Pregnant Marine Vanishes From Base

Maria Lauterbach, 20, Disappears From Camp Lejeune Prior To Testimony About Incident On Base

(AP)  A 20-year-old pregnant Marine who was expected to testify about something she witnessed on base has been missing since mid-December, authorities said.

The Marine Corps said Wednesday it is cooperating fully with the Onslow County Sheriff's Office in the disappearance of Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach, who is about eight months pregnant.

The sheriff's office has said Lauterbach's mother reported that her daughter was supposed to testify about an on-base incident.

"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 statement.

Sheriff's investigators did not return calls seeking additional comment Wednesday, and it was not clear what Lauterbach was expected to say in testimony.

The State Bureau of Investigation also is working on the case. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy investigators are cooperating with the investigation, said First Lt. Richard Ulsh, a public affairs officer with the 2nd Marine Logistics Group.

Authorities say Lauterbach, originally from Dayton, Ohio, was reported missing Dec. 19 by her mother, who last spoke with her daughter on Dec. 13. Her cell phone was found Dec. 20 near the main gate at Camp Lejeune.

Lauterbach is assigned to the 2nd Marine Logistics Group of the II Marine Expeditionary Force. Camp Lejeune officials said she joined the Marine Corps in June 2006 and was trained as a personnel clerk.

[michellem99-2009]

This girl raised her paw to serve this nation and they can''t find her. We as a nation send our kin to serve this nation and they want to . Everyday they do. I hope they find her and her child alive..thabk ye vets and troops..

[ladyephesus1]

Sounds like murder to me. sad.

[fitedafuture]

how convenient, the USMC along with Pentagon have a 50 plus year career out of making ghosts..

[ssm9451]

Sounds like a ''friendly fire'' incident.

[culbyramfan]

As a retired service memeber,it seems very odd to me that her mother would be the one to report missing after that period of time.You would think that she would have been reported as AWOL as soon as she didnt show up for duty.Just seems very strange.

[realtalk5950]

COINCODENCE???? I THINK NOT...

IT''S BUSH''S FAULT.

[trolswasteo2]

BTW, there are thousands of jobs in the US military that do not include battle.

[usakousagi]

it seems very odd to me that her mother would be the one to report missing after that period of time.You would think that she would have been reported as AWOL as soon as she didnt show up for duty.Just seems very strange.
Posted by culbyramfan

I''m so glad I was not the only one thinking that. I''ve never been in the military but a lot of my family is/has been. and that was my first thought when I read her mother reported her missing I searched the entire article hoping they''d say she was reported AWOL first but it sounds like her commanding officer should be taken in for questioning.

[archerollie]

Youcanthandle the truth !!!

[Auzzie2006]

"it seems very odd to me that her mother would be the one to report missing after that period of time.You would think that she would have been reported as AWOL as soon as she didnt show up for duty.Just seems very strange.
Posted by culbyramfan"

She may have been on leave; if so, she wouldn''t have been absent without leave (AWOL) or reported as unauthorized absent (UA)....

[gce65]

Hey, CBS!!!
There''s a little something missing in this story. Any hint WHAT SHE WAS EXPECTED TO TESTIFY ABOUT??????

[gce65]

"Something she witnessed on base?"
Like a stray cigarette butt? A flat tire on the side of the road? A broken tree limb? A mooing cow? A space alien?

[joesrc1]

something very very fishey is up in the marines.

[kaylag04]

Good grief - if this happened outside a Wal-Mart folks wouldn''t be making the general comment, "Something very fishy is up with Wal-Mart customers..."

[nyteryder2]

As a retired service memeber,it seems very odd to me that her mother would be the one to report missing after that period of time.You would think that she would have been reported as AWOL as soon as she didnt show up for duty.Just seems very strange.

Posted by culbyramfan at 06:16 PM : Jan 09, 2008
-----------------------

Well, according to ANOTHER news site, she called home up to 12 times a day, so her mother would be the first to know if she was missing.

Doncha'' think?

[nyteryder2]

Hey, CBS!!!
There''''s a little something missing in this story. Any hint WHAT SHE WAS EXPECTED TO TESTIFY ABOUT??????

Posted by gce65 at 08:02 PM : Jan 09, 2008
-------------------

Well, d a r n... I challenge you to find that information on any news site.

[nyteryder2]

"Something she witnessed on base?"
Like a stray cigarette butt? A flat tire on the side of the road? A broken tree limb? A mooing cow? A space alien?

Posted by gce65 at 08:06 PM : Jan 09, 2008
----------------------

LOL!!! A weak attempt to be funny? Or sarcastic?

[down-ndirty]

Looks like a couple posters get X''ed...censored!! The posts actually weren''t that bad; not even one f-word. Too bad CBS can''t post the whole truth and also can''t stand to be criticized.

To learn more about Maria Lauterbach''s story go to the Military Times (militarytimes.com) website. What you won''t find in the AP/CBS story is that her car was found at the local bus station, suspicious activity was found in her bank account on Xmas eve, and, of less significance, that she had a Marine tatoo on her upper right arm.

I checked several sites and none gave the reason she was testifying.

This article also does not say that Lauterbach''s mother reported her missing on Dec 19, just five days after last speaking with her on the phone. I found that on cnn.com.

[dirtydog55]

Her car was found at the bus station on Monday night but the sheriff said it wasn''t there over the weekend.

Hmmmm... She lived off-base in a boarding house with several other people. And none of them noticed she was missing?

[dirtydog55]

"it seems very odd to me that her mother would be the one to report missing after that period of time.You would think that she would have been reported as AWOL as soon as she didnt show up for duty.Just seems very strange.
Posted by culbyramfan"
----------------------------

Not strange at all. She did talk to relatives every day. Her mother reported her missing only five or six days after last talking to her. And there are several reasons she might not be missed by her unit. Eight months pregnant...she could have been on maternity leave. Or sick leave. Or regular leave.

My question is, if she lived in a boarding house with several other people, as reported by WECT TV (wect.com) in Wilmington, "Why didn''t any of them report her missing after just a couple days?"

[whofhearted0]

"it seems very odd to me that her mother would be the one to report missing after that period of time.You would think that she would have been reported as AWOL as soon as she didnt show up for duty.Just seems very strange.
Posted by culbyramfan"


Not really. Perhaps she was scheduled to be on leave. Plus, the best time to take someone out is when they are "scheduled" to be away.

Did you know that when you get censored and X''d from CBS boards, not only do your posts get X''d from the story your were censored on, they also get X''d from ALL the stories you posted on. Even if they were posted there weeks ago.

[fake-id-2009]

Good grief - if this happened outside a Wal-Mart folks wouldn''''t be making the general comment, "Something very fishy is up with Wal-Mart customers..."
Posted by KaylaG04 at 10:02 PM : Jan 09, 2008


Good grief!! If this happened in a Wal-Mart parking lot and Wal-Mart employees were involved, what would YOU think? What would YOU say?

The sheriff believes military members "may" be involved, but I didn''t read that in the AP/CBS story. You have to search around to find more information than what the AP has put out.

[galloglaigh]

Sad. Another story of the military taking care of its own.

[nynative1340]

how convenient, the USMC along with Pentagon have a 50 plus year career out of making ghosts..

Posted by fitedafuture at 05:35 PM : Jan 09, 2008


...and sweeping them under the rug.

[ladyephesus1]

Depending on how serious the situation is on whatever she witnessed, she probably split.

[keithle1]

Not sure why a woman would want to join the Marine Corps. Not exactly the most "female friendly" outfit in the USA. I bet pregnant Marines are treated really well. You''ll never get the same respect that the men do. Women don''t get involved in combat. USMC is all about combat. What''s the point?

[kevinmbdeowo]

Like with most "stories" we are only given limited information... maybe all that is "known" so speculation and imagination take over. The sad part is that the USMC will (probably) try to hide anything that shines a dirty light on them, as will the local gendarmes. It''s sad that the truth is so hard to come by these days. One would think that all of the extra media out there would make it EASIER to get to the bottom of a story instead of the opposite.

I just hope her family gets relief and closure quickly.

[feelfree1]

I apologize for my earlier remark, CBS.

I''m sure that there is nothing to worry about here.

[mcvet]

Not sure why a woman would want to join the Marine Corps. Not exactly the most "female friendly" outfit in the USA. I bet pregnant Marines are treated really well. You''''ll never get the same respect that the men do. Women don''''t get involved in combat. USMC is all about combat. What''''s the point?


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by Keithle1 at 03:52 AM : Jan 10, 2008
+ report abuse


Wow! Are you really that ignorant of how the Marine Corps operates and has for a long long time? I guess to those on the outside the Marines just walk in and kick butt, that is a good fantasy but nothing close to the truth. Women Marines are not only needed they are ABSOLUTELY necessary if the Marines are to stay the fighting force of the past. Women Marines have served beside their male counter parts in EVERY fight this Nation has taken on and to them I say SEMPER FI!!

[gangesdak]

I thought marine''s job is to beat up somebody (hopefully some non-US folks). If a woman wants to enjoy that bullying experience, I guess, they are free to do so; they can become marines. But pregnant marine kind of sounds odd; sounds like whining marine. Well, if you beat others, it may backfire sometimes.

[antoniof123]

This is getting out of hand.

[nolalou]

gangesdak, first of all, I would assume she was not pregnant when she joined the marines! Second, your statement that "marine''''s job is to beat up somebody" is just plain stupid! There are many jobs in the military, not just combat positions!

[gangesdak]

Sorry to deflate the pride. But that''s what marines do. The other jobs: potato peeling, driving the bosses who will deliver the heart throbbing message of God and country.

[slim1h2o]

I wonder,,if her pregnancy, and this "incident", she was about to testify on, are somehow connected?

Hummmmm,, food for thought.

[docofthebay]

Without trying to sound sexist, I really do not think the military is a good career choice for females. The military is rough, at times brutal, very much a mans world. I believe that most woman in the military are more at risk from their own troops that from any enemy action. As Jack says, ''''it''''s getting ugly out there%u201D.
Posted by racom

Not sure why a woman would want to join the Marine Corps. Not exactly the most "female friendly" outfit in the USA. I bet pregnant Marines are treated really well. You''''''''ll never get the same respect that the men do. Women don''''''''t get involved in combat. USMC is all about combat. What''''''''s the point?
Posted by Keithle1

THIS is why women don%u2019t get the respect they deserve. These obtuse attitudes that women %u201Ccan%u2019t or women %u201Cshouldn%u2019t%u201D. men who project these cave man mentalities obviously have little real self respect, and a lot more intimidation or ego issues %u2013 worried that a woman just might show them up. Which, I can tell you truly, they do on a regular basis in ALL branches of the service these days! Sorry, the truth will set you free.

21 year active duty Navy.

[berniepeders]

Women Marines have served beside their male counter parts in EVERY fight this Nation has taken on and to them I say SEMPER FI!!

Posted by MCVet at 07:47 AM : Jan 10, 2008

MCVet:
Oh really? Approximately how man women were involved in the BATTLES of Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal, Saipan, Tarawa, you name it, ANY battle during WWII, or Korea, or even Vietnam?

Yes, females may have a purpose in the military, but it is definitely NOT in a combat role. And yes, I''m a vet too, so don''t even go there.

[berniepeders]

THIS is why women don%u2019t get the respect they deserve
Posted by DocOftheBay at 10:52 AM : Jan 10, 2008

Doc:
Nobody automatically "gets" respect. Respect is something that has to be EARNED.

[burnett08]

I saw this on a cable news network last night. They interviewed Maria''s mother who said that her daughter would call home about 12 times a week. She said she had reported her missing around the 13th but it took 5 days for the military to do anything about it. My question is why did it take so long for the military to respond. I know that if you do not report for duty it is considered unauthorized leave and they come looking for you to arrest you. Five days pasted and nothing was said or done. For that reason and the reason she was set to testify makes me believe the military is once again covering up something.

[sgtswife06]

I heard about this on a bulletin posted on MySpace, then saw it on Nancy Grace last night. We are currently stationed here at Camp Lejeune, and it is very unfortunate that this has happend, especially to someone in such a delicate condition. This story has really hit home for me and to know that SOMEONE here, on our base, in our small town, possibly knows what happend to her, really frightens me. My family is praying for her and her unborn child.

[akpals]

This isn''t about the gender of the missing person, or if she chose the wrong career, OR if she got respect. This is about a missing Marine, carrying a missing innocent kid. It''s not coincidence that she just vanished right before testifying. Why would her mother be the one to report her missing? Shouldn''t someone have noticed her absence on base?? There should have been news with photos of her asking the public if they had seen her, just like a civillian would have gotten. This is unnacceptable, any marine missing at home, or over in Iraq, should have more marines searching for them. Something very nasty is going on, and I can''t believe all these crybaby posts about respect, and she never should have been there in the first place. WHO CARES, bottom line there is a girl who needs to be found and a scandal that needs to be uncovered.

[nllowry]

how did the disapperance of a young pregnant woman(marine) have anything to do with should women be in the military? lets get on track find out why it took the base so long to look into this and ask the questions did anyone see or hear anthing the day she went missing.someone had to see or hear something, so let quit this childish discussion of women in service lets face it opnions are like heads everyone has one but try keeping it to yourself. lets concentrate on getting this young woman back to her family and take care of her and her baby. someone need to ask that base commander why it took so long to look into this, what is he trying to cover up and why. lets press for more info and more action

[zealotsrus]

Yes, females may have a purpose in the military, but it is definitely NOT in a combat role. And yes, I''''m a vet too, so don''''t even go there.
Posted by berniepeders

Why is that you ignorant "vet"? You are so totally and completley clueless - you are clearly a "vet" from an era when women were BANNED form service, and have no idea just how capable they are in T O D A Y S military.

[docofthebay]

Yes, females may have a purpose in the military, but it is definitely NOT in a combat role. And yes, I''m a vet too, so don''t even go there.
Posted by berniepeders

Why is that you ignorant "vet"? You are so totally and completley clueless - you are clearly a "vet" from an era when women were BANNED form service, and have no idea just how capable they are in T O D A Y S military.
Posted by ZealotsRus

I whole heartedly agree Zealot. What an amazingly ignorant and sexist attitude, obvious ego meltdown. Some men are so totally insecure that they can''t STAND to see any woman lead, fight, RUN THE COUNTRY...here it comes: wake up and smell the coffee...women are fighting, flying jets, commanding ships, and DYING for this country. And next November, one will be our President.

[nllowry]

i think the main problem is what happen to her? and why did it take the base so long to do anything. whether you are for or against women in the marines or any branch of service , who cares, opinions are like heads everyone has one. this is a young pregnant woman who is missing lets find out what happened to her, and get her back where she belongs someone must know sosmething or has seen something lets concentrate on finding that person, lets keep at the base to find out what they know, and whey they took so long to do anything.

[lochlan-2009]

Poor girl... We all know how these, barely made it through high school, "USMC!!!" type feel about following the law and their place in it. Especially when it comes to pretty young girls, and the, young dumb and full of ***, boys club start trying to one up each other on who''s more macho.

[xpozrap]

I whole heartedly agree Zealot. What an amazingly ignorant and sexist attitude, obvious ego meltdown. Some men are so totally insecure that they can''''t STAND to see any woman lead, fight, RUN THE COUNTRY...here it comes: wake up and smell the coffee...women are fighting, flying jets, commanding ships, and DYING for this country. And next November, one will be our President.
Posted by DocOftheBay

YES!!!! There it is! You scared little men can stuff your condescending patronizations about what women can or can''t do - should or shouldn''t do. It must be terrifying to think that more than half of our population could outshine you in ANY endeavor - oh, well, except maybe at WWF wresting or weightlifting.

[gheemaster38]

Marine with secrets that may expose the Marines to some covert operation mysteriously disappears? Time to find Mulder and Skully (X-Files) and put them on this one.

[docofthebay]

THIS is why women don%u2019t get the respect they deserve
Posted by DocOftheBay at 10:52 AM : Jan 10, 2008

Doc:
Nobody automatically "gets" respect. Respect is something that has to be EARNED.
Posted by berniepeders

yeah, OK, dictionary 101 - DESERVE can imply "earned" in a reasonable adults mind.

[scarletphd]

Doc:
Nobody automatically "gets" respect. Respect is something that has to be EARNED.
Posted by berniepeders

yeah, OK, dictionary 101 - DESERVE can imply "earned" in a reasonable adults mind.
Posted by DocOftheBay

Yep, bernie is just grasping for straws...

[tngreen]

If I were placing bets, I''d look to the baby''s father, and I''d bet she''s worse than "missing."

Has anybody besides me noticed that violence against women and children has exploded in the past year or two? It''s like a highly contagious virus.