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$25,000 Reward Offered In 20-Year-Old Cape May County Missing Person Case

By Robin Rieger

DEL HAVEN, N.J. (CBS) -- A new reward is being offered in a 20-year-old missing person case.

"I want to believe he could be out there, safe", says Maureen Himebaugh.

She should have been able to watch her son Mark grow up right in front of her eyes, instead she only sees an artist's renderings (below) of what her son would look like now if he is still alive

"Mark disappeared on a Monday, I remember the day like it was yesterday. I can still feel him, see him."

Mark Himebaugh of Del Haven, Cape May County, was 11 when he disappeared in November 1991. He was last seen at a nearby park with a girl from his neighborhood.

"She was with him and then he left to go home and that was it," says police chief Christopher Leusner.

Mark Himebaugh
Mark Himebaugh, age 11

His mom had been delayed on an errand and when she got home, Mark hadn't returned. Police searched everywhere into the evening.

It wasn't until later that they found his sneaker on the beach near his home.

Investigators in the Middle Township Police department will never give up on this case and on Wednesday police announced a reward posted by an unnamed client of a local lawyer who saw the 20th anniversary coverage of the case and wanted to help.

The new reward is $10,000 for the discovery of Mark Himebaugh and $25,000 if it leads to his safe return home.

Artists Rendering
Artists Rendering of Mark Himebaugh at age 31

"I'm very appreciative it brings the case out again", says Himebaugh.

"I hope the money inspires people to come forward with info," says her former neighbor Tim Kinkade.

Himebaugh's neighbors still remember the shock of that day.

"I can't imagine what she goes through every day," says Susan Jackson

She keeps her hopes up, thanks in part to the return of Jaycee Dugard 18 years after she was kidnapped in California.

 

And she says if Mark is out there, "I want Mark to know I'm still standing and I'm going to be here when he gets home", says Himebaugh.

RELATED LINK:

www.cmcsheriff.net

Cape May County crime stoppers:

609-465-2800
877-465-2801

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