Audrey Herron lived in Catskill, New York with her husband, Jeff, and their three children. She had a 10-year-old daughter named Sonsia from a previous marriage, and the couple had a 4-year-old daughter named Katie, and a 2-year-old son named Quinn together. They met while working on a golf course owned by Jeff’s family, tied the knot in 1997, and built their dream house on the property.
Audrey was a part-time nurse at a long-term healthcare facility in Freehold, New York. The 31-year-old had a tight-knit circle of friends who described her as a devoted mom who adored her children. Audrey was especially close with her firstborn, Sonsia, who she had when she was just 22.
“She was a great mom, She loved to take me everywhere with her, which I loved. She would take me shopping, to her friend’s house. We would plan girls’ dates: get our nails done, see a movie and get dinner. She would play video games with me. She was a great mom.” — Sonsia Court, Audrey’s eldest daughter
In early August 2002, Sonsia went on a month-long vacation to Florida with her maternal grandmother, Shirley, while her two half-siblings stayed home with Audrey and Jeff.
On August 29, Shirley and Sonsia started driving back to New York. While they were in the car, Audrey called Sonsia from work. She told her how much she had missed her, and that she couldn’t wait to see her the next day. Since they wouldn’t be back in the city until later that night, Audrey made plans to pick her daughter up from her mother’s home the next morning after a doctor’s appointment.
Tragically, that never happened.
Later that evening at 9:30 pm, Audrey called Jeff and excitedly told him that she had just received a promotion with a substantial pay raise. She clocked out at 11 pm and walked to her black 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee, waving goodbye to her co-workers in the parking lot.
The drive back to her home in Catskill should have only taken Audrey 10 to 15 minutes, however, she never arrived and along with her car, the young mom of three was never seen again.
According to Jeff, it was 2 am when he suddenly woke up and realized that Audrey wasn’t home. Assuming she spent the night at her mother’s with Sonsia, Jeff called Shirley at 6:30 am, only to learn that Audrey wasn’t there. He called several of her friends but no one had seen or heard from her.
At 10 am, Shirley contacted a colleague at the police headquarters where she worked and reported Audrey missing. A search was conducted on land and air via helicopter, to no avail. Investigators attempted to ping Audrey’s cellphone but it was either de*ad or had been turned off.
Audrey missed her doctor’s appointment the next morning and she never arrived to pick Sonsia up from her mother’s home. It was at that point that panic really began to set in.
Authorities initially believed that Audrey swerved off the road since it was a rainy and foggy night. A single grainy surveillance camera captured what appeared to be Audrey’s vehicle leaving work at the time her co-workers said she did. Investigators, friends, and family members drove the same route that Audrey likely took that night there was simply no sign of her anywhere.
Jeff agreed to take a polygraph but he abruptly left during the test. He declined to participate in searches for Audrey, claiming he didn’t want his children to be plastered all over the media. Jeff said he refused to partake in interviews about the case because he was accused of being involved. The couple’s home was searched but nothing of relevance was found.
Audrey’s vehicle with the New York license plate X233UV remains missing. Several Bodies of water were searched as recently as May 2018, however, they were all fruitless.
Sonsia, now 30 years old, went to live with her biological father after Audrey vanished. Both Sonsia and her younger half-sister, Katie, now 24, became nurses in honor of their mother.
Audrey was last seen wearing green scrubs, a blue turtleneck, a gold “#1 Mom” necklace, and a watch with a white band. Today, she would be 52. If you have any information, contact New York State Police at (518)-622–8600.
