Candlelight Vigil Held for Lauterbach, Unborn Child

The crowd gathered at Northeast Creek Park for a candlelight vigil in memory of Lauterbach, whose remains, along with those of her unborn baby, were found last week in a shallow pit in the back yard of Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean.

"It truly touches me to see that so many people cared about this young woman," said Cristal Romeo, 21, of Jacksonville, who organized the vigil.

Among those who attended was Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown.

"The stress to find her and her unborn baby is stress I have not felt in a long time," Brown said. "It is very tragic and I was very much hoping to announce that she had been seen alive on the first day, but six hours later, we had the terrible discovery of her death."

Those who attended the 45-minute ceremony could sign a banner for Lauterbach at the entrance to the baseball field at the park. The banner, and the gifts left during the vigil, will be sent to Lauterbach's family in Ohio.

Amanda Smith said her husband was in Lauterbach's unit and had met her a few times.

"I have been in Jacksonville for two years, and this is a terribly tragedy," Smith said. "I can't believe that Marines can do this to each other."

Authorities say Lauterbach died of blunt force trauma to the head around Dec. 15 and are searching for Laurean, 21, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Mexico. They believe he is in Mexico, hiding from an arrest warrant that charges him with Lauterbach's death.

The hunt for Laurean is expected to intensify this weekend as national TV show “America’s Most Wanted” profiles the case. He is already featured on the show’s Web site.