Cold Case on a Hot Island: What Happened to Lee Harris?

One evening in 2003, Lee Harris, one of three partners in a new hotel development in the Netherlands Caribbean island of Curacao, was kayaking with friends. He was lagging a bit behind... then he vanished.

His friends looked back but he was nowhere to be seen.

Daylight was fading and a quick search was mounted.

The brilliant sun of the tropics fell hard as it does in this part of the world, and soon its orange red brilliance disappeared in a flash.

Gone too was Lee Harris, without a trace, never to be seen again.

Searches over the next two weeks turned up nothing of Harris or his kayak or any personal belongings. It was as if he were plucked kayak and all from the sea.

Today, the hotel that Harris invested in has created a memorial to him in the way of "Lee's Reef Project". His wife, Ricki Harris, visits Curacao from her Chicago home quite often, to oversee the project and, one can't help but think, wonder about the mystery of her husband's disappearance.

A year after Harris' death I was staying at Sunset Water's Beach Resort, and ended up tracing some of Harris' same steps.

One evening, around the same time that Harris disappeared, I found myself in a boat sailing along the hilly coast not far from where Harris vanished, along with one of his two surviving business partners. Looking up into the hills I could see the occasional twinkling lights of well scattered houses. At once these hills and the waters seemed darker and more ominous than in the comforting brilliant sunshine of only a few hours ago

Sunset Waters was purchased in 2000 by the three investors from Chicago, who were also owners in a real estate development company in that city.

One of the partners offices is located just off of I-55 in Chicago, in an industrial park, a huge rail and trucking yard serving as the backdrop. Not what you would expect for a partner involved with a exotic Caribbean resort.

The next couple of years the trio of investors upgraded and remodeled the property, and turned it into an all-inclusive resort, hoping to cash in on the growing popularity of all-inclusive stays with vacationers.

Another area that the hotel began to service was the growing market of Clothing Optional travelers. One large company that chartered the hotel for a week, "Nude Week", is Castaway Travel, Spring Texas.

It seemed like a good fit.

Sunset Waters Resort is on the best natural beach in Curacao, secluded outside the main hotel zone, and has a nice coral free area for swimming. Perfect for those who like to frolic in the buff.

Curacao is a paradise on the surface, and for nearly all its thousands of visitors, it is just that. They get some sun, relax, party. But there is a dark side to this paradise. Curacao, like other islands, is a crossroads for drugs on their way to the United States. It is alleged that the lassie faire attitude of the Netherlands Antilles, turns a somewhat blind eye to some illegal activity, reflecting the same attitude of the Netherlands homeland.

Human trafficking for sex enslavement is also alleged to take place, and prostitution is legal in Curacao.

It's been almost five years since Harris has gone missing. There are no real clues and no active leads. It is a cold case on a hot island.

As far as can be understood, Harris was an investor that wanted to get a slice of paradise to add to the more mundane holdings back in Chicago and elsewhere. He had no hint of being involved in anything shady.

Conversations with hotel sources close to Harris agree. They also note that a man and a friend is still missing, presumed dead.

A victim of paradise, a stranger in a strange land who simply vaporized, kayak and all. One minute he was bouncing up and down on the waves, trailing just a bit behind, and the next minute he was gone.