Police investigators have reclassified the 2020 disappearance of Luther Derek Harris, a 37-year-old father from Vacaville, as a homicide, following new developments in the long-standing case.
Harris was last seen on April 30, 2020, in the parking lot of his apartment complex on Alamo Drive. At the time, he was wearing a black hat, red hooded sweatshirt, black jean vest, black pants, and black-and-red Nike shoes. He also wore black-framed glasses, earrings, a watch, and a necklace.
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The case has remained unsolved for more than five years. Concern grew when Harris, a father of two, known for maintaining close contact with family, failed to reach out on Mother’s Day 2020. His mother, alarmed by the silence, reported him missing shortly thereafter.
According to the California Attorney General’s Office missing persons listing, Harris is described as a Black male, standing 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing around 150 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He had several distinctive tattoos, including full sleeve tattoos on both arms, a “Heaven’s Gate” tattoo on his back, Chinese writing on his neck, a prayer scripture on his rib cage, and three gremlins tattooed on his stomach. He also has a scar on his stomach.
The case has remained an active investigation but with few leads. Then on Aug. 29, just before the long Labor Day Weekend, the police department issued a social media post reminding residents that there are some families in the community who can’t celebrate with family because their loved ones are missing.
“Last year more than 3,500 people were reported as missing in California,” the post noted. “While most are usually found in a short amount of time, sometimes their disappearances last months, years and even decades.”
The post included reference to open Missing Persons cases in Vacaville including Harris. The post included a contact number for the department’s investigations unit and a plea for anyone with information to contact police.
On Friday, police posted an “update” on the Harris case saying, “Based on information gathered during this investigation, the Vacaville Police Department has re-classified Luther Harris’ disappearance as a homicide” and asking anyone with information to contact Detective Vince Santoni at (707) 469-4812.
Officials did not indicate what information led to the reclassification of the case and in a response to a comment on the post, the department replied, “At this time, we are not able to share additional details as the investigation is ongoing.” They added, “we simply are asking anyone with potentially related information, no matter how minor it may seem, to reach out and let us know so we can look into it.”