(GoRealNewsNow.com) – In an unsolved and mysterious case, authorities suspected that a vehicle retrieved from a New Jersey River contains the remains of a woman who vanished nearly 14 years ago.
Bernadine Waters Gunner was last observed in July 2010 in Camden, New Jersey, as noted in her missing person file. Before her disappearance, she had expressed to her family her intent to end her life due to her joblessness.
The search for Gunner, who was 52 at the time of her disappearance, subsequently went inactive for over a decade. It was revived recently when United Search Corps, a nonprofit search group, extracted multiple vehicles from the Cooper River.
A source disclosed that Gunner’s family identified one of the cars, a 2006 Hyundai Elantra, as belonging to Bernadine.
Gunner’s daughter, Julia Young, expressed her gratitude on Facebook:
“Thanks to Doug (United Search Corps) we have closure our family can now give my mom a proper burial. Thank you EVERYONE for the continuous prayers and support greatly appreciate it. As you already know Camden County Police didn’t do a great job with my mothers case it took for a one band man to come here and dive into that water and discover my mom. We can’t thank him enough for what he has done. Almost 14 years with no answers and now we have them.”
While officials have not yet confirmed that the remains are Gunner’s, they have informed New Jersey Advance Media that DNA tests are planned to definitively identify the body.
Doug Bishop, a search team member, assured NJ Advance Media of the remains’ identity and underscored that the car’s registration matched Gunner’s and that some of her personal items were found inside it.
Bishop described the family’s reaction to the discovery as a mix of sorrow and relief.
“They were humble and grateful, real salt of the earth people,” he expressed. “You could see in their eyes that what they had been carrying for 14 years they were no longer carrying.”
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