Search continues in Charlestown for missing woman; vigil planned Tuesday
Bill Gnade / Sentinel Staff
SEARCH CONTINUES FOR CHARLESTOWN WOMAN
Bill Gnade / Sentinel Staff
After emerging from the rain-drenched woods Friday night, searchers Amanda Perl, center, of New England K9 Search and Rescue, and Heidi Murphy, conservation officer with N.H. Fish and Game, follow Rook, a 2-year-old Australian shepherd search dog, down the driveway of Kelly J. Robarge’s house in Charlestown.
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Posted: Monday, July 1, 2013 3:15 pm | Updated: 4:24 pm, Mon Jul 1, 2013.
By KAITLIN MULHERE Sentinel Staff
Posted on July 1, 2013 by Kaitlin Mulhere
CHARLESTOWN — Five days after Kelly J. Robarge disappeared, her family is asking community members to attend a candlelight vigil this week to help bring her home.
Authorities haven’t released any new information since announcing Friday that they believe Robarge, 42, may be significantly injured or dead. She was last seen late Thursday morning and was reported missing Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
Police have searched every day since Thursday throughout the area, including in Charlestown, Claremont and Unity. Assistant Attorney General Susan G. Morrell said they’ll continue looking for signs of Robarge today and assess the investigation’s next steps in the afternoon.
A neighbor said the quiet, rural road where Robarge lives was active at the end of last week, with steady traffic from Charlestown police, N.H. Fish and Game officers and N.H. State Police. On Saturday, a helicopter searched the densely wooded area around Robarge’s home while investigators spent hours working inside 124 Happy Acres Road.
Sunday was more quiet, though, as the road remained blocked off and one state trooper’s car could be seen at her home.
Police have said the circumstances surrounding Robarge’s disappearance are suspicious, but Morrell has declined to comment on why they think she’s in danger. Morrell also declined to comment when asked about individuals the police may have questioned, citing an ongoing investigation.
The Attorney General’s Office has not named any suspects.
Residents in downtown Charlestown Sunday were familiar with the disappearance investigation and recognized Robarge’s face from pictures in the media even if they didn’t know her personally. Some said they can’t remember anything like this happening in the community of about 5,000.
On Friday, N.H. State Police and Vermont State Police visited the home where her estranged husband, James R. Robarge, has been staying on Westminster West Road in Saxtons River, Vt., but police there declined to comment. Kelly Robarge filed for divorce from her husband Thursday before she was reported missing, citing irreconcilable differences, according to records in 5th Circuit Court Family Division in Claremont.
Robarge is a 1989 graduate of FallMountainRegionalHigh School in Langdon and works as a dental hygienist in Springfield, Vt. She has two daughters and a young grandson.
Her family has chosen not to speak about the investigation outside of asking via social media for support to bring her home. A picture of Robarge released by the Attorney General’s Office on Friday has been shared more 2,000 times on Facebook, and hundreds of people have commented with prayers, some describing Robarge as a sweet, wonderful woman.
The candlelight vigil is Tuesday at 6 p.m. on Happy Acres Road. Robarge’s daughter Gabrielle Robarge is asking everyone who attends to bring a candle to “light the way home” for Robarge.