Area residents

Area residents

Mn search for

Keva woman

Sarah Johnson Compton of Reva Park in Culpepei County has been missing for nearly a month.

For her relatives and her husband’s relatives in Rappahannock County it has been a month of worry and activity.

Mrs. Compton, 66, disappeared July 5 after attending her aerobics class at Lakeside Swim Club and visiting the Culpeper Food Lion. She was last seen, according to information developed by investigators, about 12:30 p.m. at the Food Lion store on U.S. 29 Business on the west side of town.

When she hadn’t returned home by late afternoon her husband Robert Compton, 72, became worried. They were supposed to go out for dinner that evening to celebrate his birthday.

According to Carson Johnson of Sperryville, Mrs. Compton’s first cousin, Mr. Compton then called his sister who was supposed to join them for dinner. They tried to report the disappearance to the Culpeper County Sheriffs Department, but during much of that night their phone wasn’t working due to an electrical storm.

Since then the only real break in the case came when Mrs. Compton’s purse was found in Madison County on Route 230, near the intersection with U.S. 15 at Madison Mills.

However, Mr. Johnson and several members of the Brown family, relatives of Mr. Compton, have been involved visiting Mr. Compton and his sons, calling regularly to keep informed. They have also helped to distribute the missing posters which have cropped in most of the country stores around Rappahannock County.

On Saturday, July 21 many joined in a search of about 500 acres around the Comptons’ farm.

Mr. Compton told Mr. Johnson that Culpeper Sheriff Robert Peters felt a search of the area around the home might be useful but he didn’t have the manpower for such an operation. He was asking for volunteers to help. The area in Madison County where the purse was found had already been searched.

By SHARON KILPATRICK

Rappahannock Ncwi Staff Writer

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See MISSING, p. 14