Amber Sky Roberts

Date Found: May 16, 1986

Location: Enid, Oklahoma

Investigating Agency: Enid Police Department

(580) 242-7000

Amber Sky Roberts went missing from her Enid home on May 16, 1986. She was six years old.

Amber’s mother had last seen her daughter about 11pm the previous night, and when she woke up on May 16th, she couldn’t find her daughter. Initially her mother thought Amber had just gotten herself ready and left for school. When she realized this wasn’t the case, she contacted the police to report Amber missing about 10am the same day she went missing. Without her mother knowing, by the time she called the police, her daughter’s body had already been found in a garage about two blocks from the apartment she lived in with her family. The garage was located in the backyard of an elderly woman, her live-in caretaker noticed the garage door open at about 9:30am, and went to investigate, finding Amber’s body.

She was partially clothed, had been beaten about the head and face- likely with some kind of instrument, had been stabbed in the neck, and had been sexually assaulted and strangled. At least part of the assault took place in the garage as there was blood found on the garage floor. Amber’s body had been partially covered with drapes and curtains that had been stored in the garage. A neighbor would say they had witnessed a man carrying Amber from the apartment she lived in at around 7am.

On May 18th, police would arrest twenty-two year old Roy Wayne Reeb for Amber’s murder. Reeb was a transient who had stayed the night at the Roberts home along with two other transient men. The neighbor who had witnessed Amber being carried, identified Reeb as being the man she had seen with Amber, however in court this neighbor was unable to identify Reeb. Reeb would continue to claim his innocence, stating that at the time the neighbor saw someone carrying Amber, he had been at his sister’s apartment in Enid. But, in November 1988 charges were dismissed when the defense attorney got blood evidence found on Reeb’s boots thrown out. At the same time as the dismissal, Enid police would release a sketch of another suspect.

In 2004, Enid police reopened the investigation into Amber’s murder, stating while Reeb wasn’t the only suspect, he remained their primary suspect. They also stated they found new information saying that hours before Amber was murdered, someone had apparently taken her from an apartment she was at with a babysitter and had taken her to another residence in an attempt to trade the girl for drugs. The person that was offered Amber refused the deal, and Amber was apparently returned to her own home. While this is new reliable confirmed information to the police, the defense brought up this theory in 1988 at Reeb’s preliminary hearing. DNA tests were conducted when the case was reopened in 2004, but given that no arrests have been made, it appears the results weren’t the slam dunk everyone was hoping for.

In an incredibly sad note, there had been issues in the Roberts home. Amber’s parents had recently separated, and her mom now admits she had been partying excessively during that time. In fact, DHS had taken Amber and her younger brother into custody and returned them home just two days before Amber’s murder. On the day Amber was found, DHS took custody of her brother again, and he spent most of his years until he turned eighteen in foster care.

Amber was precocious and loved to talk to others about Jesus. She loved her little brother, and mothered him as much as a six year old can. Her brother just wants justice for his best friend. He has stated that he believes his now deceased mother knew what happened to Amber.

If you have any information regarding the kidnapping and murder of Amber Sky Roberts, please contact the Enid Police Department at 580-242-7000.