ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. — Nearly four decades after an 11-year-old girl was kidnapped, sexually assaulted and murdered, St. Lucie County investigators said a deputy, who's now deceased, is the probable suspect in the crime.
Lora Ann Huizar, 11, vanished on Nov. 6, 1983, while walking home from a gas station. Her body was found three days later.
After decades of working the case, St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office investigators said Thursday Deputy James Howard Harrison is the "only probably suspect" in the crime. Harrison died of cancer in 2008.
"This is a very, very concerning case," St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara said at a news conference, adding that the crime has "shocked us all to our core."
"Harrison abducted, sexually assaulted, and murdered the juvenile victim and later altered the crime scene by placing the victim in a drainage ditch in an attempt to destroy physical evidence," said Chief Deputy Brian Hester.
The sheriff's office said Huizar's body was found in an area that was within Harrison's assigned zone near Midway Road and Shinn Road in western St. Lucie County.
According to investigators, after Huizar's body was found, Harrison told two witnesses to leave the scene approximately 20 minutes before additional law enforcement officers arrived.
During that time, Harrison moved Huizar's body in an effort to destroy evidence.
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Mascara said Thursday he worked with Harrison in the late 70s and early 80s, and actually filed a complaint to his superiors that he thought Harrison was having inappropriate relationships with young adults.
"Not sexual, not anything like that. But his interactions with young adults, I thought, was inappropriate," Mascara said. "I wonder if he was using his authority as a deputy sheriff and his standing as a preacher in the community to go ahead and violate children."
In addition to being a deputy, Harrison was a pastor at Bethel Baptist Church in Fort Pierce, where he mentored at-risk children.
Mascara said Harrison resigned from the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office in 1984 after "some accusations" were made against him.
"I do not know the extent of those accusations, but I know that he resigned," Mascara said.
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Det. Paul Taylor with the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office's Cold Case Unit started investigating the case two years ago and admitted Thursday there were "missteps" during the original investigation in the 80s.
"There's no doubt about that," Taylor said. "We don't do a homicide investigation in 2022 like they did in 1983. There were a lot of steps that were missed."
Harrison worked for 10 separate law enforcement agencies in Florida since the 1960s. Taylor said the former deputy was "not a real well-liked guy."
The sheriff's office said Harrison exhibited a pattern of inappropriate behavior involving juvenile females during his career. Because of that, detectives believe Harrison may be responsible for other sexual assault cases throughout Florida.
If you have any information about Harrison, call the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigation Division at 772-462-3230 or Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers at 1-800-273-8477.
