Susan Laimer Missing Person Case

Aug 31, 2010

Aug 01, 2024

Susan

Laimer

67

42

65 inches

128 lbs

White / Caucasian

Female

In the winter of 2001, 42-year-old Susan Carol Laimer vanished from the small community of Sugar Loaf, New York, leaving behind a life marked by personal struggles and a loving family who would spend years searching for answers. The exact date of her disappearance remains uncertain, with reports varying, though it is believed to have been in February. At the time, Susan was grappling with alcoholism and a rare blood disease. A 1977 graduate of Brainerd High School in Minnesota, she had relocated to New York and was living in a converted barn apartment on Pine Hill Road with her boyfriend, Joe Puccio, and his four children. Susan was known to have a small scar on the left side of her face running from her upper lip to her nostril, a one-inch scar on her back, and purple scars on both legs below the knee resulting from her blood condition. The circumstances leading up to Susan's disappearance paint a picture of a troubled period in her life. On February 17, 2001, she called her employer at the Chester Forum Diner to say she had broken her toe and would be out of work; she was never heard from at her job again. Shortly after, on February 26, she entered a three-day alcohol rehabilitation program at Mercy Community Hospital in Port Jervis. According to her boyfriend, Joe Puccio, Susan returned to their apartment after completing the program, packed her belongings into a dark-colored sedan, and left with an unidentified individual. He stated she did not say where she was going and left her own vehicle, a brown 1984 Datsun, behind. This was the last reported sighting of Susan Laimer. Weeks turned into a month with no word from Susan. Her family, who lived out of state, grew increasingly worried when she failed to make her customary phone call to her young son, who was living in Puerto Rico with his father, on his birthday. This uncharacteristic silence was the catalyst for her family to officially report her missing on April 3, 2001, well over a month after she was last seen. Despite their fears of foul play, the investigation into Susan's disappearance has been classified as a missing person case, as authorities have stated there is no evidence to suggest a crime occurred. Investigators have questioned her boyfriend, Joe Puccio, and conducted searches of his home and boats, but he has not been named a suspect in her case. Neighbors reported that Susan and her boyfriend often had loud, alcohol-fueled arguments, adding another layer of concern to the circumstances of her disappearance. The overview of the case reflects a woman facing significant personal challenges who vanished without a trace, leaving her loved ones in a state of perpetual uncertainty while law enforcement continues to seek answers in a case that has remained cold for years.

Feb 07, 2001

Sugar Loaf

New York

Orange County

8965

New York State Police - Monroe Barracks

Monroe

New York

Orange County

10950

Zackery Fitzpatrick

Investigator

369 Nininger Road, New York

8453445300

State

Law Enforcement

705708

New York State Police - Monroe Barracks

Black

Brown

Brown

08/22/2026