Her boyfriend, Eugene “Gene” LaFaye Jr., is a prime suspect. They lived together, worked at the same restaurant (he was a cook), and had a troubled relationship; they argued the night before she disappeared. Importantly, Susan didn’t know Gene had a prior prison sentence for rape. She planned to break up with him and move out.

Gene claimed he last saw Susan getting ready for a shower. He said he left their home, and when he returned, she, her clothes, and her car were gone. He later found her car at her parents’ house in Cape Coral, with the keys in the ignition, and left a note saying she was missing. Her parents were out of town and reported her missing a few days later.

Gene’s story didn’t add up. He was uncooperative with police, and they found his account of his whereabouts to be false. He also borrowed a larger car shortly after her disappearance and transported a large object in the trunk.

A witness saw Susan arguing with a man in her car near the Caloosahatchee River Bridge on the day she disappeared. Susan looked distressed and begged the man to take her to work.

Gene disappeared for several months after Susan’s vanishing, then reappeared in New York where he was arrested for robbery. He was later convicted of murdering a woman in New York and served time for burglary. Though linked to the deaths of another woman and her child, he was never charged in those cases. He died in prison in 2016.

Susan was a responsible young woman who was close to her family. It’s extremely out of character for her to disappear without a trace. She left behind money, belongings, and even her paycheck. Police suspect foul play and believe her body is in or near Lee County, Florida.