Former Dancer Disappears In Maine

The search continues for a 24-year-old former dancer who vanished on Columbus Day in Portland, Maine.

Lynn Moran, who lives in Shrewsbury, Mass., was in Portland visiting family when she disappeared without a trace, authorities say.

"We really believe that someone has to have seen her," her sister, Chris, told a news conference. "People don't just disappear. She's striking. She turned heads before she was missing."

Moran's brother, John, told the reporters, "With every hour and every day that goes by, our sense of desperation increases."

Family members have posted signs in Maine and Massachusetts.

Moran dropped from sight after going to a Portland bar with a friend. Police believe she later wound up in a male acquaintance's apartment.

"We really don't have any leads in this case at this time," Lt. Vern Malloch of the Portland police

"Lynn left the apartment of an acquaintance without her cell phone, without her purse and without any shoes on. Now, this was on Oct. 10. It was a cold, rainy evening. And she never returned to her vehicle.

"We know that she was seen in the old port district of the city an hour or two later. And then, essentially, she's disappeared. She's not returned to work or her home. She never retrieved her car. And she hasn't had any contact with friends or family. And these are all indicators to us that this is suspicious."

Malloch says police have "interviewed several people who are friends and acquaintances of Lynn's that she had contact with that evening. The acquaintance … where she left her cell phone and purse, we have questioned him several times. He's been very cooperative. And he actually essentially alerted … the family that she may have gone missing when he contacted them to return her items."

The Boston Globe cites police in saying that Moran appeared to have been intoxicated when she was last spotted.

Moran's sister, Elizabeth, spoke with Lynn the morning of her disappearance and tells Chen, "Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to me."

Lynn's brother, John, tells Chen that Lynn is "a great person. She's smart and funny and incredibly dedicated to her job and to her family. She had a very close relationship with all of our siblings. … She's just the best sister that anyone could ask for and we miss her."

Lynn gave up dancing to work with foster children. She is assistant director of two shelters for such kids.

Asked what his gut tells him about where Lynn might be, John said, "I really have no idea. I've laid awake at night just thinking, hoping for some sign to come to me or something to come to my gut, and I just have no idea."

Elizabeth agreed, saying, "I go for long walks. I just try to listen to my intuition, and I don't feel anything. It's bizarre."

A $10,000 reward is being offered in the case. Portland police ask that anyone with information on Lynn call 207-874-8524.