Authorities believe that a car searchers pulled from a New Jersey river contained the body of a woman who disappeared almost 14 years earlier, according to multiple reports.
Bernadine Waters Gunner was last seen in July 2010 in Camden, New Jersey, according to her missing person report. Before she disappeared, Gunner told her relatives she was going to commit suicide due to her unemployment, the report reads.
The search for the 52-year-old then went cold for over a decade, according to the New York Post (NYP). And it remained cold until United Search Corps, a nonprofit search organization, pulled multiple vehicles from the Cooper River on Thursday, the outlet reported.
Gunner’s family said one of the cars was Bernadine’s 2006 Hyundai Elantra, the Post reported.
“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,” Gunner’s daughter, Julia Young, posted on Facebook. “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.”
Officials have yet to confirm whether the human remains in the car belong to Gunner, the NYP noted, and authorities told NJ Advance Media that they plan to use DNA tests to conclusively identify the remains. (RELATED: Deathbed Confession Leads To Recovery Of Murder Victims Bodies From 24 Years Ago)
Among searchers and family members, however, there appears to be little doubt. “We’re confident that it’s her. Definitely,” Doug Bishop, a member of the search group, told NJ Advance Media, noting that the vehicle’s registration matched Gunner’s and that some of her belongings were still inside the vehicle.
Bishop also told the outlet that Gunner’s family reacted with “grief and relief” after he recovered the body.
“They were humble and grateful, real salt of the earth people,” he told NJ Advance Media. “You could see in their eyes that what they had been carrying for 14 years they were no longer carrying.”
Bishop did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.
