Mother never lost hope for update in decades-old case of missing 15-year-old Modesto girl
MODESTO – For 37 years, a mother wrestled with not knowing what happened to her missing daughter.
Susan Robin Bender disappeared in the late 80s, according to Modesto police.
On Tuesday, investigators announced an arrest related to the case.
Pat Chupco never lost hope, but the quest to find her daughter was agonizing until this week.
"I'm grateful, I'm glad that the system has finally decided to step up and do something instead have me wondering," said Chupco in an exclusive interview with CBS13.
Chupco often wondered about what happened to her only child, also affectionately known as Susie.
On April 25, 1986, police said the 15-year-old disappeared. Bender's reported last sighting was when she got into a green van at a Greyhound bus depot.
Earlier this month, the Modesto Police Department obtained an arrest warrant for Raymond Lewis Stafford. A few days later, Texas law enforcement arrested the suspect at his home.
For nearly four decades, CBS13 spoke to family and friends who fought to keep Bender's story alive.
"Where is she? What happened to her? And, whoever did this, they'd be held accountable," said Sandie Silveria in 2021, a friend.
Bender's mother revealed she always suspected Stafford was behind her daughter's disappearance after she uncovered the pair carried a secret relationship.
Currently, Modesto investigators said Stafford is in jail on charges of murder with special circumstances.
CBS13 did reach out to the Modesto Police Department and Stanislaus County District Attorney to learn what led to the suspect's arrest but did not receive a response.
When Modesto police reopened the case in 2021, investigators were banking on new technology to give them the crack in the case they needed. Fast-forward, it appears that may have happened.
We asked Chupco what has kept her going for nearly 40 years.
Over the years, she said she has had to lean on her faith.
Those closest to Bender hope to learn where she is in hopes of giving her the farewell they always felt she deserved.
Now in the final act, Chupco says the one thing she has never wrestled with is forgiveness toward Stafford.
"I have in my heart," she said. "If I carry that ugly nasty feeling about wanting to kill this man, and just – I'd be down where he is walking on the ground."