Missing
Lorraine Rea Herbster
Lorraine, approximately 1979
Date and time person was reported missing : 03/09/1979
Missing location (approx) :
Westampton Township, New Jersey
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Female
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 01/16/1962 (59)
Age at the time of disappearance: 17 years old
Height / Weight : 5'4, 125 pounds
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian female. Brown hair, green eyes. Lorraine's nickname is Lori. Her ears are pierced.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Lorraine left her new job at Microcircuit Corp. at 4:00 p.m. on March 9, 1979. She was a lab technician and had been working there for only a week. A co-worker dropped her off at the corner of Beverly-Rancocas Road and Holly Lane in Westampton Township, New Jersey, less than a mile from her home in the 10 block of Whitlow Drive in Mount Holly, New Jersey, so she could walk the rest of the way.
Lorraine's mother had offered to drive her to the bank to cash her paycheck after she arrived home. She was last seen at 5:15 p.m. while en route to her house. She apparently never arrived there, but her purse was found in the front yard. Her car was also at home; she wasn't driving it as she didn't have her license yet.
Lorraine dropped out of Burlington County Vocational and Technical School in her junior year. She had been engAge at the time of disappearance: d to be married, but she broke up with her fiance at Christmas in 1978. She liked her job and she was looking forward to getting her driver's license.
Investigators don't believe she left of her own accord, since she left all her belongings behind at home, including her paycheck. On the day of her disappearance, her mother was supposed to take her to the bank so she could open her own bank account.
Investigators interviewed Lorraine's family members, friends and ex-boyfriends, but all of them were cleared from suspicion and the authorities couldn't determine any reason why someone would want to harm her. After her disappearance there were persistent rumors that she was murdered and her body dumped at a local construction site. Police were never able to substantiate the stories, however.
They have a person of interest in her disappearance, but this individual has never been charged due to lack of evidence. Lorraine's case remains unsolved. Her family now lives in Alabama.
Other information and links : ncy
Westampton Township Police Department
609-267-8300
September 2021 updates and sources
California Attorney General's Office
The Burlington County Times
NewsLibrary
New Jersey State Police
A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are not known. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2�5% of missing children in Europe.
By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends.
Several organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and imAge at the time of disappearance: s of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.
The Camden Courier-Post
Whereabouts Still Unknown
7 October 12, 2004. November 16, 2018; Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : updated.
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
