Austin man indicted in connection with 2016 disappearance of Houston friends
AUSTIN, Texas — A man investigated in the 2016 disappearance of two Houston friends has been indicted for allegedly tampering with two corpses.
Harvey Cyphers, 52, had been named a “person of interest” in the 2016 disappearance of Sidney Taylor and Krislyn Gibson, both 35.
According to the indictment, Cyphers:
- Tried to alter or conceal "blood, biological material, a motor vehicle, a cell phone, text messages, a bath mat, a shower liner, shower curtains and bath towels"
- Altered, destroyed or concealed other evidence knowing "an investigation was pending and in progress"
- Tampered with the corpses after knowing a murder or assault offense had been committed.
Austin police say Taylor and Gibson went to Austin for a festival on April 1, 2016. While there, they called Cyphers, who Taylor had reportedly known for several years.
Swann said the three of them went a strip club called The Landing Strip and stayed until 2 a.m., when they were seen on surveillance video leaving the club, according to APD Detective Jay Swann.
The friend they were staying with called to check on them at 3 a.m., and Taylor told the friend they were with Cyphers.
Taylor's car was later found abandoned in midtown Houston and his cell phone last pinged around Bear Creek Park in west Houston.
"We miss them. We need them. We have a pit in our stomach that's empty in our hearts," Sydneys mother,
Mary Helen Ware, told us back then . "We want them back. We want them back. Please tell us something! Somebody knows something."
Taylor was married with four kids. Gibson had two children and friends say both were devoted parents who would never abandon their families.
"That's the tough part of it, the mystery of it, not knowing what happened,"
Josh Gibson, Krislyn's father, said in 2016. "I want my daughter back and I want her back safe."
Meanwhile, this is not the first time Cyphers has had trouble with the law. He was convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm in 2001 and convicted of possession of a controlled substance in 1998, according to the indictment.
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(Via KHOU 11)