Roberta Snider was supposed to enjoy a trip to Graceland with her husband, Philip, but now police are now trying to figure if the 70-year-old Hartville woman died in Tennessee, and if so, where is her body?
The case has left Hartville Police Chief Lawrence Dordea baffled.
"At this point, we are still left in a state of confusion. We don't know where she is," Dordea said.
According to investigators, Roberta and Philip left their Hartville home on Jan. 4 and stayed overnight at a hotel in Sparta, Kentucky.
The next day, the couple drove towards Memphis, but as they neared the mansion of Elvis Presley, Philip realized Roberta may have passed away in their pickup truck, according to a statement he gave to police.
Philip said he flagged down an ambulance in a restaurant parking lot and the vehicle took Roberta away.
"He left her in the care, custody and control of this EMS unit and he came home," Dordea said.
Investigators said after Philip returned home, he called other relatives to report Roberta's death, but he didn't know where her body was taken.
Hartville officers have reached out to Tennessee officials but have not been able to find any record of an ambulance transport to a hospital or a morgue.
"We've spent multiple hours on this trying to determine where she is," Dordea said. "Believe me, we've used medical examiner offices. We've used the state of Tennessee. We're using every resource every way we can."
Philip provided more pictures of his wife to the police department on Thursday afternoon. He told News 5 that he gave officers all the information he had and declined to comment further.
Dordea called the disappearance bizarre, but he said Roberta's family doesn't suspect foul play.
"I can tell you I interviewed him at length and he seems to be a very sincere individual," the chief said. "He showed a lot of signs of being truthful, but there may have been some issues where forgetfulness was relevant," Dordea added.
Investigators are retracing the couple's trip by looking at receipts and searching for surveillance video as they continue to try to answer the question: What happened to the Stark County woman?
"I can assure you of this, there are answers and we will get them," the chief said.
Anyone with information on case is asked to call the Hartville Police Department at 330-877-2500.
