Missing Soldier: Police Release Photo Taken Night of Disappearance
Published at
Fayetteville Police Department(FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.) — Investigators searching for Kelli Bordeaux have released a new photo of the missing Fort Bragg soldier, which was taken by Bordeaux herself using her iPhone just before heading out to the Fayetteville, N.C., bar the night she disappeared.
Bordeaux, 23, who has been missing for nearly two weeks, was last seen leaving Froggy Bottoms bar in Fayetteville around 1:20 a.m. on April 14. The marine was reported missing on Monday when she failed to report to duty. Police won’t say how they got the cellphone picture.
Her husband Michael Bordeaux is now speaking about his wife for the first time, confirming that she was committed to her job and their marriage, which he says was not on the rocks.
“She was a dedicated soldier, a dedicated wife. Me and her loved each other very much,” Michael Bordeaux said.
While Michael Bordeaux says that the couple was not having marital problems, he admits he last saw his wife on April 3 — 10 days before she went missing. Contrary to reports he had moved out, he denies they were estranged, saying he was just visiting his father in Florida.
“We were married. We weren’t getting a divorce,” he says. “We were together. We love each other a lot.”
Nicholas Holbert, 25, says he was with Bordeaux at the bar on April 13, and dropped her off on a street near her apartment. He says when he asked her if she was married she said “it’s complicated.”
Holbert surrendered after it was revealed he failed to register as a sex offender at his new address. Although he has been questioned twice, investigators said Holbert is not a person of interest. He maintained he had nothing to do with her disappearance.
Police on Thursday renewed their search for Bordeaux, showing more than 500 volunteers the newly released photo of the marine and asking them to scour the heavily wooded area between the bar where she was last seen and the cellphone tower she last pinged early on April 14.
“All the evidence …has led us right back to this area as an area of concentration,” Det. Jeff Locklear of the Fayetteville Police Department said Thursday.
Bordeaux’s family and fellow soldiers are holding out hope she is still alive.
“Your family loves you, your friends love you, your battle buddies love you,” Jason Bardow, the woman’s uncle and a fellow soldier said.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio