EYEWITNESS NEWS (WBRE/WYOU) — The Pennsylvania State Police's new Facebook page, PSP Tips, is asking for help with five unsolved missing persons investigations across NEPA.
Walter Lawton:
According to State Police, Troop N – Bloomsburg Station is continuing its investigation into a missing person identified as 64-year-old Walter Lawton.
Walter Lawton
Lawton was last seen on June 7, 1971 in White Haven. He and his wife were visiting the Nescopeck Creek area as they planned to purchase a cabin, police said. Lawton went for a walk at 3:00 p.m. that day and was never heard from again.
Investigators said dogs later tracked Lawton's scent to the railroad bridge overpass area on the road to Mountain Top, but despite an extensive search, he was never found. Lawton was pronounced dead on June 7, 1978, the seventh anniversary of his disappearance. His case remains unsolved.
Joanne Williams:
The Pennsylvania State Police Troop R – Dunmore Station continues its investigation into 22-year-old Joanne Williams, who was reported missing on December 7, 1978.
Joanne Williams
On Dec. 7, Williams left her apartment in the 500 block of East Gibson Street in Scranton and drove her red 1977 Datsun to go to an exercise class at her dance school. Williams left the dance school on Route 6 in Chinchilla at 10 p.m., never returned home, and was never heard from again.
On December 16, 1978, nine days after Williams' disappearance, her car was found parked at Lafayette Street and North Everett Avenue. It was unlocked and inside was her paycheck and purse with its contents undamaged. There was no trace of her at the crime scene.
Williams' case remains unsolved. She was declared dead in 1991.
Donald Shafer:
Pennsylvania State Police Troop R – Blooming Grove Station continues the investigation into 15-year-old Donald Shafer, who has been missing since 1981.
Donald Shafer
Shafer was last seen on March 9, 1981 in his hometown of Dickson City.
According to police, he was a chronic runaway and had spent time at the Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch, a residential treatment center for children in need. PSP believes it is possible that Shafer was running away when he disappeared in 1981.
State police report that Shafer's family tried to have him reported missing shortly after his disappearance in 1981, but law enforcement refused to accept a report until 2013.
He was never heard from again. He has ties to New Jersey as well as Montana and Wyoming.
Susan Cerritelli:
Pennsylvania State Police Troop N – Hazleton Station continues the investigation into the missing 26-year-old Susan Cerritelli.
Susan was last seen at her home in Long Pond, Monroe County on May 11, 1983 at noon. Her husband, Andrew Cerritelli, said he left their house at lunchtime to drive to Philadelphia, and when he returned at 6 p.m., she had left, too.
Susan Cerritelli
PSP stated that all of Susan's family members were living out of state at the time of her disappearance, but that it was out of character for them not to contact her and that all assumed that crime was involved in her case .
Andrew was known as a controlling, jealous husband with a criminal record mostly for violent crimes, and he had bragged about being a Mafia enforcer, police said. He was the prime suspect in Susan's case, but no charges were ever brought against him.
According to investigators, a prison inmate told police in 1998 that Andrew told him he had strangled Susan, dismembered her body and thrown it into the ocean off the coast of Seaside Heights, New Jersey.
Andrew died of a drug overdose in February 2007. Susan was never found and is considered the victim of a homicide, state police reported.
David Cunillera:
David Cunillera
The Pennsylvania State Police Troop P – Wilkes-Barre Station continues to investigate the missing person case of 22-year-old David Cunillera.
He was last seen on April 28, 1999, at a friend's home in Lake Winola, Wyoming County.
Cunillera called his mother from the Lake Winola home and told her he was on his way home to New York City.
Cunillera allegedly took a taxi from Lake Winola to Scranton, where he was supposed to take a bus back to New York. However, he never came home and has had no contact with friends or family since his disappearance.
All callers to PSP Tips remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward for information leading to an arrest or the solving of a crime/cold case.
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