Lost Voices

Charles, 73 years old, and Catherine Romer, 77 years old, were travelling from their home in Miami, Florida to their other home in Scarsdale, New York. On the 8th of April, 1980, at 3:51pm, the couple checked in to the Holiday Inn located along the I-95 and U.S. Route 341 in Brunswick, Georgia.

On Friday, the 11th of April, hotel management contacted the police after realising that Charles and Catherine had not checked out of the hotel, and the room they were staying in was still in pristine condition – no signs of anyone having stayed there.

Police searched the room and they found Charles’ diary. The last entry of the diary was from the 7th of April, and Charles had written that the couple intended to arrive in New York by the 10th of April.

Charles was described as being “very meticulous and unlikely to have deviated from his plan.”

The couple had been travelling in a custom-made 2-door black 1978 Lincoln Continental with a New York License plate “CRR-CBR”. Georgia Highway Patrol reported seeing that car around 5pm on the 8th of April just south of Brunswick, close to a group of restaurants.

A massive search took place to try and find the couple. Back roads were searched, swamps were searched by divers, and helicopters even searched from above, trying to locate the couple. But nothing was ever found.

Two theories of what may have happened to the couple were established. The first theory was that the couple had become victims of robbery and foul play.

The second theory is that the couple ran off the road into the swamp, which in some areas has quicksand. A few men who were fishing near Jekyll Island reported having seen the couple matching Charles and Catherine’s description, however, police have said that this sighting was unlikely to have been Charles and Catherine as the timing doesn’t add up.

Charles’s sons made annual trips to Georgia to try and keep the case active, but unfortunately, no new information or leads have ever come up.

In 1985, Catherine and Charles were both declared legally dead.

As of 2022, Catherine and Charles have never been found. Their car has also never been discovered.

Tags:

Unsolved, Still Missing, Missing People, True Crime, Investigation, Mystery, Charles Romer, Catherine Romer, Brunswick, Georgia, 1980, Missing Persons Case, Unsolved Missing Persons Case, Unsolved Mystery, Missing Couple