UPDATE:
Arlin Henderson never returned home from a bike ride on July 25, 1991. He was 11 years old. Over the last 19 years, there has been virtually no sign of the little boy. Today, on his 30th birthday, Arlin's mother makes a plea for witnesses or anyone with knowledge about the case to come forward.
"Just put me at rest; let me have peace. Just have a heart, somebody have a heart. Its gone on long enough," said Debra Henderson-Griffith.
Today, the FBI office in St. Louis called a press conference to remind the public that there is a $10,000 reward for information. The FBI also opened an evidence case containing the Huffy White Lightning bicycle that Arlin was riding the day he went missing. The bike was found two and a half months after Arlin's disappearance, in a field 10 miles from Arlin's home.
The FBI says the bike was not shown publicly in the past because the investigators believed tips about the bike would lead investigators to chase false leads. At the time, the FBI was looking for tips regarding sightings of Arlin, himself.
Today, Special Agent Billy Cox said that he hoped that showing the bike would generate new publicity and new leads in the case. He said the bike was analyzed by the FBI for trace evidence in 1991, then again as recently at five years ago - as new technology became available.
Agent Cox would not say exactly what type of trace evidence was found on the bicycle.
The FBI office in St. Louis is asking anyone with information to call 314-589-2500.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has an age progressed photo of Arlin on its website: www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet
Arlin's family created their own site in order to keep Arlin's story in the public eye: lookforarlin.com/index.html
Since Arlin's disappearance, investigators have looked at several leads that did not pan out (including what turned out to be a false confession from Josh Spangler). Spangler was convicted of perjury for telling authorities he killed Henderson and that the boy's body was buried near the Mississippi River.
Authorities also investigated whether Michael Devlin had a connection to Arlin's case. Devlin was convicted of kidnapping Shawn Hornbeck and Ben Ownby, who were found alive in 2007. Detectives determined Devlin was not involved.
Read the latest on Shawn Hornbeck here: www.kmov.com/home/Shawn-Hornbeck-says-he-survived-captivity-through-familys-love-81326492.html
Diana Zoga is a general assignment reporter at News4.
You can contact her at dzoga@kmov.com or follow Diana on Twitter: www.twitter.com/DIANAZOGA
