Mark Himebaugh’s Mother Clings To Hope, Vanished Nov. 25, 1991

DEL HAVEN – At any time in the U.S. a million-plus children are missing; of those 115 a year are taken by strangers. Of those, statistically, five are never heard of again.
On Nov. 25, 1991 Mark Himebaugh, then 11, became one of them. Twenty-two years later his mother Maureen still lives in the same house in Del Haven, a section of Middle Township.
“This year it actually falls on the day (of the week) he disappeared,” she recalled. That Monday so long ago was an ordinary school day for her two sons Matt and Mark on a chilly November day. The one unusual event was a brushfire in the wetlands that run along the waterway in that section of Del Haven near their home.
After school Mark asked if he could go watch all the excitement – the crowd that had gathered on the street and the firefighter putting it out. His mother said “yes.” She saw him once more on his way home as she drove off to do a favor for a neighbor.
That was just before 4 p.m. “Kids are more at risk during commotions like fairs or like the fire that day, there were a lot of cars and a lot of unusual traffic,” she said. The last sighting of Mark was at the entrance of County Park South, where he was seen with a young girl who has never been identified.
The red-headed, blue-eyed, freckle-faced 11-year-old boy vanished as if into thin air. By that night hundreds of people from law enforcement, neighbors, family members and strangers were searching for him. There were tracking dogs and helicopters and boats expended in the search. But the only trace found was an L.A. Gear sneaker picked up by a searcher on the beach just 250 feet away from his house. “Some investigators thought maybe the sneaker was deliberately put there to misdirect the searchers,” said Himebaugh.
Both she and Mark’s father, from whom she is divorced, were thoroughly investigated after his disappearance. She remembered, “I didn’t mind at all. I even volunteered to take the polygraph. Anything to find Mark.”
Himebaugh keeps her favorite picture of Mark on the mantel in her house, and in her wallet and at work. She says that law enforcement officials have done a good job constructing an age-enhanced image of him. After all, Mark would be 33 years old.
Himebaugh was asked that given the passage of such a long time had she given up hope of ever finding Mark? She said she had a lot of mixed emotions, but then recounted the recent cases of Jaycee Dugard, who was kidnapped in June 1991 the same year as Mark vanished.
Dugard was held captive for 18 years by Philip and Nancy Garrido. “I read her book and saw a lot of similarities between her and Mark,” Himebaugh disclosed.
Then there were the three women in Ohio imprisoned by Ariel Castro for decades, and Elizabeth Smart taken from her bedroom in Utah and most recently the three women freed from 30 years captivity in London.
“I have hope because of the cases out there,” Himebaugh affirmed. She also expressed gratitude for all of the law enforcement people who had helped and continue to help throughout the years. There personnel, now retired, Middle Township Capt. Scott Webster, Detective Richard McHale, Lt. Fred Teasenfitz. At present, Detective Alan McClure remains assigned. Middle Township Police Chief Christopher Leusner has reiterated over and over that his department will never stop looking for Mark.
County Prosecutor Robert Taylor spoke about the case. “The Mark Himebaugh matter is an ongoing case,” he said. “We have a particular detective who is assigned to it.” Taylor stated that in 2013 his office received several leads, “Including several reported sightings in various states.” He also said that his office has regular meetings with the FBI and New Jersey State Police.
Taylor said that so far none of the “leads have not panned out.” Taylor is very grateful for the Amber Alert aka the Child Abduction Emergency process. That notification of the public through the airways originated in the United States in 1996 and is named for Amber Hagerman, who was abducted and murdered in Arlington, Texas.
“It was not in place when Mark disappeared,” said Taylor. He also mentioned that there remain several missing persons from Cape May County, but that Mark Himebaugh will always be the most prominent face among them.
Maureen Himebaugh will spend this Thanksgiving with son Matt and other family members. “Sometimes I feel him all around me.”
And if he is ever able to make it home he’ll find her in the same house in Del Haven. I’ll always stay unless I’m forced out,” Himebaugh assured.
If anyone has any information concerning the disappearance of Mark Himebaugh they are asked to contact the County Prosecutor’s Office 465-1135 or Middle Township Police Department 465-8700.
Contact Helen McCaffrey at hmccaffrey@cmcherald.com.