Norma Yates disappearance: Camden County investigators pursue new leads as family pushes for answers

Family, investigators press for answers after South Jersey woman remains missing after nearly 2 years

It?s been almost two years since a 62-year-old Camden County woman vanished from her home in Atco. Her family members have not given up their fight to bring her home.

ATCO, N.J. - In July 2023, Camden County mom Norma Yates went missing without a trace. Her family and investigators have searched to no avail. Officials say they are now working on new leads and everyone involved is hoping Norma will be found.

What we know:

Nichole Ennis says every single day since her mom’s disappearance, almost two years ago, is a challenge, filled with grief. It only makes her more resolved in the fight to bring her home.

"You just keep pushing for the truth," she says. "I must, must finish here. We must finish. We will, I know. I know we will."

The Camden County Prosecutor’s Office says the phone and purse of Norma Yates, 62, were left behind in her trailer on a farm in Atco, a property owned by her roommate. Investigators had no ability to trace her through her phone or credit or debit cards, and despite cameras in the area, there was no sign of her.

"This was in a very rural area, the houses sit very far back in the street, and we did not capture anything," says Detective Ryan Durham, of the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit.

"To have no sign of her at all has to be unusual?" asked FOX 29’s Kelly Rule.

"Extremely, it’s very difficult," says Detective Durham.

Timeline:

On July 29, 2023, Winslow Police say they were called by a neighbor to do a wellness check and found Norma across the street from where she lived, along a quiet country road in Atco. Investigators say she refused medical treatment, and they did not see anything concerning. Police watched her go back towards her home.

"It just adds to the confusion of the case. There was nothing alarming. When we went in there and took photographs, there was nothing there to suspect anything at that time," says Detective Durham. "It was almost as if she just vanished."

Ennis says her mother would never "just leave" and not come home.

"She was a great person. She made a ton of mistakes, like a lot of us do, but she was a wonderful mom, a good person," she says.

Ennis says they had just come back from a family vacation down the shore about a week before. She was pregnant, and her mom often stayed at her home to help with her grandchildren or stayed in touch by phone.

What they're saying:

A neighbor provided FOX 29 with an image of Norma the last day she was seen. Ennis saw that footage as well.

"We didn’t see the footage until later. I think I would’ve said my mom needed some help, that something was going on. What? I don’t know exactly. If I knew, we wouldn’t be sitting here," she says. "To just vanish, to just disappear today, without even a Ring camera that can show her walking across the street, it doesn’t make sense. And there’s a dozen things that we can say it doesn’t make sense."

Detective Durham says they are planning to organize searches in the coming weeks involving divers. They are now pursuing new leads, including the possibility Norma was in Atlantic City the day she disappeared. He says investigators conducted numerous searches in the area, as did Norma’s family. He is not ruling out anything, including the possibility Norma is somehow close to home.

"I hope so, I really do. If this is going to lead us further out, it’s only going to get more difficult," he says.

Ennis says she firmly believes there is someone out there that has information that has not come forward.

"The truth is coming, it always does, and that’s what keeps me moving. Faith over fear, we will not stop somebody knows everything."

What you can do:

If you have any information on the disappearance of Norma Yates, call the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit at 856-225-5127.