The Disappearance of Audrey Mae
Her family waits for answers 19 years after her disappearance
Audrey Mae Herring disappeared from State Route 23 in Catskill, New York, on August 29, 2002. Audrey, nor the 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee she drove down the wooded, dark road on that rainy night, have been seen since.
It’s been 19 years since Audrey went missing. Someone out there has answers.
Audrey was a happily married mother of three who worked part-time as a nurse when she disappeared. She loved life and lived it to the fullest. Family describes her as caring and compassionate, the type of person all her patients and friends loved.
After working a late shift at a local hospital, Audrey drove along State Route 23 trekking the 12-mile, 15-minute journey to her home. A coworker took the same route, following behind her for about five minutes, before turning onto another road.
No one knows what occurred next, only that Audrey never made it home.
The following morning about 6 a.m. Jeff Herring, Audrey’s husband, phoned Shirley Olmstead, her mother, asking if he had seen his wife. Unalarmed, Shirley replied that she had not and fell back asleep. An hour later, Jeff called again, concerned that Audrey never arrived home. Shirley called a family member who worked in law enforcement.
The Search for Audrey
Police scoured the 12-mile radius from the hospital to Audrey’s home with help from infrared helicopters. The rainy conditions of the road caused suspicion that Audrey may have taken an alternate route and wrecked her vehicle and ran off the road. Nothing indicated a recent wreck along the roadway.
There was no activity on her credit and debit cards following that night. Her cell phone indicated there was no connection, meaning the phone battery was dead or that the phone had been destroyed.
In the weeks following Audrey's disappearance, police continued an intensive search for the missing woman. They cleared water out of lakes hoping they’d at least recover a vehicle. They followed up on every tip they received. Still no signs of Audrey or the Jeep.
Where’s Jeff?
The one person missing from community searches and candlelight vigils arranged for Audrey was none other than her husband, Jeff. He never helped search for his missing wife nor did he participate in those vigils. Police say that Jeff has been “uncooperative,” and has never appeared eager to help or find his missing wife.
The couple seemed happy before Audrey’s disappearance, but we all know looks can sometimes be deceiving. We never really know what goes through the mind of another person.
Though police “cannot confirm” if Jeff took a polygraph test since the case is listed as an “ongoing investigation,” a source tells Criminal Matters that he did take the test which came back with inconclusive results. Jeff refuses to talk to reporters.
Did Audrey Disseap on Her Own Accord?
Shirley and Audrey’s daughter, Sonsia, returned from a month-long vacation in Florida on August 29. They spoke earlier in the day. Audrey was excited to see her mom and daughter and planned to visit them the following day since she had worked a late shift.
“While I was gone, my mom and I would talk often. If not every day, then every other day,” Sonsia told Dateline. “She was always in contact with my grandmother, and I talked to her while we drove home.”
Shirley told Crime Watch Daily that Audrey would not have left her kids. She also dismissed rumors that Audrey possibly was having an affair and left her family for another person.
"Oh God no, one of us would have known, you gotta tell one your girlfriends, you know what I mean? So no," Audrey's friend Marie Parker told Crime Watch Daily. "She wasn't that girl."
She earned a substantial pay raise at work that August 29, an accomplishment she boasted about to Jeff during a phone conversation from work about 9:30 p.m.
Rob Herron Speaks
Rob Herron, Jeff’s wealthy father, spoke to Crime Watch Daily saying that he does not think Audrey is alive and thinks that her car was either “crushed, shredded, or her and the vehicle were put in a container someplace and shipped some place.”
Police did not find this statement strange enough to investigate it further.
Police say they’ve investigated more than 1,000 leads, including a seemingly far-fetched assumption that Jeff’s dad, a wealthy golf course owner, owed the Russian mob money and they kidnapped Audrey for ransom.
Is Jeff Involved With the Disappearance?
A source tells Criminal Matters they believe Jeff knows more than he tells.
“Jeff’s inconclusive polygraph, refusal to help look, and overrall refusal to cooperate slightly hints towards the answers being so close, but far,” the source says.
Police do not have any suspects or leads in the case but say that “no one has been ruled out.”
Have You Seen Audrey or Have Information About Her Disappearance?
Audrey is described as a Caucasian female with dark blonde to light brown hair and hazel eyes. She has a mole on the inside of her right knee and a scar on her right thumb. She smokes cigarettes.
If you have information, contact New York State Police, Troop F, Bureau of Criminal Investigation Catskill, New York, at 518-622-8600 or email [email protected].
“She deserves answers and she deserves justice” Sonsia Court
More Information & Resources:
Facebook Group for Audrey: https://www.facebook.com/groups/192440030551/
Podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/user/14388382/missing-monday-audrey-mae-herron
https://truecrimedaily.com/2017/11/17/cold-case-upstate-new-york-nurse-disappears-into-the-night-without-a-trace/
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