Missing woman latest tragedy for ‘cursed’ NJ family with Christmas suicide and fatal car crash
A heartbroken mom rocked by the tragic deaths of two children is now on edge after her last surviving child went missing “under suspicious circumstances.”
Danielle Lopez, 37, of Burlington, NJ, has not been heard from in over a month after she told her family she planned to go camping.
The 5-foot-4, 135-pound woman was last seen at about 9:10 a.m. April 13 at a Wawa store in Burlington, NJ, state police said.
Her 2008 two-door blue Hyundai Accent was found disabled on Lost Lane Road, part of Penn State Forest, a 3,366-acre state park.
“Unimaginably, tragedy has struck our family again” the shell-shocked mom, Sue Quackenbush, a longtime Eatontown resident, posted to Facebook this week, saying cops told her the disappearance was “under suspicious circumstances.”
Fred Lopez, the missing woman’s uncle, told The Post that Danielle’s oldest brother, Eric Quackenbush, died after he “threw himself in front of a train” in Pennsylvania on Christmas Day 2015 and another brother, Michael Lopez, a Marine, was fatally injured “about 10 months later” in a Florida vehicular crash.
He said Danielle’s grandfather, Fred Lopez Sr., succumbed to COVID in May 2020 and her father, Guy, suffered a fatal heart attack a month later that may have been triggered by the coronavirus.
“It’s a pretty heavy duty reality,” said the 58-year-old uncle, who lives in Arizona. “Danielle had a very difficult life and never quite recouped from all the deaths and the tragedies in our family.”
Choking back tears, he added, “Every member of my family has had tragedy. I think my family may have been cursed.”
NJ State Police would not comment on the investigation beyond the fact that they’re “seeking assistance” from the public.
“She is known to frequent the Brendan T. Byrne State Forest, Pemberton Township, and Willingboro Township,” according to a May 22 Facebook post by cops.
“Danielle was sweet, creative, and loving,” wrote Quackenbush, now of West Chester, Pa., using the past tense in her Facebook post. “She was a wonderful daughter and a vibrant light in my life.”
