Identified! NY - Human remains inside car pulled from Westchester County reservoir, 19 Jan 2021 - Brenda Kerber

[dotr]

New York State Police, White Plains Police, and DEP Police investigate the scene around a car that was found submerged in the Muscoot Reservoir along Route 100 in Somers on Jan. 19, 2021. Photo credit Frank Becerra/The Journal News via Imagn Content Services, LLC
Human remains found in car pulled from Westchester County reservoir: police
''NEW YORK, NY (1010 WINS) -- Human remains found inside a car pulled from a Westchester County reservoir on Tuesday may belong to a person who went missing in the late 1980s, authorities say.

Police officers found the remains inside a vehicle pulled from Muscoot Reservoir in Somers, according to the White Plains Police Department and a report in The Journal News.

The vehicle matched the description of a vehicle “relevant to the case” of a person who was reported missing in 1989, the department said.

A forensic examination will determine if the remains belong to the missing person.''

 

[dotr]

Is that a station wagon, trying to think of who may have gone missing while driving a car like that?
https://nypost.com/2021/01/20/human-remains-found-in-westchester-county-reservoir/

Police found human remains in a car submerged in a Westchester County reservoir. lohud.com

 

[victoriarobinson642]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
The only person that stands out after a quick search is Brenda K Kerber, missing with her Ford Station Wagon.

 

[YaYa_521]

If the car's model year isn't in the late 80s, I'd suggest Edward Dubbs who went missing from his job in NY in 1981. Neither he nor his vehicle we found. Upon comparison the car looks like a Mercury Zephyr wagon which is the same type of vehicle Edward owned. Here's a pic and link to an 1981 Mercury Zephyr wagon for sale.

1981 Mercury Zephyr Wagon For Sale in Clairemont, California

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
NamUs #MP3285 Edward S Dubbs,
Circumstances of Disappearance - Edward Dubbs was last seen at his place of employment (Hayes Williams, Inc. which is a Public Relations Firm located at 261 Madison Ave. NY, NY) on Tuesday, June 09, 1981 at approximately 5:05pm. Mr. Dubbs did not show up to work the following day. His employer found this to be very unusual, so he contacted Newtown Police Department. A check of his residence showed that the home was secure and no vehicle or persons were present. A search of the interior of the home indicated that Mr. Dubbs did not return home on June 09, 1981. Mr. Dubbs was reportedly about to break off his relationship with his live-in lover.


1978 Mercury Zephyr

Style--
Color Blue
State Connecticut
License Plate PB3985
Expiration Year 1981
Comments - Mr. Dubbs was known to take the CONRAIL Commuter Train out of Grand Central Station (NYC) to the West Redding RR Station or the Bethel RR Station - both in Western Connecticut, when going to and from work. Mr. Dubbs frequented the "bar car" which served alcoholic beverages.

 

[dotr]

Yup,it is a station wagon, short clip at link.
Human remains found in vehicle submerged in Westchester County reservoir; authorities believe car tied to 1989 missing person’s case
''Decomposed human remains were found in a station wagon at the bottom of a Westchester County reservoir, authorities said Wednesday.''

''Authorities believe the car could be linked to an unsolved 1989 missing person’s case, since it matches the description of one in the case, the Environmental Protection Department said.''

 

[Coffee56]

I believe it’s an early 80s Mercury Cougar GS station wagon. Headlights, lights in bumper, windows, grill etc all look pretty close to me. 1982 photo attached

 

[dotr]

Posted this thread on these ones, fwiw.
NY - NY - Kenneth Marshall, 21, Queens, Nov 27, 1988

NY - NY - Edward Dubbs, 44, Manhattan, 9 June 1981

 

[iamnotagolem]

Looks like a Ford LTD or Ford Squire station wagon to me, leaning towards Brenda Kerber.

 

[dotr]

Looks like a Ford LTD or Ford Squire station wagon to me, leaning towards Brenda Kerber.

NY - NY - Brenda Kerber, 40, White Plains, Oct 8, 1989

 

[LucyOso]

Any updates?

 

[dotr]

Looks like a Ford LTD or Ford Squire station wagon to me, leaning towards Brenda Kerber.

You are correct, although not 100% confirmed atm! rbbm
Car found in Muscoot Reservoir tied to Brenda Kerber's case

''A White Plains woman who went missing in 1989 after following a man some considered a cult leader is believed to be connected to a station wagon that was removed from the Muscoot Reservoir on Tuesday, sources said.

The case of Brenda Kerber, who was a 40-year-old mother when she went missing, appears to be linked to the station wagon that was pulled from the water in Somers with human remains inside it.''

''However, Police Chief Joseph Castelli told The Journal News on Thursday morning that he could not confirm if Kerber is connected to the White Plains case or the Muscoot vehicle, citing the pending forensic results of the vehicle.

Police have not yet identified the remains that were found in the car.''

 

[kaen]

Update fro LoHud:

A White Plains woman who went missing in 1989 after following a man some considered a cult leader is believed to be connected to a station wagon that was removed from the Muscoot Reservoir on Tuesday, sources said.

Car found in Muscoot Reservoir tied to Brenda Kerber's case

 

[Valiant]

An early 80's Ford Granada station wagon would be almost the same as a Mercury Cougar station wagon of the same year.

 

[dotr]

Interestingly, the Charlie Blog suggested this mp as possibly associated with this recovered car.

Leslie Anne Guthrie – The Charley Project
''Leslie disappeared with her two children, Timothy and Julie, from Katonah, New York at 1:30 p.m. on February 5, 1977. She picked up the children at their father's home on Grandview Avenue, and drove away in a white 1974 300-series Ford Maverick with a green roof and the New York license plate number 636-WNA. They have never been heard from again.''

Ws thread..
NY - NY - Leslie, 29, Julie, 6, & Timothy Guthrie, 3, Katonah, 6 Feb 1977

 

[iamnotagolem]

Interestingly, the Charlie Blog suggested this mp as possibly associated with this recovered car.

Leslie Anne Guthrie – The Charley Project
''Leslie disappeared with her two children, Timothy and Julie, from Katonah, New York at 1:30 p.m. on February 5, 1977. She picked up the children at their father's home on Grandview Avenue, and drove away in a white 1974 300-series Ford Maverick with a green roof and the New York license plate number 636-WNA. They have never been heard from again.''

Ws thread..
NY - NY - Leslie, 29, Julie, 6, & Timothy Guthrie, 3, Katonah, 6 Feb 1977

The car pulled out was a Ford station wagon, which eliminates Leslie’s vehicle. Car found in Muscoot Reservoir tied to Brenda Kerber's case

 

[jessr927]

Positively identified as Brenda Kerber.

Remains found in submerged car ID’d as woman missing for over 30 years

 

[imstilla.grandma]

https://nypost.com/2021/01/28/cops-id-human-remains-found-in-westchester-county-reservoir/

 

[kaen]

This must be a relief for her children and family. I am sad her parents are deceased without knowing what happened. It is a shame that her psychic pain led her to the group she followed-- a group that in the end didn't seem to care about her well-being but accepted funds from her monthly.

Excerpts from LoHud:
Two diaries were located and detailed her obsession with Lenz, who attracted followers to what he called his brand of "American" Buddhism. Police said all leads and information were exhausted in the year following her disappearance.


After her disappearance, Kerber's family placed national ads in USA TODAY, offering a $1,000 reward for information. Her parents, Dorotha Barratt-Knecht and James Barratt Jr., have since died.

Barratt added that Lenz, known as Zen Master Rama, would charge followers a monthly fee of $1,000 to attend his lectures.

Brenda Kerber's remains identified in Muscoot Reservoir car

 

[JerseyGirl]

Cross posting:

Found Deceased - NY - Brenda Kerber, 40, White Plains, Oct 8, 1989

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Brenda Kerber was 40 and a mother when she disappeared in 1989, The Journal News reported Thursday.

That changed on Jan. 19 during an environmental study of the Muscoot Reservoir, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of White Plains, when a station wagon was found on the reservoir bottom, the newspaper reported. The car was hauled out, and on Thursday, White Plains police said Kerber’s remains were identified inside.
Missing woman's remains found more than 30 years later