Authorities in New Jersey are searching for a teacher who vanished earlier this month, shortly after a restraining order against her husband was lifted, News 12 New Jersey reports.
Lara Emanuele was last seen June 7, and her vehicle was located the following day in the parking lot of a Roxbury Holiday Inn Express, about five miles from where she lived.
The vehicle appeared to have been abandoned.
Emanuele, 46, works as a third-grade teacher at Alexander Hamilton Elementary School in Morristown. She is described as 5-foot-6 and about 125 pounds with red hair.
Although Emanuele had secured a restraining order against her husband, which was lifted recently, authorities do not consider the matter suspicious. Her home has also been for sale since Memorial Day, according to the television station.
“At this time, this is not considered a suspicious disappearance,” Morris County Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson Meghan Knab said, according to PEOPLE magazine. “We will notify the public if the focus [or] status of the investigation changes.”
Emanuele’s husband, Brian, has posted about his wife’s disappearance on Facebook and has asked the public for information to help locate his wife.
A source told News 12 that Emanuele was in an abusive relationship and was concerned for her safety.
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Crews have been searching for Emanuele primarily in a heavily wooded area behind the hotel, according to the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, which is working with the Morris County Sheriff’s Office, New Jersey State Police Aviation Bureau, New Jersey Search and Rescue and Roxbury Police Department.
That area includes the Berkshire Valley State Wildlife Management Area, which spans more than 2,000 acres and entails wetlands and forest without marked trails.
“I’d like to assure the public that all capabilities available to law enforcement are being utilized to locate Lara,” Morris County Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll said in a written statement, according to WRNJ. “We understand the public’s concerns, and we will do our best to update the community whenever possible.”
To report information about Emanuele or where she may be located, call the Roxbury Police Department at 973-448-2100 or the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office at 973-285-2900.
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[Feature Photo: Lara Emanuele/Handout]
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