It has been one year since a South Jersey woman went missing and her family is still desperate for information after she disappeared on July 29, 2023.
Norma Yates, 63, of Winslow Township, was reported missing on July 31, according to police, and has remained missing without a trace since.
“There’s no words to describe it. When your mother is missing and it’s labeled as a walk away and you know that it wasn’t and she would never walk away from her family, it’s just a terrible thing," Victoria Yates, Norma's daughter, said.
Police said Yates was last seen at her trailer home on Vineyard Road in the Atco section of Winslow on July 29, 2023.
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On Monday, July 29, 2024, Norma's family gathered in that exact location to honor her and to bring awareness to her sudden disappearance.
Back in July of 2023 police conducted a welfare check and said they found Yates charging her phone beside a nearby building. When police spoke to Yates, she told them she was fine, and they gave her a bottle of water since she claimed she was thirsty and she went home.
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The next day, Yates' family was concerned when they did not hear from her and called the police.
"We thought maybe she went to the shore or something like that and didn’t notify us," said Yates's daughter Nichole Ennis. "We became increasingly concerned because her pocketbook was left behind, her debit card, her cell phone."
Police launched their investigation immediately, checking places as far as North Jersey and Philadelphia.
"We’ve used LANDSAR, we've used New Jersey state police," said Winslow Police Lieutenant Ray Cogan. "We did a local search of the area, abandoned properties."
Police said they had used K9s to search nearby areas and Yates' family conducted their own searches - but there was no sight of her.
"At this point, there’s nothing suspicious. It may just be Norma doesn’t want to be found," said Cogan.
Yates has four grandchildren and Ennis gave birth to her second child after Yates went missing.
"The pain is indescribable. I don’t think that anyone no matter who they are, can truly understand where we're coming from," said Ennis. "We will not walk away from this story, because Norma didn’t walk away. Norma does need our help.”
Yates turned 63 during her disappearance. Ennis said her mother did not have a car and she would never just vanish and miss her own birthday.
“Immeasurable sadness, because it’s also a reminder of the time that has pass and that is crucial. And the number of hours and days that pass and these people don’t return home, they’re not coming back, they’re gone," Ennis said.
Investigators say they are doing everything they can to find Yates, but right now, no new developments.
"My mom is a tidy person. The place was not left very tidy, which also gave us a little concern. It is very unlike her to not call us a thousand times a day," said Ennis.
Yates' photo is currently in the National Missing Persons Database and detectives continue to look into the leads.
Police said Yates is known to frequent the West Atco section of Winslow Township.
Yates is described as a white female, standing at 5-foot-1, weighing 130 pounds, with grey-brown hair and hazel eyes. She was last seen wearing a grey tank top over a purple tank top and blue denim shorts, according to police.
If you have any information on Yates’ whereabouts you are urged to contact the Winslow Township Police Department at 609-567-0700.
