for her daughter. She believes Julie may be hiding in the city with friends.

But Colville police shared a distressing tip with Harris that Julie last had been seen with a man in a trench coat.

Until recently, Julie was an upbeat child who read mysteries and comics, said her mother. But during the past month, the seventh-grader’s attitude had soured.

On March 2, she had an argument with her mother’s boyfriend, Don Sax. Sax said he was urging her to do her homework and be responsible when Julie exploded and told him off. Sax said he then told her to go to bed.

That night, she set her alarm for 5:20 a.m. She left home in a black skirt and a pink-and-black striped sweater, her mother said. She forgot the stuffed puppy she takes everywhere.

Sherri Harris is frustrated that police seem to do so little to help find her daughter. She printed her own “PLEASE HELP” fliers with Julie’s picture and description: 5 feet 1, 115 pounds, bluish hazel eyes, sandy blond hair.

Harris describes her daughter as loving but insecure. “Because of her feet and her scars, she feels different,” Harris said.

Julie was born with a blood disorder that left her with scars and skin grafts. She gets around on prosthetic feet and braces.

“Between trying to fit in and be one of the girls, she lost contact with what’s right or wrong,” said Sax. “We just want to know she’s safe.”

Harris said Julie’s bedroom is full of Special Olympics medals and trophies, including a gold medal for downhill skiing.

While discussing her daughter, Harris cried and her eyes strayed whenever a young girl walked by. “I can’t help it,” she said, clutching her face with her hands. “I have to look.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo