Pregnant Marine believed dead

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — A pregnant Marine who vanished nearly a month ago is believed dead and buried in a shallow grave near Camp Lejeune, N.C., and authorities are searching for the key suspect — a man she had accused of raping her last year, authorities said Friday afternoon.

Lance Cpl. Maria Frances Lauterbach, 20, last seen Dec. 14 when she was eight months pregnant, had accused a fellow Marine, Cpl. Cesar Armando Lauren, of raping her last year, a Naval Criminal Investigative Service official said.

She was scheduled to testify at an Article 32 hearing on the rape charges in December when she disappeared, said Paul Ciccarelli, the NCIS special agent-in-charge at Camp Lejeune.

Lauterbach’s body had not been found when officials disclosed her death shortly before 1 p.m. on Friday, though authorities said they had “tangible evidence” and were actively looking for her grave in a nearby “wooded residential area,” off well-traveled Gum Branch Road in Onslow County.

Sheriff Ed Brown of the Onslow County Sheriff’s Department said he believes Lauren fled the area about 4 a.m. on Friday and authorities are looking for him.

Lauren is believed to be driving a black pickup truck with North Carolina plates.

Brown said yesterday he had reason to believe Lauterbach was still alive.

Brown said it was unclear how long Lauterbach has been dead, or whether she was still pregnant at the time of her death.

Authorities have obtained physical evidence linking Lauren to the death, Brown said.

Brown’s office has recently tried to question Lauren, but Lauren refused, saying his lawyers had advised him not to speak to authorities, Brown said. Lauren has three attorneys, he said.

Marines at Camp Lejeune have not commented on the case beyond disclosing that Lauterbach joined the Marine Corps in June 2006 and has not been deployed overseas. She is currently assigned to the Group Consolidated Administration Center, Service Company, Combat Logistics Regiment 27, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine officials said.

Lauterbach’s mother, Mary Lauterbach, of Dayton, Ohio, contacted sheriff’s officials Dec. 19 because she was “suspicious that something bad may have happened to her daughter,” sheriff’s officials said in a prepared statement earlier this week. Lauterbach’s baby was due to be born Jan. 12, Brown said.

The pregnant Marine was last heard from Dec. 14 when she spoke to her mother by telephone, sheriff’s officials said.

Investigators found her cell phone discarded near the main gate at Camp Lejeune on Dec. 20. No calls have been made on the phone since Dec. 14, sheriff’s officials said.

Her car was discovered Monday night at the bus station in Jacksonville, N.C., sheriff’s officials said. Sheriff’s officials believe the car has been at the bus station since Dec. 15, Brown said.

Lauterbach’s stepmother told authorities that Lauterbach is bipolar and had a history of compulsive lying, according to search warrant affidavits filed this week. She also told investigators that Lauterbach said “a senior officer ... had raped her and that the investigation had gone sour.” Ë

Pregnant Marine believed dead

By Andrew Tilghman and Trista Talton - Staff writers
Posted : Friday Jan 11, 2008 13:40:25 EST
source-http://www.marinecorpstimes.com