Kelly Jean Harris

• Missing Since 08/10/1984
• Missing From Jackson, Michigan
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race Biracial, Black, White
• Date of Birth 04/29/1971 (54)
• Age 13 years old
• Height and Weight 5'5, 100 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry Description A pink, orange and gray shirt and black striped shorts.
• Associated Vehicle(s) Bicycle (accounted for)
• Distinguishing Characteristics Biracial (African-American/Caucasian) female. Black hair, brown eyes. Kelly has a gap between her upper front teeth. She occasionally wears eyeglasses.

Details of Disappearance

Kelly was last seen riding her red three-speed bicycle near her family's home in the 100 block of Lincoln Court in Jackson, Michigan on the morning of August 10, 1984. She was reported missing by her family when she failed to return home later in the evening. Her bicycle was located later that same day at the entrance to Ella Sharp Park, some distance from Kelly's home.

Her family learned that Kelly had purchased a bus ticket to Detroit, Michigan and was observed boarding a bus to that location at the local station. She has never been heard from again. On the day of her disappearance, Kelly was upset because she had not been able to attend the county fair. Initially her case was classified as a runaway, but foul play is now suspected in her disappearance.

Kelly lived with her father in Pasadena, Maryland until 1984, when she moved to Michigan to spend the summer with her mother. She planned to move in with a great-aunt in California afterwards.

Leonard Victor Hugall, who was Kelly's stepfather in 1984, was the prime suspect in her case from the time police first began investigating the child's disappearance as a crime. He and Kelly's mother met and married while he was in prison, and they have one daughter together.

He has a history of violent behavior and child molestation dating back to before he met Kelly. In 1969, at age 18, he kidnapped a 12-year-old girl at gunpoint. He held her against her will for five days, and led police on a high-speed chase before his arrest; the girl was returned to her family. Hugall, who describes himself as "evil", pleaded no contest to burglary, theft and sexual battery in Florida in 1993 and was sentenced to fifty years in prison. He had sexually assaulted a 40-year-old woman and her five-year-old daughter at gunpoint.

Kelly's mother stated her daughter's relationship with Hugall was "strained" in 1984. She initially didn't suspect he was involved in her disappearance, but after Kelly had been missing for four years, she came to believe he had murdered her. Kelly's mother said that when she confronted Hugall and asked him what he did to Kelly, he didn't answer. He just drove away in his car and she never heard from him again. Their divorce was finalized in 1994.

Hugall initially told investigators he thought Kelly had run away from home. For over twenty years he refused to cooperate with authorities in her case or to take a polygraph test. In 2006, however, Hugall confessed to Kelly's rape and murder. He stated he offered to take Kelly to the fair but instead took her to his workplace, raping her and stabbing her to death. Investigators found blood evidence to back up his statement.

A photo of Hugall is posted with this case summary. He said he had buried Kelly in a shallow grave in the woods off Wickwire Road and Browns Lake Road, just north of Jackson College. Investigators said it is unlikely that anything can be recovered after so long a time. Unless she was buried deeply, her body would probably have been disinterred and destroyed by animals.

Authorities at the time stated they didn't plan to charge Hugall in Kelly's presumed death because they thought he wasn't supposed to be released from prison until 2037, by which time he would be 90 years old. He was also said to be "terminally ill." However, he was still alive by September 2024 and was paroled at that time.

In August 2025, almost twenty years after he confessed, he was charged with first- and second-degree murder in Kelly's case. He is awaiting trial. He faces up to life in prison without parole if convicted.

Some agencies may list August 14, 1984 as the date of Kelly's disappearance. Foul play is suspected due to the circumstances involved.