Missing NJ woman found dead in Cooper River, source says

A body that was found in a car that was pulled out of the Cooper River last week is that of a New Jersey woman who went missing nearly 15 years ago, a law enforcement source confirmed with NBC10.

Bernadine Gunner was reported missing on July 10, 2010. Gunner – who was 52-years-old at the time -- was last seen alive on 1301 Park Boulevard in Camden, New Jersey, and was driving a 2006 Hyundai Elantra, police said. Before she went missing, Gunner told her family she was going to take her own life because she couldn’t find a job, according to investigators.

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If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.

Gunner remained missing for 14 years. United Search Corps -- a nonprofit group that investigates missing persons cases and conducts underwater searches – began investigating her case, according to NBC News. On Wednesday, May 15, 2024, the group searched through the Cooper River along Route 130 in Pennsauken, New Jersey, and found multiple vehicles, including a Hyundai Elantra with human remains inside, NBC News reports. The group then contacted police who arrived at the scene the next day.

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SkyForce10 was over the scene as a dive team pulled three vehicles out of the water. Investigators later confirmed a body was found in the driver’s seat of one of the vehicles. That body was later identified as Gunner, according to the law enforcement source.

Gunner was found in a part of the river that’s less than a mile away from her last known location on Park Boulevard in Camden, a member of United Search Corps told NBC News.