NY NY - Ann Victor-Lazarus, 61, Buffalo, 22 Oct 2017

[Razz]

A little about Ann's work:

http://www.criminaljustice.ny.gov/pio/press_releases/2009-04-28_pressrelease.html

She was helping victims of violent crimes recover. I think she would have liked Websleuths. JMO.

Wow. She was something. And she had 2 handsome boys. I'd really like to know what happened to her.

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[Gardener1850]

Wow. She was something. And she had 2 handsome boys. I'd really like to know what happened to her.

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Me too. I want to know if they suspect any foul play or if they suspect suicide because of where her car was found. Unless they have witnesses or video of her jumping into the Niagara, I feel like it could go either way. What if she got too personally involved in helping a victim of a violent crime? Or maybe she had to testify about evidence in a case from when she worked for the ME's office. Maybe a criminal was angry at her helping send him away/helping victims?

She seems like such a compassionate and brilliant woman. I hope she is found soon.

 

[Butterfly_Rises]

I'm closely connected to this area. Let me see what I can find out

 

[Futurism]

I am Ann's sister. As per Ann's husband, on Sunday, 08/22/2017, Ann said she was going to church. She should have returned home around 11 AM. At 3:30 PM her husband reported her missing. On Monday, 08/23/2017 a friend of a friend who is a client of Ann's son went to see him. He told the woman his mom was missing. She called our friend, who called my second oldest sister. That sister called Ann's son to find out what was happening. He said Ann never returned from church and the police said her EZ pass had her going over the Grand Island bridges on Sunday morning. The bridge with the EZ pass is the first of two bridges heading to Niagara Falls. The second bridge has no toll. That is all they had. My sister then called me to tell me that Ann was missing. She said when she opened her computer that morning at work there was an article on the local news page saying a male body was seen going over the falls at 12:04 PM on Sunday. She was concerned it could have been Ann. I told her that ironically, my 16-year-old son and his friends had taken the French exchange students to the Falls on Sunday. They were on the Maid of the Mist when the search and rescue helicopters started flying around. Our exchange student asked my son what the helicopters were doing. He explained that they were likely looking for a person who had gone over. My son came home late Sunday afternoon and told me about it, but I didn't know Ann was missing yet. Now, the story was screaming in my head. Panicking, I called my nephew to get as much information as I could. I started making calls to friends in police forces to get her phone traced. It was the same weekend of the wake for the Buffalo Police Officer from the underwater rescue team who drown during exercises. No one was around to help. I called people who might know where she would be. I drove around trying to spot her car. Late Monday night 08/23/2017 I called my nephew to get the exact spelling of Ann’s vanity license plate, and to see what she was wearing. I called the Niagara Parks Police and asked them to call the border patrol and find out if her car had been driven into Canada. While he checked on that I could call the Ontario, Canada police. I have a summer home in Canada and thought Ann might have headed to my house to get away and be alone. I gave them her license plate information, told them what she was wearing and gave them the address of my house. They called me from that house and said it was closed up tight, there were no lights on and no cars around. I called the Niagara Parks Police back to see what they had found out. He said her car had not gone into Canada. I then asked if he would mind looking at the file of the man that went over the Falls on Sunday and see what he was wearing. He said he would get the file. He came back on the phone and assured me that the body was male and not my sister. He said the police had checked all of the lots near the Falls where people park and then jump, and her car was not in those lots. They had moved on to checking motel parking lots. He was adamant the body was male and not my sister. He said he sees this all the time, they were going to find her in a little motel getting herself together. He said, "I can't tell you what he was wearing, but you can tell me what your sister was wearing." When I said a red and black Nike jacket and blue jeans, he said, "We will continue looking," and abruptly hung up the phone. The police called my nephew early the next morning. He called my second oldest sister and me and asked us to meet at Ann's house. The police arrived and said they found her car 2.6 miles from the Falls at the water intake. The person seen going over the Falls was wearing a red jacket and they now presumed it to be Ann. We came to find out later that a man and woman visiting the Falls from Ohio were standing on one of the walking bridges near the brink of the Falls when they witnessed a male body go under the bridge and over the American Falls. They called 911 to report it at 12:04 PM. I called the Niagara Parks Police later that week and requested that they pull the films from the park cameras. I was told none of them were working that day. I drove up to the intakes where her car was found. There are two cameras on the buildings. I called and informed the police of that. Weeks later I hadn't heard back so I called the Niagara Parks Police again to see what they found in the footage. They said they could see her pull into the lot and get out of her car. She walks along the river walk and past a bus shelter. After that, the shelter blocks the view and they don’t see her again. There is no footage showing her entering the water. I asked the Niagara Parks Policeman if we could see the film since it is the last footage we have of her alive. He said I couldn't because it was still an open case. Ann may have entered from the lawn after the intakes. She may have walked 2.5 miles and gone into the water closer to the Falls. No one knows. And on that clear, sunny, 82 degree Sunday in October no one besides the one couple from Ohio reported seeing a person wearing a red jacket go over the American Falls at 12:04 in the afternoon. Her body has not been recovered.

 

[Futurism]

[QUOTE="Futurism, post: 14325793, member: 226324. I corrected the dates in the reply. "I am Ann's sister. As per Ann's husband, on Sunday, 10/22/2017, Ann said she was going to church. She should have returned home around 11 AM. At 3:30 PM her husband reported her missing. On Monday, 10/23/2017 a friend of a friend who is a client of Ann's son went to see him. He told the woman his mom was missing. She called our friend, who called my second oldest sister. That sister called Ann's son to find out what was happening. He said Ann never returned from church and the police said her EZ pass had her going over the Grand Island bridges on Sunday morning. The bridge with the EZ pass is the first of two bridges heading to Niagara Falls. The second bridge has no toll. That is all they had. My sister then called me to tell me that Ann was missing. She said when she opened her computer that morning at work there was an article on the local news page saying a male body was seen going over the falls at 12:04 PM on Sunday. She was concerned it could have been Ann. I told her that ironically, my 16-year-old son and his friends had taken the French exchange students to the Falls on Sunday. They were on the Maid of the Mist when the search and rescue helicopters started flying around. Our exchange student asked my son what the helicopters were doing. He explained that they were likely looking for a person who had gone over. My son came home late Sunday afternoon and told me about it, but I didn't know Ann was missing yet. Now, the story was screaming in my head. Panicking, I called my nephew to get as much information as I could. I started making calls to friends in police forces to get her phone traced. It was the same weekend of the wake for the Buffalo Police Officer from the underwater rescue team who drown during exercises. No one was around to help. I called people who might know where she would be. I drove around trying to spot her car. Late Monday night 10/23/2017 I called my nephew to get the exact spelling of Ann’s vanity license plate, and to see what she was wearing. I called the Niagara Parks Police and asked them to call the border patrol and find out if her car had been driven into Canada. While he checked on that I could call the Ontario, Canada police. I have a summer home in Canada and thought Ann might have headed to my house to get away and be alone. I gave them her license plate information, told them what she was wearing and gave them the address of my house. They called me from that house and said it was closed up tight, there were no lights on and no cars around. I called the Niagara Parks Police back to see what they had found out. He said her car had not gone into Canada. I then asked if he would mind looking at the file of the man that went over the Falls on Sunday and see what he was wearing. He said he would get the file. He came back on the phone and assured me that the body was male and not my sister. He said the police had checked all of the lots near the Falls where people park and then jump, and her car was not in those lots. They had moved on to checking motel parking lots. He was adamant the body was male and not my sister. He said he sees this all the time, they were going to find her in a little motel getting herself together. He said, "I can't tell you what he was wearing, but you can tell me what your sister was wearing." When I said a red and black Nike jacket and blue jeans, he said, "We will continue looking," and abruptly hung up the phone. The police called my nephew early the next morning. He called my second oldest sister and me and asked us to meet at Ann's house. The police arrived and said they found her car 2.6 miles from the Falls at the water intake. The person seen going over the Falls was wearing a red jacket and they now presumed it to be Ann. We came to find out later that a man and woman visiting the Falls from Ohio were standing on one of the walking bridges near the brink of the Falls when they witnessed a male body go under the bridge and over the American Falls. They called 911 to report it at 12:04 PM. I called the Niagara Parks Police later that week and requested that they pull the films from the park cameras. I was told none of them were working that day. I drove up to the intakes where her car was found. There are two cameras on the buildings. I called and informed the police of that. Weeks later I hadn't heard back so I called the Niagara Parks Police again to see what they found in the footage. They said they could see her pull into the lot and get out of her car. She walks along the river walk and past a bus shelter. After that, the shelter blocks the view and they don’t see her again. There is no footage showing her entering the water. I asked the Niagara Parks Policeman if we could see the film since it is the last footage we have of her alive. He said I couldn't because it was still an open case. Ann may have entered from the lawn after the intakes. She may have walked 2.5 miles and gone into the water closer to the Falls. No one knows. And on that clear, sunny, 82 degree Sunday in October no one besides the one couple from Ohio reported seeing a person wearing a red jacket go over the American Falls at 12:04 in the afternoon. Her body has not been recovered.[/QUOTE]

 

[Gardener1850]

I am Ann's sister. As per Ann's husband, on Sunday, 08/22/2017, Ann said she was going to church. She should have returned home around 11 AM. At 3:30 PM her husband reported her missing. On Monday, 08/23/2017 a friend of a friend who is a client of Ann's son went to see him. He told the woman his mom was missing. She called our friend, who called my second oldest sister. That sister called Ann's son to find out what was happening. He said Ann never returned from church and the police said her EZ pass had her going over the Grand Island bridges on Sunday morning. The bridge with the EZ pass is the first of two bridges heading to Niagara Falls. The second bridge has no toll. That is all they had. My sister then called me to tell me that Ann was missing. She said when she opened her computer that morning at work there was an article on the local news page saying a male body was seen going over the falls at 12:04 PM on Sunday. She was concerned it could have been Ann. I told her that ironically, my 16-year-old son and his friends had taken the French exchange students to the Falls on Sunday. They were on the Maid of the Mist when the search and rescue helicopters started flying around. Our exchange student asked my son what the helicopters were doing. He explained that they were likely looking for a person who had gone over. My son came home late Sunday afternoon and told me about it, but I didn't know Ann was missing yet. Now, the story was screaming in my head. Panicking, I called my nephew to get as much information as I could. I started making calls to friends in police forces to get her phone traced. It was the same weekend of the wake for the Buffalo Police Officer from the underwater rescue team who drown during exercises. No one was around to help. I called people who might know where she would be. I drove around trying to spot her car. Late Monday night 08/23/2017 I called my nephew to get the exact spelling of Ann’s vanity license plate, and to see what she was wearing. I called the Niagara Parks Police and asked them to call the border patrol and find out if her car had been driven into Canada. While he checked on that I could call the Ontario, Canada police. I have a summer home in Canada and thought Ann might have headed to my house to get away and be alone. I gave them her license plate information, told them what she was wearing and gave them the address of my house. They called me from that house and said it was closed up tight, there were no lights on and no cars around. I called the Niagara Parks Police back to see what they had found out. He said her car had not gone into Canada. I then asked if he would mind looking at the file of the man that went over the Falls on Sunday and see what he was wearing. He said he would get the file. He came back on the phone and assured me that the body was male and not my sister. He said the police had checked all of the lots near the Falls where people park and then jump, and her car was not in those lots. They had moved on to checking motel parking lots. He was adamant the body was male and not my sister. He said he sees this all the time, they were going to find her in a little motel getting herself together. He said, "I can't tell you what he was wearing, but you can tell me what your sister was wearing." When I said a red and black Nike jacket and blue jeans, he said, "We will continue looking," and abruptly hung up the phone. The police called my nephew early the next morning. He called my second oldest sister and me and asked us to meet at Ann's house. The police arrived and said they found her car 2.6 miles from the Falls at the water intake. The person seen going over the Falls was wearing a red jacket and they now presumed it to be Ann. We came to find out later that a man and woman visiting the Falls from Ohio were standing on one of the walking bridges near the brink of the Falls when they witnessed a male body go under the bridge and over the American Falls. They called 911 to report it at 12:04 PM. I called the Niagara Parks Police later that week and requested that they pull the films from the park cameras. I was told none of them were working that day. I drove up to the intakes where her car was found. There are two cameras on the buildings. I called and informed the police of that. Weeks later I hadn't heard back so I called the Niagara Parks Police again to see what they found in the footage. They said they could see her pull into the lot and get out of her car. She walks along the river walk and past a bus shelter. After that, the shelter blocks the view and they don’t see her again. There is no footage showing her entering the water. I asked the Niagara Parks Policeman if we could see the film since it is the last footage we have of her alive. He said I couldn't because it was still an open case. Ann may have entered from the lawn after the intakes. She may have walked 2.5 miles and gone into the water closer to the Falls. No one knows. And on that clear, sunny, 82 degree Sunday in October no one besides the one couple from Ohio reported seeing a person wearing a red jacket go over the American Falls at 12:04 in the afternoon. Her body has not been recovered.

Welcome to Websleuths Futurism. I'm so sorry for your loss. Thanks for sharing a little more of the background of the search and why they think it was her in the Falls. I hope she is found someday soon to confirm it was really her and give your family closure.

 

[Razz]

I wonder what made them think it was a man and not a woman going over the falls. Had she been suffering from depression or is there a reason that makes you think she committed suicide? I admire your tenaciousness
in getting to the facts.

 

[Futurism]

I wonder what made them think it was a man and not a woman going over the falls. Had she been suffering from depression or is there a reason that makes you think she committed suicide? I admire your tenaciousness
in getting to the facts.

Ann was the strongest person I have ever known and the last person on earth you'd ever think would suffer from depression. That makes this all the more difficult for us to wrap our heads around it, but her husband, son and a few of her friends said she had been battling depression for about 9 months. My siblings and I were not made aware of it. Ann was dealing with a lot in both her personal and professional life that would explain a depression. And depression takes people to very dark places.

As far as the person being reported as a man going over the falls: a couple from Ohio on one of the walking bridges at the top of the American Falls, reported seeing a man go over the falls at 12:04 PM on Oct 22, 2017. We were not given their names and have never spoken to them. We do not know if the person they saw was face up or down, nor do we know if that person was still alive at the moment they went over. We do not know what made them think the person in the water was male. We are assuming the person in the water was face down, and with the wet hair, an athletic jacket, and jeans they thought it was a man. Our guess is the police concluded it was Ann based on the fact that she was reported missing and suffering from depression, her car was found in a lot 2.6 miles upriver, plus the description of the clothing was similar, she had on blue jeans and a red and black checked Nike jacket and the person seen going over was reported wearing blue jeans and a red jacket. There is no conclusive evidence that it was Ann, but the police obviously felt they had enough to presume the person to be Ann.

 

[lindamichelle1]

www.charleyproject.org/case/ann-elizabeth-victor-lazarus

Ann is still missing

Namus:

Missing Person / NamUs #MP41126

View NamUs missing person case MP41126 for Ann Elizabeth Victor-Lazarus missing from Buffalo, New York. Date of last contact: Oct 22, 2017. NCMEC case number: --.

namus.nij.ojp.gov

 

[elframo]

Ann has been missing 6 years today