Law enforcement agencies are making a new effort, including offering rewards for information, in the case of a Bradford County woman who has been missing for 12 years.
The FBI Pittsburgh field office, Pennsylvania State Police and West Virginia State Police hope to find answers to the disappearance of Maria Nina Miller, of Towanda, who was 34 when she was last seen Feb. 5, 2011.
Miller was born in the Philippines and moved to the United States with her husband, Kenneth Miller, who was in the U.S. Army at the time, according to Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers.
The FBI became involved in this case a few years ago, according to Catherine Coennen, spokesperson for the Pittsburgh field office.
“The community deserves closure and Ms. Miller’s family deserves answers about her whereabouts for the last 12 years,” Coennen said.
The FBI is offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to a resolution in the case. Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers is offering an additional $2,000 reward.
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In 2005, the Millers lived in Norfolk, Virginia, where Kenneth Miller was an Army recruiter, according to Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers. In 2010, he was transferred to Towanda to continue his recruiting efforts, and the couple moved into an apartment in the borough.
Maria Miller was last seen at the Dandy Mini Mart in Wysox where she worked. She reportedly took two planned days off work and told co-workers she was planning to visit Kenneth’s mother, who was ill and in the Charleston Area Medical Center in Charleston, West Virginia.
Kenneth Miller told police the couple drove to the parking lot of the hospital, where he and Maria got into an argument, and according to Kenneth, she demanded he take her to Virginia Beach.
Kenneth Miller said he dropped his wife off at an unknown apartment complex in Virginia Beach.
Maria was not reported missing until June 10, 2011, four months after she was last seen, and that report was made by the U.S. Army after it was made known nobody could find or contact her.
At the time of her disappearance, Maria Miller was 5-foot-1-inch tall, 125 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. She would now be 46 years old.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Pennsylvania State Police in Towanda at 570-265-2186, the Troop P Criminal Investigation Assessment Unit at 570-822-5515, or the FBI Pittsburgh field office at 800-CALLFBI or tips.fbi.gov.
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This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Renewed FBI search for PA woman missing since 2011