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Family, military search for Marine
Vandalia parents worry about pregnant 20-year-old daughter not seen or heard from since December
Thursday, January 10, 2008
VANDALIA — A pregnant Marine from Vandalia is missing from her military base, prompting her family and authorities to launch a search for her.
Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, 20, hasn't been seen nor heard from since she called her mother in Vandalia on Dec. 14. She is stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Mary Lauterbach of Vandalia reported her daughter missing in December. Maria Frances Lauterbach, 20, a Marine based at Camp Lejeune, N.C., is pregnant. Her mother said the baby's due date is Tuesday.Mary Lauterbach said her daughter, whose baby boy is due Tuesday, typically called home several times a day to talk to her family.
She told investigators her daughter was scheduled to testify about an incident she witnessed at the base.
Mary Lauterbach, her husband, Victor, and their four other children are "deeply concerned" because it is "so completely out of character" for her to not be in touch.
"There has been a deafening silence," she said.
Lauterbach's cell phone was found Dec. 20 near the main gate at Camp Lejeune, and her car was found at a bus station in Jacksonville, N.C., near where she lived, authorities said.
"There are several findings and pieces of evidence that have been discovered that cause law enforcement to be concerned with the circumstances surrounding Maria's disappearance," the Onslow County Sheriff's Department said in a news release. Investigators said records show a withdrawal from her bank account on Dec. 14 and "suspicious activity" on her account 10 days later, according to Marine Corps Times.
Military authorities and the State Bureau of Investigation also are working on the case. Lauterbach's family has launched a Facebook Web site page seeking information about her disappearance.
Lauterbach joined the Marines after she graduated in 2006 from Vandalia's Butler High School, where she shined on the soccer and softball fields.
Marine Staff Sgt. Sam Mao, a recruiter in Huber Heights, got to know the young woman before she left for boot camp.
"She joined the Marine Corps for a big challenge. She was a tough girl," he said Wednesday. "She was determined to succeed.
"This is like a shock to me," he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
