The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
‘There’s always a hole inmy heart’
Family of woman missing 4 years will gather for vigil
MIDDLETOWN — Although it has been four years since his sister’s mysterious disappearance, time has not eased the pain Michael Plourde carries every day.
The search for that sister, Nina (Plourde) Coe, began on July 16, 2015, when her loved ones last had contact with the 56yearold. Coe, who wears eyeglasses, has a tattoo on one leg and a scar on the right side of her neck, has brown hair and blue eyes, stands 5 feet 2
inches tall and weighs about 130 pounds, according to police.
She suffers from alcohol and pain medication dependency and has mental health issues, her family has said. Six months before her disappearance, Coe had gone into remission from the metastatic cancer Plourde said traveled to her lungs, thyroid and glands.
“We’ve all hit a brick wall and we can’t go through it. When is this going to stop?” asked Plourde, who still periodically checks in with detectives assigned to his sister’s cold case.
Plourde created a new poster that he will distribute at a candlelight vigil at 5 p.m. Sunday on the city’s South Green at the intersection of Main and Union streets downtown.
Two photographs of Coe, one of her as a brunette and the other as a blonde, form the center. Two tiny, bright yellow birds flank her name at the top.
“A very loving person,” Coe adored Tweety Bird, her brother said.
“Still missing,” the poster says, along with a quote from American author Lois McMaster Bujold Plourde found fitting: “The dead cannot cry out for justice. It is a duty of the living to do so for them.”
“It’s extremely frustrating for us,” Coe said. “This is an everyday thing — it’s not easy. It’s been four years, and still, you think it’ll get better. It doesn’t get any better.”
Coe remains listed as a missing person, according to Middletown Police Lt. Heather Desmond. “We have been in touch with the family of Nina Coe, but as of late, we have not had any new leads.
“We are eager to receive any new leads from that public, no matter how small. We will investigate all leads to the fullest extent possible,” she said.
Plourde and his family speak with detectives periodically, hoping for any news on Coe.
“It seems like they’re trying to do the best they can,” Plourde said of police efforts.
“The system can only do so much. Do we go out there and investigate it ourselves? Somebody knows something out there, but nobody’s saying anything. We need the public’s help. Without them, this case is not going to be solved.”
Plourde has come to terms with his sister’s death. “I do sense that she’s passed,” he said, relaying a time three years back when he awoke from sleep. “I felt like somebody was in the kitchen. It was Nina.
“I know she’s passed on. Maybe she’s telling me she’s OK. A body is a human body, but when it passes away, the spirit continues on,” Plourde said.
On July 29, 2015, authorities obtained permission from Coe’s daughter to search her mother’s home, and found blood on a mattress and collected a toothbrush, according to court documents.
Just days before her disappearance, Coe filed for a restraining order against Gregory Erhardt, the man she said she was romantically involved with, according to a court affidavit. Police said Coe’s restraining order against Erhardt was not set to expire until summer 2016.
Erhardt was convicted in March 2016 for violation of the restraining order Coe held against him. He was sentenced to 18 months in jail, suspended after seven months, followed by two years probation. He is not charged in her disappearance.
Coe’s other sisters, Barbara and Carol Plourde, said in July 2015 that it was “highly unusual” not to hear from her. Coe was last seen midafternoon after returning from an appointment in “good spirits,” police said at the time.
“It is suspected that she has met with foul play, as it is not in her character to lose contact with her family for such a lengthy period of time,” authorities said after she vanished.
Coe’s family suffered another tragedy on Easter Sunday, when her little sister Julie died of cancer at 52.
“It’s overwhelming. When is it going to end?” asked Plourde, who works a secondshift job. On his drive home, he often finds himself weeping.
His other sister Dale Ocelik was extremely close with Coe. “They were constantly together. Even if they fought, they would forget about it and just go on.”
Plourde still hopes to find peace one day with his sister’s death.
“There’s always a hole in my heart, and that’s not going to be ever sewn. It’s just a tragic loss.”
The state has offered a $20,000 for details leading to the arrest and conviction of an individual who may be responsible for a crime committed against Coe. Anyone with information is asked to call Middletown police at 8606384000.