JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — A pregnant Marine based at Camp Lejeune has been missing since before Christmas, and the Onslow County Sheriff's Department is investigating her disappearance.

Authorities say 20-year-old Maria Frances Lauterbach was reported missing Dec. 19 by her mother, who was the last person to speak with her, on Dec. 13. Her cell phone was found Dec. 20 near the main gate at Camp Lejeune.

She is with the 2nd Marine Logistics Group and is about eight months pregnant.

The sheriff's department said Lauterbach's mother reported that her daughter was supposed to testify about an incident she witnessed on base.

"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 sheriff's department said in a news release.

The State Bureau of Investigation also is working on the case.

First Lt. Richard Ulsh, a public affairs officer with the 2nd Marine Logistics Gropu, verified that Lauterbach is on active duty. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy investigators are cooperating with the investigation, he said.

http://forums.military.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/69719858/m/4660078361001

About 5 lines below this post.

They found her cell phone? That sounds bad

quote:

The sheriff's department said Lauterbach's mother reported that her daughter was supposed to testify about an incident she witnessed on base.

No brainer!

Her pic

I would like to know what type of incident would cause this 20 year old WM who is 8 months pregnant to become missing.

I'll bet NCIS has some suspects...

quote:

Originally posted by Kegler300:
I'll bet NCIS has some suspects...

She has pretty eyes. I hope they hammer down.

Semper Fi

John

amen to that gunny, put em UNDER leavanworth!

quote:

Originally posted by Rdejordy:
Marine Corps and U.S. Navy investigators are cooperating with the investigation, he said.

I'm sure NCIS will become the lead investigative agency in this very soon and catch the azzhole/s.

I hope that she is ok but optimisim only goes so far. I hope NCIS catches the guys and hangs em from a freakin yard arm.

I am truly pissed off by this. As a former SNCO I find this very odd and strange. If I had a young L/CPL in my command, knowing the she was a witness to something.

I would want to know her every move 24/7. Her being pregnant would even cause more concern to me. What she witnessed, or was invovled in would matter not to me, but her protective custody should have been " PARAMOUNT " to the command.

I have been away from the Marine Corp for quite awhile now but a ( PREGNANT WM ) getting ready to testify, then comming up missing makes me wonder where the F*** was the CHAIN OF COMMAND on this one. I don't give a rat's *** who she was rolling over on.

This is a BLACK EYE TO THE CORP...........

Who the F is in charge at Camp Lejeune.

One Pissed off SSGT father of 4.

Maybe there isn't anything to it, but who and where is the father of the child she's carrying? Is she married? Is husband deployed? Is there a boyfriend? Is he deployed? Where is he?

Now here is something that is puzzeling. Why did the mother have to report her missing? Was she on leave?

There have been Marines who've joined and retired since I got out many moons ago and even when I was in I did not associate with WM's so I'm not too familiar with their "culture" but didn't she have any buddies who could report her missing? She seems pretting good looking in the photo, certainly there would have been some male Marines who'd have noticed the absence of her presence.

This story finally made the Columbus Dispatch today.........on page 6.

I know in the Grunts they have head counts every morning.

Would she not have been marked UA by her own command well before her mother called?

The whole story is very odd and outta nature for the Corp from what I have read.

This is sounding like a CSI/JAG TV show script.

no kidding

I sure hope she just went UA to have the baby

but its definitely a black eye for the Corps

Not just that a serious crime may have been committed by Marines

another single pregnant WM and

another charge of a superior officer assaulting a WM ( most likely sexual assault)

I overheard a conversation this morning between two military attorneys, that are familiar with her from a previous incident, that this is not the first time she's "disappeared."

quote:

Originally posted by Kegler300:
I overheard a conversation this morning between two military attorneys, that are familiar with her from a previous incident, that this is not the first time she's "disappeared."

And the plot thicken's. I really hope it is a case of UA, but even if it is Hammer Down!

Semper Fi

Johnny Blaze

Your right Gunny, take a look at this. MALE ROOMATE...

Authorities are looking for the male roommate of an 8-months-pregnant Marine who vanished shortly before Christmas.

A North Carolina sheriff said Thursday that detectives wanted to interview the man who lived with 20-year-old Maria Frances Lauterbach and was possibly the last person to talk to her before she disappeared.

Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown said investigators were working on getting Sgt. Daniel Durham to come back to North Carolina from a training deployment in California "so we can look him in the eyes and ask him some questions."

"He may have been the last person — other than her mother — to have seen her," Brown told reporters. "We want to talk with him and get information from him. ... We do feel like he has answers."

Brown said Durham has been summoned back to the Camp Lejeune base in North Carolina as soon as possible, but he didn't name him as a suspect.

"This young Marine is watching the unfolding of this investigation, which leads us to believe he has an interest in this," Brown said.

RelatedStories
Disappearance of Pregnant Marine Probed by North Carolina Authorities Photo Essays
Missing Marine He declined to comment on rumors that Lauterbach may have been raped.

"That's totally out of the area of this investigation," said Brown.

Also Thursday, Lauterbach's stepmother told investigators that the expectant mother had been assaulted by a superior officer before she disappeared, according to a media report.

Lauterbach was reported missing Dec. 19 by her mother, believed to be one of the last people speak with her on Dec. 13.

Lauterbach is due to give birth any day, and was expected to testify about an incident on the Camp Lejeune, N.C., base.

Documents show that her stepmother told investigators about the assault, and that her career was threatened.

Click here to read the report.

• Click here for photos.

Meanwhile, authorities were reviewing "suspicious activity" that appeared on the young woman's bank records nearly a week after she was reported missing.

Mary Lauterbach, the pregnant Marine's mother, said it's not like her daughter not to contact her.

"It's extremely out of character for her not to call home like this," Lauterbach told FOX News. "I'm deeply concerned that something's wrong."

The sheriff's department was studying "sensitive information" from activity on Lauterbach's bank account Christmas Eve, nearly a week after she was reported missing on Dec. 24, according to a report in the Jacksonville Daily News.

Click here to read the report.

“Bank records indicate the victim made a withdrawal on 12-14-07. There was suspicious activity on her account on 12-24-07, but none since,” according to information from the Sheriff’s Department.

Her cell phone was found Dec. 20 near the main gate at Camp Lejeune. Lauterbach is with the 2nd Marine Logistics Group.

Investigators are calling her disappearance suspicious, saying her mother reported that Lauterbach was going to testify about an incident she witnessed on base.

"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 sheriff's department said in a news release.

The Onslow County Sheriff’s Department found Lauterbach's abandoned car Monday night, according to a report in the Jacksonville Daily News.

Lauterbach's blue 2006 Hyundai Sonata was found at the Jacksonville Bus Station.

First Lt. Richard Ulsh, a public affairs officer with the 2nd Marine Logistics Group, verified that Lauterbach is on active duty. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy investigators are cooperating with the investigation, he said.

ight Gunny.......

TV said something about finding one of the last Marines to be with her and a 'white male' used her ATM card and tried to cover the camera with a rag....WTF???

Latest on CNN.

I really hope they find this kid. Hope the big guys hands guide the Onslow SD, since they seem to be making the most headway.

Semper Fi

John

Been following this story as well. Prayers out for the Marine and her loved ones.

This sounds bad...

quote:

Originally posted by bigEMarDet77:
This is sounding like a CSI/JAG TV show script.

I thought the same thing. I just hope that she and her baby are okay, were just “spooked”, and made a poor decision to run off for a few weeks.

Based on the latest on CNN where the Onslow County Sheriff is publicly urging her to come forward, that might be some insight into the case in that they believe her to be okay, but just UA (let’s hope).

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/01/10/missing.marine/index.html

"While the sheriff wouldn't say definitively that the 20-year-old Marine is alive, he said he was leaning toward a positive outcome in the case."

"Documents attached to a search warrant in the case cite the Marine's mother as saying Lauterbach had been the victim of a sexual assault by a superior officer."