New Jersey woman goes missing, latest tragedy for mother who lost two sons: 'Unimaginable'
A distraught mother of three, who lost her only two sons in tragic circumstances, is making a desperate appeal to the public to help find her only daughter – who has been missing for over six weeks.
Sue Quackenbush, 63, says her 37-year-old daughter Danielle Lopez vanished on April 13 under suspicious circumstances after she was last seen at a Wawa location located at 4 Route 72 in Vincentown, New Jersey, at around 9:10 a.m.
Her mysterious disappearance is the latest tragedy to befall Quackenbush, who has already been trying to cope with the death of her elder son, Eric Quackenbush, who died from suicide on Christmas Day 2015, while her younger son Michael, a Marine, died in a Florida vehicular crash 10 months later. Michael had just returned from Afghanistan when he died.
"Danielle is the most sweet, loving, caring, kind, family-oriented person you could ever want to meet. Loves her family so much and her friends," Quackenbush told Fox News Digital.
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Quackenbush, who lives in West Chester, Pennsylvania, said that Danielle Lopez was taking care of her grandfather until 2020 when he died of COVID-19. Her father, Quackenbush's ex-husband, passed away about a month later from a heart attack.
"It's very tragic, and one has led to the next. It's like the Kennedy family with no money. The Kennedy family without the same money," Quackenbush said. "She lost both brothers, her father and her grandfather in a short period of time. She's had some struggles."
Lopez's disappearance leaves Quackenbush on the brink of losing all three of her children, and she posted an emotional appeal for help on Facebook earlier this week speaking of the latest "unimaginable" heartbreak to strike her family.
Danielle’s 2008 blue Hyundai Accent was found "disabled" about 13 miles away on Lost Lane Road in Penn State Forest, Woodland Township, according to The New Jersey State Police, who posted an appeal for her whereabouts on Wednesday.
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Quackenbush told Fox News Digital that Lopez's car had been found on the same day of her disappearance, but she is at a loss as to what happened to her. The mother said the police haven’t told her much but didn’t give her much hope of finding her safely.
"The reason I used my daughter in the past tense in my statement is because police have reason to believe that harm has come of her," she said, adding that police hadn’t provided her with any more details.
Quackenbush believes that someone was with Lopez when she was last spotted on CCTV footage leaving the Wawa, although she says her daughter didn’t act as if she was in immediate danger.
"She’s smiling walking out of that store. She looks put together, has her purse. She's functioning."
Quackenbush said she has been desperately searching for her daughter, posting "missing person" signs in the local neighborhoods. "I went out to where her car was found, I’ve been to the campground, I’ve been looking for about six weeks now."
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Despite the bleak news, Quackenbush is leaning on her faith to get her through her latest ordeal.
"God is working in this and I am blessed to have been their mother for all this time. Some mothers don't hold on to their children they have that long, and there are some mothers that harm their children. So I'm going to say I was blessed," she said. "I just need a miracle and everyone's person and wishes."
Anyone with information about Lopez is asked to contact the New Jersey State Police Missing Persons Unit at (609) 882-2000 ext. 2554 or email missingpinformation@njsp.gov. Anonymous tips are welcome, police say.
Quackenbush added that a Facebook group called The Pine Barrens is also assisting in the search and people can reach them should they want to volunteer.