The eldest of four children born to a former Idaho State star and his young wife, he had given up basketball before returning to it for his last two years at Temple City High School.

He had the opportunity to play for several NCAA Division I basketball programs, but never did due to a combination of academic and personal difficulties.

After leaving basketball, the alcoholism that had begun to manifest itself during his college career intensified, and Harris became addicted to illegal drugs as well.

He never arrived back there while returning from a trip to his mother's home in Alhambra to complete the move; he was last heard from when he left a message for his girlfriend.

The call was traced to the Sacramento area, and his abandoned car was found in a Yolo County park several days later.

There were some possible sightings up to a week afterwards, but none have been confirmed beyond a cell phone video the night of his disappearance, and extensive searches since have failed to find any trace of him in the area.

His presence on the team transformed the previously undistinguished Temple City program into a contender, and drew college scouts.

He believed Rico could be part of a powerful team at Rhode Island, with Zach Marbury and Lamar Odom, who he was expecting to sign for the next season.

[2] Harris went to Arizona State under Proposition 48, which limited him to taking classes during his freshman year in order to regain his eligibility.

The charges were dropped after investigators uncovered inconsistencies in the women's stories, but the university asked Harris to sit out another year nonetheless.

On the court, Cubs' coach Mike Miller let Harris play the game his way—shooting three-pointers, leading the fast break with no-look passes and faking out other big men under the basket as it suited him.

[2] A few weeks after that triumph, early in 1996, Harris signed his letter of intent to attend Rhode Island and play for Harrick there.

However, he stopped attending a psychology class he needed to pass midway through the semester, and failed it as a result, leaving him still ineligible under National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules to transfer to a four-year college and play there.

[2] That speculation notwithstanding, Harris made his first-ever trip east of Chicago later that year to visit UConn, where an assistant coach who had seen him play likened him to Donyell Marshall, a former Huskies' star who had left school early for an NBA career.

[4] He became less focused, partying heavily with his brother in the apartment they shared near campus, and drinking beer during the day to take the edge off his hangovers.

"[4] Harris's drinking increased as the season wore on, leading to social isolation and costing him his relationship with the girlfriend who he had benefited from in high school.

Recruiters from other four-year college programs continued to call and write, but Harris did not respond, believing many of them to be interested in him only for his athletic ability and not his personal development.

[2] NBA scouts still saw lots of potential in Harris, and invited him to a pre-draft camp in Chicago for the most highly regarded prospects.

He did not want to move that far away, and believed LACC coach Miller was trying to get him to go there strictly out of his friendship with Harrick and not out of any consideration for Harris's best interests.

Instead, he asked if he could he play for Braswell, whom he trusted, at Northridge, closer to his family, where he could transfer his credits from Arizona State and LACC to become eligible immediately.

[2] With a player of Harris's level, talent rarely seen at a smaller school like Northridge, Braswell hoped he could realize his goals of a winning season, a Big Sky Conference title and a berth in the NCAA tournament.

He continued drinking heavily and could no longer fully contain his underlying emotional difficulties; early in the season Braswell suspended him briefly after he argued with other teammates and coaches.

After an overdose of prescription medicine he had tried, Harris entered a rehabilitation facility operated by the Salvation Army in downtown Los Angeles.

Rico at that time had reached his full adult height of 6 feet 9 inches (206 cm), and weighed 300 pounds (140 kg), reflecting the less active years since the end of his basketball career.

One passerby along Route 16 reported seeing a man who fit his description walking along the road at 5:30 on October 11, while another motorist believed he had seen him sitting on a guardrail overlooking the creek near the parking lot.

[2] Investigators were also able to find Harris's backpack, left by the side of the road about 1,500 feet (460 m) from the guardrail he was reported to have been sitting on the morning after his last phone call.

The phone contained pictures of the creek and some selfies, including one in which Harris was standing in front of a sign welcoming drivers to Yolo County striking a playful pose.

There were also some videos, apparently taken unintentionally, showing Harris singing along to music playing in his car and casually flinging CDs around the passenger compartment.

[8] Dean Nyland, the detective working the case for the sheriff's office, has ruled out the possibility of foul play in Harris's disappearance.

The photos and video on Harris's phone suggest he came to Yolo County voluntarily and alone; no evidence of any kind of struggle was found in or near the car.