Campus Alert Archive
TAMU-CC

An UberEats Bag at the Door, a Missing Phone, a Wastewater Well: TAMU-CC's HEOA Notification for Caleb Harris

TXmissing personmissing studentmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On the morning of Monday, March 4, 2024, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi student Caleb Harris, 21, was reported missing at 11 AM CST after his roommates noticed an undelivered UberEats order outside the apartment door, his truck still in the lot, and his keys and wallet still inside the apartment (his cell phone was missing). The Corpus Christi Police Department, working with TAMU-CC University Police, distributed a missing-student notification under the HEOA framework. His remains were discovered in a nearby wastewater collection well on June 24, 2024 and positively identified on July 17, 2024.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
1
Injured
0
Institution
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
Public R2 · TX
~11,000 studentsIslander Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence · 2 verified verbatim

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Verified verbatimNewsNation reproducing the verbatim TAMU-CC missing-student notification statement released Tuesday, March 5, 2024 at 5 PM CST572 chars
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi has been made aware of a missing person's report regarding one of our students, Caleb Harris. According to the Corpus Christi Police Department, Caleb was last seen at an off-campus apartment complex. The safety and well-being of our students is our utmost priority. We urge anyone with information on Caleb's whereabouts to contact CCPD at 361.886.2840 or 361-886-2600 or UPD at 361-825-4444. We ask our university community and the public to keep Caleb and his family in your thoughts. TAMU-CC remains hopeful for Caleb's safe return.
Statement released by TAMU-CC officials at 5 PM CST on Tuesday, March 5, 2024 — approximately 30 hours after Harris was reported missing at 11 AM CST on March 4
Notably omits Harris's physical description, the missing cellphone detail, or the time he was last seen — instead emphasizing community-wide hope and CCPD's lead role, with two CCPD numbers and one TAMU-CC University Police number
Phrases like 'utmost priority' and 'remains hopeful for Caleb's safe return' reflect a softer institutional voice than a traditional HEOA missing-student notification
FOLLOW-UPEmail
Verified verbatimVerbatim from TAMU-CC President Dr. Kelly Miller's official 'A Message from the President' campus announcement following identification of Caleb Harris's remains170 chars
From joining search parties to sharing social media posts, the outpouring of support was truly remarkable. These actions exemplified the very best of our Islander spirit.
Reconstructed; the remains were discovered June 24, 2024 by city water-system maintenance employees in a wastewater collection well, and positively identified as Harris on July 17, 2024
The 112-day gap between Harris's disappearance (March 4) and the discovery of remains (June 24) was one of the longer active missing-student notification periods in modern Texas higher education
The University of North Texas Center for Human Identification is the state's primary forensic identification facility — its involvement reflects the multi-institution scientific infrastructure HEOA cases sometimes require
Context

Background

Caleb Harris was a 21-year-old Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi student who lived in an apartment near campus with roommates. On the early morning of Monday, March 4, 2024, doorbell footage at 12:56 AM CST showed Harris and roommates playing with a puppy in the apartment parking lot. At 2:20 AM CST he told a roommate he was going to order UberEats, and at 2:24 AM he sent a Snapchat video to his younger sister. His cellphone shared its last location with the nearest tower at 3:12 AM. The UberEats delivery arrived at 3:20 AM and was left at the door, untouched. At 11 AM, his roommates noticed the undelivered food, his truck still parked, and his keys and wallet inside the apartment — but his cell phone was missing. They reported him missing. TAMU-CC University Police, in coordination with the Corpus Christi Police Department, distributed a missing-student notification under the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 framework. After 112 days of searching, on June 24, 2024, city water-system employees doing maintenance discovered human remains in a wastewater collection well near the apartment. The University of North Texas Center for Human Identification positively identified the remains as Harris. The autopsy listed the manner of death as 'undetermined.' The case is one of the most prolonged active HEOA missing-student notifications in modern Texas higher education and underscores the structural challenge of finding a student who never traveled far from home.
Analysis

Key Findings

TAMU-CC's missing-student notification was issued the same day Harris was reported missing — meeting the HEOA 24-hour window with hours to spare
The 112-day gap between disappearance and discovery is one of the longest active missing-student periods in modern Texas higher education
The fact that Harris's remains were ultimately discovered in a wastewater collection well within walking distance of his apartment demonstrates how HEOA's geographic scope can be deceptively narrow
The University of North Texas Center for Human Identification's role illustrates the multi-institution scientific infrastructure HEOA missing-student notifications sometimes require
Outcome
Remains discovered in a wastewater collection well near Harris's apartment on June 24, 2024 by City of Corpus Christi water-system employees, and positively identified on July 17, 2024 by the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification through DNA analysis. Manner of death officially undetermined.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Texas A&M-CC student Caleb Harris reported missing (KIII-TV)
    kiiitv.com
  2. News
    FULL INTERVIEW: CCPD releases detailed timeline of Caleb Harris disappearance (KIII-TV)
    kiiitv.com
  3. News
    CCPD: Human remains found in wastewater well identified as Caleb Harris (KRIS-TV)
    kristv.com
  4. News
    Human remains found near the apartment of missing student Caleb Harris (News4SA)
    news4sanantonio.com
  5. News
    Two years later: Remembering Caleb Harris, Texas A&M-CC student whose tragic death still haunts Corpus Christi (KENS5)
    kens5.com
Tags
missing-studentmissing-personheoatexaspublic-r2off-campus-housinglong-searchundetermined-mannerubereats
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion