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Comment by Brenda on August 9, 2011 at 10:26pm

Lockport Woman Still Missing After 6 Years, Investigators Asking for Information
8:02 PM, Aug 9, 2011

LOCKPORT, N.Y.- Niagara County Sheriff's Deputies say they've followed up on nearly 200 leads, but to date nothing has lead them to any answers in Sheryl Rucci's August 2005 disappearance.

Six years later, investigators are again asking the public to share any information that could be helpful in solving the case. They say they have received no indicators that Rucci is still alive, but both investigators and family members remain hopeful.

The day she disappeared, Rucci was to be served a subpoena to testify in front of a grand jury in a sex-abuse case against her boyfriend, Roger Huber. Rucci was also facing charges stemming from that case.

Huber was convicted and served a four year sentence. Investigators say they do not believe Rucci's testimony would have affected Huber's conviction or sentence.

Investigators say the only other thing missing from Rucci's Lockport apartment, besides Rucci herself, were her keys. They say say she left behind her purse and other personal items, as well as her then-8-year-old daughter, Ashley.

"That's not typical of someone who was in a runaway or fugitive type setting," said Niagara County Sheriff James Voutour. "It was very strange to us."

Likewise, family members say Rucci was close with her family, and it is out-of-character for her to leave without contacting her family. She has been described as a devoted, caring mother, who was also very close with her own mother.

"I don't necessarily think she would run away," said her brother, Rick Rucci, who is also employed by the Niagara County Department of Corrections. "I think she would bite the bullet and see what's going on, and deal with her problems, and deal with the issues that had come up in question."

Sheryl's family is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to her return or whereabouts.

"Somebody, somewhere knows something," said Rick Rucci. "But until they come to the Sheriff's office and let us know, we'll still go through day by day like we are and wondering and waiting for that call."

Rick Rucci says Ashley, who is now 14, is being cared for by her aunt and uncle and is "excelling."

Anyone with information should contact Investigator John Wick at 438-3342, Investigator Ron Dworzanski at 438-3407, investigator Dan Brown at 438-3328 or the Criminal Investigations Bureau at 438-3327.

http://www.wgrz.com/news/article/130518/37/Lockport-Woman-Still-Mis...

Comment by Brenda on August 9, 2011 at 10:09pm

Sheriff's deputies fear missing woman was killed


Updated: August 9, 2011, 7:17 PM

LOCKPORT -- In the months after she disappeared in 2005, Niagara County sheriff's deputies thought Sheryl Rucci might be an accomplice in the sexual abuse of several teenage girls at the hands of her boyfriend.

Six years later, they fear she was killed on the night before she was to testify against her boyfriend before a grand jury.

"We searched down many leads and have not been able to locate Sheryl," Sheriff James R. Voutour said today, "and at this point we believe her to be a victim of some sort of foul play.

"We have very few leads," Voutour added.

The sheriff and Rucci's brother, Rick, held a press conference today, the sixth anniversary of the disappearance, to plead to the public for answers, and closure.

"I don't think she would just run away, she would bite the bullet and deal with the issue in question," said her brother, a Niagara County Jail corrections officer.

"We didn't have any place to go [after she disappeared]," said her her mother, Kathy Rucci, "so my husband and I made a memorial in our backyard. We have angels sitting on a bench. We have statues and flags."

Rucci disappeared without a trace after nightfall from her Lincoln Avenue apartment complex in the Town of Lockport.

"It was like she just walked out," said her mother, who spoke to The Buffalo News in a separate interview. "Her apartment was clean. Her shoes were by the door. Her purse was left in her home. She had just her keys. It was just like she walked away. We don't know [why].

"At first we thought her daughter was missing too, but then found her at her father's house." Rucci vanished the day before she was to be called to testify before the grand jury in a sex abuse case against her boyfriend, Roger L. Hueber, who also is the father of her now 14-year-old daughter, Ashley.

Hueber, now 47, was a county jail corrections officer at the time of his arrest. A Gulf War veteran, he was accused of having sexual contact with several teenage girls, some of whom were mentally retarded. He was sentenced after a plea bargain to one-and-one-third to four years in state prison, has since been released, and has cooperated with investigators, said Capt. Kristen Neubauer, chief sheriff's investigator.

"He said he's not involved [in the disappearance], and I can't prove otherwise," said Investigator John Wick. "Is he a person of interest? At this point I would say no."

Something didn't seem right the night Rucci vanished, Voutour said today, which is why deputies went door-to-door in Rucci's neighborhood and brought in a search dog.

Still, there also were suspicions Rucci went on the lam to protect her boyfriend. When she failed to show up to testify in the Hueber case, she was charged with second-degree sexual abuse in connection with the case and named a fugitive.

The sheriff said investigators have had little to go on in their continuing search for Rucci, who would be 39 now, and who when she vanished was 5-feet, 10-inches tall, and 120 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.

Every day, in some shape or form, the Sheriff's Office, with help from State Police, has continued to investigate the case, Voutour said, and at times they thought they were close, only to find they were at another dead end.

Wick and Neubauer pulled out four large boxes, and said there were still more that contained the 200 or more leads deputies have chased down.

Wick said deputies in particular are looking for someone who lived near Rucci's old address, 6555 Lincoln Ave., in 2005.

"I believe there is someone out there who knows something," Neubauer said. "There is a moral obligation. She has a young child and there would be

some questioned answered for her."

Rucci's parents, Kathy and Joe Rucci, said they also are looking for some kind of clue into what happened.

Kathy Rucci said she and her daughter were very close, with Sheryl often calling her four to five times a day. She hasn't heard from her daughter since Aug. 9, 2005.

"We don't want to put a big red star [on the date she went missing]," Kathy Rucci told The News. "We just want closure. We don't know if she's dead or alive. If she's, dead we will bury her, and if she alive, we will take care of her."

Rick Rucci said he is constantly thinking about his "little sister," who is a year younger.

Rucci's daughter was 8 years old when her mother disappeared. Family members can't imagine Rucci would have fled town without Ashley, and say the girl continues to be a comfort as they seek answers to the disappearance.

Both Kathy and Rick call Ashley a "piece of Sheryl" who constantly reminds them of of their daughter.

"We tell her that no matter [where your mother] is, she loves you," Kathy Rucci said.

Ashley now lives with Sheryl's sister and brother-in-law, Theresa and Ed Kearns, who took custody of her soon after Sheryl disappeared.

"There is no doubt in my mind that someone knows something," said Wick.

"We encourage people to come forward with anything, big or small," said Rucci's sister-in-law, Theresa Rucci. "That could be the missing piece, that one little bit of information that they think is not important."

Anyone with information is urged to contact Wick at 438-3342 or Investigator Dan Brown at 438-3328, or the sheriff's Criminal Investigation Bureau at 438-3327 or Communications Office at 438-3393. A $5,000 reward has been offered by the family.

nfischer@buffnews.com

 

http://www.buffalonews.com/city/communities/niagara-county/article5...

Comment by Brenda on August 9, 2011 at 10:05pm

Missing 6 Years today..

Comment by Brenda on August 9, 2011 at 10:03pm

Deputies shine light on disappearance
Six years ago, Cheryl Rucci disappeared

Updated: Tuesday, 09 Aug 2011, 12:30 PM EDT
Published : Tuesday, 09 Aug 2011, 12:30 PM EDT

Zachary Kineke
Posted by: Emily Lenihan
LOCKPORT, N.Y. (WIVB) - Niagara County authorities are trying to shine some light on a mysterious disappearance that's gone cold.

Tuesday marks six years since Town of Lockport resident Sheryl Rucci disappeared without a trace.

It happened just days before she was supposed to testify in a sexual abuse case.

News 4 will be meeting with Sheriff's deputies Tuesday afternoon and will have more information on News 4 at 5 and 6.

http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/niagara/Deputies-shine-light-on-disapp...

Comment by Brenda on December 22, 2010 at 2:27pm

Happy Birthday Sheryl