For Atlanta-based airline pilot Matt Alexander, the two weeks stretching from late June through the Fourth of July are always difficult.
It marks the anniversary of when his aunt, 57-year-old Kapaʻa resident Amber Jackson, was murdered on Kaua‘i. Jackson had last been seen on June 23, 2010, and was reported missing when she didn’t show up to work the following day. Her body was found 10 days later in a remote area of Keālia.
“Anniversaries are tough emotionally for the fact that she is gone, and additionally it’s frustrating that her killer is at large,” Alexander said. “Every time we think we are able to move past this and have some peace, the anniversary rolls around and it dredges up [everything]. … It all gets rehashed again every year.”
This year — the 16th anniversary of Jackson’s murder — is no exception. But, on the heels of a recent development, this year also brings renewed hope that the case will be resolved after all this time.
In December 2025, the Kaua‘i Police Department issued an arrest warrant in connection with Jackson’s murder to 57-year-old Gregory Glaser, who had previously been identified as a person of interest in the case. He is wanted for second degree murder, with bail set at $1 million. Kaua‘i police said at the time that the warrant issuance was the result of “new information” in the case.
Despite the warrant, however, arresting Glaser isn’t so easy. Glaser himself is now a missing person. He was reported missing on Hawai‘i Island and was last seen on April 12, 2025, in the Hawaiian Acres subdivision, according to the Hawai‘i Police Department.
Earlier this week, in conjunction with the anniversary of Jackson going missing, the Amber Jackson Justice Group — a group formed by her family and friends — and KPD issued a renewed call for the public to come forward with any information that could assist in the case, including Glaser’s whereabouts.
“If anyone has any knowledge as to where we can find him, so we can have some closure, that would be amazing,” Alexander said.
Feeling right at home
Jackson was born and raised about an hour outside of Los Angeles, in Riverside, California, and in her 20s moved up north to Marin County, where she lived until relocating to Kauai in 2000. In California, she worked for a stint at a bakery, and later worked for a few different nonprofits, including a substance abuse treatment center and an organization that helps people access legal services.
For Alexander, Jackson was the quintessential cool aunt.
He said there was a big age gap between Jackson and her older brother — Alexander’s father — and the siblings didn’t really grow up together. So Alexander didn’t meet his aunt until a family funeral when he was in his early 20s, but once they did meet, they formed a quick bond.
“I’m very fortunate that I’m an airline pilot, so I could fly back and forth easily to visit her. [I came to Kauai] as much as I could,” he said.
Alexander has fond memories from those trips — he learned to surf with her at Hanalei Bay, and she introduced him to jazz music. She once hosted a group of Alexander’s friends and helped them coordinate a hike along the Kalalau Trail.
“She was very fun, very cool,” Alexander said. “Everybody that met her liked her. She was down to earth.”
While Jackson hadn’t been part of his childhood, Alexander said her warm personality made any distance between them melt away.
“[She] just immediately made you feel right at home and non-self-conscious and relaxed, which is like a superpower,” Alexander said.
Ann Spaulding, a close friend of Jackson’s from California, also describes an immediate connection with Jackson. The women met more than 40 years ago, in their 20s, and Spaulding can still recall the exact moment that Jackson came into her life.
“I was working in a little bakery in Fairfax, California, and she walked in one day and she ordered a cream puff and asked for a job.She came to work at the bakery, and we just became best friends. … We got along great immediately,” Spaulding said.
Spaulding describes Jackson as “honest, authentic, fun, nice, and funny.”She said they bonded over their shared love of the outdoors and “had the kind of friendship where we could bare our souls to each other.”
The pair remained close even after Jackson moved to Kaua‘i in 2000.
From what Spaulding remembers, Jackson decided to move to Kaua‘i after falling in love with the island on vacation.
On Kaua‘i, she worked at the Hawai‘i State Teachers Association as a field operations secretary (HSTA officials declined an interview for this story), and bought a home in Kapaʻa, which Spaulding said she adorned with her “eclectic, whimsical and classy sense of décor,” and where she transformed the overgrown yard into a bountiful garden.
“She really did that place up, and she loved it — she loved her garden, she loved her two dogs, and she had a really nice lifestyle,” Spaulding said. “She was very caring for people — she was active in the community, and she was dedicated to the work she did and to her friends.”
Alexander said Jackson formed close friendships on Kaua‘i and had a tight-knit circle of friends that he remembers as all “very genuine, warm and welcoming” people.
The search for answers
Alexander vividly remembers the moment on that day in June 2010 that he found out Jackson was missing. It was his day off, and he was at the pool, sitting in a lounge chair when his phone rang. It was the Kaua‘i police.
He was on a flight to Kaua‘i that night.
Though foul play was suspected, Alexander was holding out hope that maybe Jackson had just gone hiking — something she did often — and was injured or lost on a trail somewhere. While investigators searched, Alexander launched into his own search efforts — he rented a plane and flew around the island, hoping to catch sight of Jackson along one of her favorite hiking trails. He called newspapers. He put up flyers.
Nearly two weeks went by with no answers.
Then, on July 3, 2010, pig hunters discovered Jackson’s body in a ravine. An autopsy revealed that Jackson suffered blunt force trauma to her head, along with other injuries consistent with assault.
Police identified Glaser as a person of interest early on. He was Jackson’s tenant; he lived in a yurt on her property. KPD pursued leads, but the investigation didn’t turn up sufficient evidence tying Glaser — or anyone else — to the murder.
The case went cold for 15 years.
“Over the years, successive generations of KPD detectives built on prior investigative efforts, re-interviewing witnesses, reviewing evidence, coordinating with other law enforcement agencies, and traveling both interisland and out of state to follow up on leads,” the department said in a December release in announcing Glaser’s arrest warrant. “These ongoing efforts eventually uncovered new information, culminating in an arrest warrant for Glaser for Murder in the Second Degree.”
KPD declined to be interviewed for this story, as the investigation remains ongoing, and said that it cannot share details about what new information led to the arrest warrant.
Public Information Officer Tiana Victorino shared this statement via email:
“The Kauaʻi Police Department continues to pursue all available leads and remains dedicated to seeking justice for Amber Jackson. The passage of time does not diminish our commitment to this case, and we remain focused on holding those responsible accountable and providing answers to her family and loved ones.”
In response to questions from Aloha State Daily about KPD’s general process of looking into cold cases, Victorino said cold cases fall under the department’s Criminal Investigations Division, which is staffed by 13 detectives.
“Cold cases are assigned to an investigator within the Criminal Investigations Division, who is responsible for reviewing and following up on them as part of their caseload,” Victorino said. “Cold cases may receive renewed attention whenever new information becomes available, such as credible tips, witness updates, or advancements in forensic technology that allow previously collected evidence to be reexamined.”
In addition to Jackson, there are 12 other cold cases currently listed on KPD’s website, dating back to 1979.
Seeking justice for Amber Jackson
Spaulding calls Jackson her best friend, but she also notes that Jackson held that title for many people.
“Amber was a wonderful person, and I loved her so much,” Spaulding said. “And she had a lot of people who called her their best friend, not just me. She was dear to many.”
Some of those “best friends” comprise the Amber Jackson Justice Group. Spaulding, Alexander and a friend of Jackson’s on Kaua‘i who did not wish to be identified or interviewed comprise the core group, alongside several others who are involved.
Spaulding said they formed the group shortly after Jackson’s murder, as a way to handle media requests. Through the years, the core group has regularly met with the Kaua‘i police and the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney to provide potential leads and discuss case updates. The group also conducts outreach efforts to the media and the public in an effort to raise awareness and to keep Jackson’s case top of mind.
For Spaulding, the work has been a way to deal with the loss of Jackson. Especially during the anniversary weeks of Jackson’s disappearance and her body being found, she said it feels like “there is this darkness that happens.”
“I can’t describe it, except to say it feels like a pit,” she said. “But the way that I've been able to deal with the grief, really, is to continue to get the meetings with [law enforcement],write the press releases, get press releases out,and keep her case in the eyes of the public.”
Now, after 16 years, the Amber Jackson Justice Group might be closer to justice than ever.
In their latest plea to the public issued earlier this week, the group asks people to “come forward with any information about Glaser’s whereabouts, network, or timeline, past or present.”
“No detail is too small or insignificant,” the group said in the release.
“There are people that have information about Greg Glaser. We know it,” Spaulding said.
Alexander said, at this point, the best-case scenario is that Glaser will be put on trial for Jackson’s murder and found guilty. Unless that happens, Alexander admits he will feel a little “shortchanged” that Glaser may never have to face what he is accused of. But even if that is not possible, Alexander still hopes Glaser will be located.
“We just want to know for sure [where Glaser is] so we can stop looking for him.Because otherwise, we'll never know — he might still be out there, maybe doing something like this again to somebody else,” Alexander said.
If Jackson were still alive today, she’d be in her early 70s.
Spaulding imagines that Jackson would be spending her golden years volunteering with nonprofits for causes she is passionate about, and spending time in nature.
Alexander likes to think that Jackson’s life today would be much the same as it was the last time he saw her.
“[She’d be] hanging out with her besties on Kaua‘i and doing her thing,” he said. “Life seemed not too bad at the time, so I’d imagine it’d be much the same as before — and I could go visit.”
KPD and the Amber Jackson Justice Group ask anyone with information on Glaser’s whereabouts or any other details relevant to the case to contact Sergeant Brian Silva at (808) 241-1908 or KPD Dispatch at (808) 241-1711. Anonymous tips can be sent to Crime Stoppers Kaua‘i at (808) 246-8300, on crimestopperskauai.org, or via the P3 Tips mobile app. Glaser is described as a white male, 57, approximately 5-foot 8-inches tall and 160 pounds, with long brownish gray hair.
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Christina O'Conner can be reached at christinawongoconnor@gmail.com.
