MISSING
by Ben Hogwood

The Lamoille County Sheriff's Department is continuing their search for
Jodie Whitney, a 35 year old Johnson woman missing since Thursday, May 27.
Whitney is a white female with brown hair and brown eyes. She is 5"3'
and weighs approximately 130 pounds.
According to Marcoux, Whitney, who works as a reservations manager at
the Stoweflake Resort in Stowe, was supposed to be at work at 8 a.m. on
the Thursday. When she never showed, employees of the resort called her
home several times. Whitney's husband, Edgar, contacted the police later
that evening when he heard the messages, knowing it was not like her to
skip work.
Tina Teale, sister of Whitney, said she was very organized and
methodical. "She was not spontaneous," she said.
"The circumstances are suspicious," said Marcoux.
Police found Whitney's vehicle, a white Jeep Cherokee, in the vicinity
of her home off of Mudgett Hill Road, on the border of Johnson and North
Hyde Park. Marcoux would not comment about details of the vehicle's
condition or the exact location it was found. However, he did say that
it was unusual for her vehicle to be located where it was. "We're
concerned," he said.
Police began a search of both areas - where the car was found and the
area of her residence - with approximately 10 deputies, on Friday, May
28. Vermont State Police joined the search the following day, bringing a
search and rescue team and a canine unit. In addition 25 officers from
LCSD, Stowe and Morristown were involved in the search. On Sunday, they
conducted a helicopter survey and an extensive search of the Gihon
River. There were no results.
A ray of hope came through on Friday at approximately 2 a.m., when staff
at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, in Hanover, NH, contacted the LCSD, saying a
woman who fit Whitney's description had just come in to the hospital.
Police drove down that night with a family member to try and make an
identification, but upon arrival they determined the female was not
Whitney.
Whitney's disappearance occurred just two and a half months after the
disappearance of Brianna Maitland, 17, in Montgomery, and 90 days after
the disappearance of Maura Murray, a University of Massachusetts
student, in Haverhill, NH. While there are similarities between the
incidents, such as all three victims disappearing from their vehicles
and Maitland's and Whitney's disappearances occurring just 25 miles
apart, Marcoux said Tuesday morning, June 1, that at that time, they
have found no solid evidence linking them.
Another coincidence at this time is that Whitney is the daughter of
Cheryl Peters, who was murdered, in Morrisville, in 1994. Police never
made an arrest in that case.
Police will continue to search the same areas and will continue to
interview people to learn as much about the days prior to Whitney's
disappearance, said Marcoux. The LCSD and VSP are conducting a joint
investigation.
Marcoux said they are following through on every lead. "We're putting in
the appropriate resources for a worse case scenario," he said.
"We're working night and day on this."