Harry Christensen Found !!
ClayC...@aol.com
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Missing local man found murdered in New Mexico
By DAVID BELL Today's News-Herald
A body tentatively identified as that of missing Advantage Boats President
Harry Marius Christensen, 48, of Lake Havasu City was found Sunday afternoon
in New Mexico. Although the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator is
waiting for dental records to make a positive identification, FBI spokesman
Doug Beldon told Todayąs News-Herald Monday evening, "You can go with it,
Itąs Harry." Beldon said the identification had been made from clothing,
jewelry and body measurements.
Jeff Christensen, son of murdered man, said Monday night the FBI had told the
family they were certain the body was that of his father. A New Mexico rancher
tending cattle about 25 miles northwest of Albuquerque found the partially
clothed body lying face down about 100 feet off a nearby road which branches
off New Mexico Route 44. The FBI said there had been no attempt to bury the
body. "It was just dragged or tossed out there. Naturally, since itąs been
outdoors, the body is decomposed."
But Beldon said it was clear Christensen had been killed by two gunshot
wounds to the chest. Christensen, 48, has been missing since Jan. 6 when he
went to Lake Havasu Municipal Airport to talk to a man named Bobby Joe
Keesee. Keesee was reportedly interested in buying Christensenąs twin-engine
six-passenger Cessna 340 airplane which he had been advertising for sale on
the Internet. The asking price was reportedly around $300,000.
The FBI affidavit accompanying the federal grand jury indictment of Keesee
said Christensen was last seen at 8 a.m. The affidavit made by FBI Special
Agent Michael J. Gnecknow, said, "An eye witness reports to have seen an
airplane matching this description [Christensenąs plane] take off from the
Lake Havasu City Airport at approximately 9:15 a.m. that morning in an
erratic manner.
It was later discovered that Christensenąs routine flight equipment (i.e.,
charts, pilotąs license, etc.) were left in his Jeep at the Lake Havasu
Airport. According to family members, Christensen would never have flown
without these items." The plane was refueled in Winslow that same morning.
Winslow airport operator Gary Carlson told Todayąs News-Herald that
Christensenąs credit card was used to pay for the fuel, but he saw no sign of
Christensen.
Carlson said the FBI returned with a set of photographs. "I was able to pick
out the man who was here, the kidnapper Keesee, " he said. However, those
familiar with the twin-engine Cessna 340 said a person refueling the plane
would not have been able to see a person lying on the floor in the passenger
area. Christensen said he didnąt see any blood on the plane, and later FBI
investigation didnąt turn up any blood where the aircraft had been refueled.
Keesee bought Albuquerque flight maps in Winslow also.
No one ever saw Christensen alive again. But Keesee landed the plane, with a
pool of blood in the passenger area, at Coronada Airport, small airport in
Albuquerque, N. M. The FBI affidavit said Keeseeąs pilotąs license, a pair of
bloodstained menąs underwear and a gun clip containing five .38-caliber
bullets were also found in a travel bag in the plane. Keesee was known to
have used a van belonging to a family member for several hours the night of
Jan. 6. And that van was later found to have blood stains and human hair
also, as did the floor mats, and Christensenąs clothing which were found in
trash bags Keesee had reportedly carried out of a relatives Albuquerque
residence.
The Advantage boats shirt and jacket with "Harry" embroidered on them had
bullet holes in the blood-soaked chest areas. Keesee, 64, was arrested Jan. 7
as he and his wife drove toward the Mexican border. Mrs. Keesee was later
released and is not presently charged with any offense. But an Arizona federal
grand jury indicted Bobby Joe Keesee on four federal offenses Feb. 11. The
offenses were: € Aircraft piracy with violence. € Use of a firearm during a
crime of violence. € Interstate transportation of a stolen aircraft € Felon in
possession of a firearm.
On April 9, a superseding indictment was returned against Keesee adding a
fifth offense: o Kidnapping. Both aircraft piracy and kidnapping carry the
death penalty upon conviction if it can be proved that a death resulted from
the crimes, as now appears likely in Keeseeąs case. The indictment carried a
list of 15 previous federal felony offenses for which Keesee was convicted
and served time in federal prison over the last 37 years. The offenses range
from wire fraud through a variety of forms of theft to Conspiracy to kidnap a
consular official.
The official was later found dead. Keesee had Christensenąs Arizona driverąs
license, altered to show Keeseeąs photo, credit cards, ruby and diamond rings
and Rolex watch with the initials "HMC" engraved on the watch band in his
possession at the time of his arrest. Keesee is currently incarcerated near
Phoenix at the Corrections Corporation of America in Florence awaiting trial.
Lake Havasu City Police Captain Warren Gorman said Monday night, "Once they
give us an official, positive identification, we will run this past the county
attorney to see if we will be filing murder charges."
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The "Not Knowing" is over.
By BERYL PEARCE Todayąs News-Herald
The family of Harry Christensen will finally be allowed to grieve his death.
The yellow ribbon of hope placed in Wheeler Park can be replaced by the black
of mourning. Monday, when the FBI announced that a body identified as that of
the missing local businessman had been found 25 miles northwest of
Albuquerque. Christensenąs son, Jeff, said Monday evening, "The best thing
is, we can put closure to this thing now." During the four long months of
waiting for news, Debbie Christensen, wife of the apparently murdered man
said, "I just need to find my husband. Until thereąs closure on this, I wonąt
quit. If what I need to do is say good-by, then I need to do that properly."
Jeff Christensen, 30, said two weeks after his fatherąs disappearance, "This
whole thing has been devastating ‹ not only to me and my family, but
especially to my mother, who for the past two weeks can hardly eat, sleep or
drink any liquids and cries herself to sleep every night." His parents had
been together since his mother, Debbie, was 15, Jeff told Todayąs
News-Herald. They married when his mother was 16 and his father was 18.
"Together they built a family and a thriving business," he said. In a January
press conference, Jeff Christensen said, "Those of us in our household miss
his humor, compassion and understanding, and his business associates and
employees also miss his leadership and foresight.
Then thereąs my sister [Jennifer], who has basically moved her family to
Arizona, along with her two children to be with her mother to help us all
through this. "My father meant the world to us, and I know that he loved and
always put his family first. His two grandchildren were the two ŚEnergizer
bunniesą in his life, and they anxiously wait the return of their Śpapa.ą"
Harry Christensen graduated from high school in Yuma, where his parents still
live. "My father is a very bold and strong person," Jeff Christensen told
Todayąs News-Herald. "He raised his family from practically nothing.
He is a hard-working man who worked his way up to a painting foreman for R.J.
Noble. All his life he loved motorcycles, boating, water skiing and going to
the river." Christensen opened his own boat repair, parts and accessories
business, Fiberglass Concepts, in Anaheim, Calif., then started building
boats for some of the people for whom he had done repairs. About seven years
ago the entrepreneur decided to move Advantage Boats to Lake Havasu City.
Jeff said, "The move was made because of air quality problems in California.
The land here was good, and the lake is right here. Itąs been a very, very
wise move for the company."
Harry Christensen was active in Lake Havasu City not only in his own business
of designing and manufacturing high performance boats, but also in the
industrial development of the community and the advancement of small business
in the state. He was a member of the governorąs small business executive
council. "My dad has been very involved in boat racing and has won
championships. He was just made a commissioner of the American Power Boat
Racing Association," Christensen said. But, despite his impressive business
achievements, his son said the most important thing about his father is, "heąs
a family man who always put his family first."
Family and friends, especially Harry Christensenąs pilot friends, went to New
Mexico to search for him in January. The anguished family offered a $10,000
reward for information leading to his whereabouts. The FBI said a small army
of volunteers turned out to help search as law enforcement officials used
cadaver dogs. But Christensen was not located. In March, the reward was
increased to $25,000. Jeff Christensen confirmed Monday night that the family
had increased the reward to $100,000 two weeks ago. He said he wasnąt certain
whether or not the rancher finding Christensenąs body qualified for the
reward. "Iąm not quite sure whether that is Śinformation leading up to his
whereabouts or not.ą"
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GOBB24
after him with a louisville slugger until he stops moving..
BB