Laura Vogel Missing: Cops Call Off Search While Family Fears "Foul Play"
MAUI, Hawaii (CBS) Laura Vogel, 43, has been missing for over three weeks after going on a solo camping trip in Maui, and her family is beginning to suspect foul play.
PICTURES: Laura Vogel, Missing in Hawaii
Friends reported Laura, a self-employed tutor, missing on Feb. 22 after she didn't show up for a tutoring session and they failed to reach her. Vogel told a friend she planned to camp alone Feb. 21 and sent a text message to a friend that night saying "I'm camped down the way from birthing pools and meeting all the locals."
That was the last anyone heard from her.
A review of Laura's phone records show two calls, made after her last text message, to a number not in her phone book, and the voice on the voicemail did not sound like any of her friends, according to Jennifer Lynn, a close friend of Laura.
Jessica Vogel, Laura Vogel's sister-in-law, told Crimesider on Tuesday that police have located and questioned the registered owner of that number but would not say if they were able to connect him to Laura's disappearance.
Jessica Vogel said that friends and family continue to search the Pauwela Lighthouse area, outside of Maui, every day and that divers searched the ocean near the area Saturday.
Maui police called off the search recently with one officer, according to Fox News, saying, "What we're saying is, it's very suspicious, but, again, we're not listing it as foul play because there's no evidence of foul play at this moment." The family is in contact with independent search organizations and enlisting their help in the search effort, according to Jessica Vogel.
Laura's van was found, Feb. 22, abandoned near a homeless encampment with the keys inside and the driver's side door open.
Laura is approximately 5'8" and 140 lbs. with blond hair and blue eyes. The family is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to Laura.
If you have any information, please call the Maui Police Department at (808) 244-6400 and refer to case number 10-14126.
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PICTURES: Laura Vogel, Missing in Hawaii
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