WSVN — She was only 19 years old and made a mistake that many young people do: She started hanging around with the wrong crowd. The next thing her family knew, she was gone. What happened to her? Here is tonight’s Out for Justice with Patrick Fraser.
Heather Riggio loved to dance, loved to party and loved people.
Sybil Chierico: “She was very sweet and very loving.”
The 19-year-old, who was raised by her grandmother Sybil after her mother died in a motorcycle accident, was also naive.
Sybil Chierico: “She got hooked up with the wrong people down in Homestead, and they weren’t very nice people, and they used her cause she could be used. She was very gullible.”
Saying those people were not nice is a mild understatement.
North Miami Beach Police Capt. Richard Rand: “Some people that were into strip clubs, narcotics, possible prostitution, possible human trafficking. And we believe that Heather got involved in that.”
In May 2007, Heather was living in North Miami with her uncle. That’s when he last saw her.
Sybil Chierico: “My son told me that this guy pulled up in a pickup — it was Clifton — picked her up and left with her. That was the last that we heard from her.”
Sybil called the man Clifton. Heather referred to him as her sugar daddy. Police referred to him as something else.
Capt. Richard Rand: “He’s been our prime suspect, person of interest, since the beginning of the investigation, almost since day one.”
Sybil Chierico: “He is like the worse person you ever want to meet. He’s got a very bad record.”
Indeed, Clifton Boggess does have a bad record, including a conviction for attempted murder.
Sybil Chierico: “I’m convinced it’s this guy. I’m convinced.”
But Clifton Boggess wasn’t about to tell Detective Rand what happened to Heather after he allegedly picked her up.
Capt. Richard Rand: “He has not been cooperative with the police. He has not been cooperative at all with my investigation.”
Where is Heather? Odds are she is dead. Police got a tip that her body was in the Everglades. They looked for two days but found nothing, and so the search for Heather goes on.
Capt. Richard Rand: “We believe Heather was murdered. However, there is also a possibility that, because of the lifestyle that Heather was involved with at the time, meaning drugs, she might possibly have accidentally overdosed, or somebody might have given her some bad drugs. And we don’t know what happened. The possibilities are endless.”
The man who could answer some questions, Clifton Boggess, decided to take off. He is now in Colorado. Sybil thinks that can be a good thing.
Sybil Chierico: “Well, that’s what we’re hoping with this interview, you know, that somebody, now that they know that Clifton is not there, that they’ll talk about it.”
Hopefully someone will talk, about a young girl who got into the wrong crowd, and it probably cost her life.
Sybil Chierico: “And it’s just horrible. It’s just something I wouldn’t wish on anybody. You don’t get over something like this. You just don’t. Never.”
On May 6th, 2007, Heather’s uncle said she got into a truck with Clifton Boggess in North Miami Beach. Now he has fled, and she is probably dead.
Capt. Richard Rand: “Heather was the girl next door, and I’ve said this from day one. It could have been anybody’s daughter, sister, niece.”
Someone knows what happened. Someone can now make a call to Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers. And if you have lost a loved one and want to let people know that you have not given up, that you are still out for justice, give us a call.
With this Out for Justice, I’m Patrick Fraser, 7News.
CONTACT OUT FOR JUSTICE:
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