Mt. Laurel mom still missing, husband being sought

MT. LAUREL, N.J. (WPVI) -- Police and family members are pleading for help finding a young mother of two who has been missing since December - and now it appears her husband is missing, too.

Erica Crippen Crosby, 26, was last seen with her husband, Kyle Crosby, at the PJ Whelihan's restaurant in Cherry Hill on December 30th.

Family members gathered Friday night to hold signs expressing their love and to search for her.

Erica's family believes she is a victim of foul play.

They say she wouldn't just get up and leave her two young daughters behind.

"It's definitely not like her," Erica's cousin Barbara Kellam told Action News. "She has a 2-month-old daughter and a 7-year-old daughter also. She's a mother first. She would never leave her kids."

A friend showed us the last text she received from Erica that night. It read "Hey girl we need to talk."

Her family also says Kyle Crosby was supposed to pick up the 7-year-old from school on Wednesday but never showed up.

And now they say they can't get a hold of him.

Erica's family says Kyle was questioned by police but disappeared shortly afterward. They say he disconnected his phone and hasn't shown up for work.

The family said when they went into the house Wednesday night, they found her coat, her pocketbook and car keys.

"We did see rubber gloves inside the sink, the shower curtain was torn down, there was no sheets on the bed, the house was torn up. The girl doesn't live like that," Kellam said.

Family members say investigators could have done more to question Kyle before he went missing.

"The moment all of this came about they should've held him for 48 hours and got all the warrants they needed - that's called negligence on their behalf," said Clarence Sanders, cousin.

Also missing is Erica's cranberry-colored red Ford Taurus with primer paint on the passenger-side door and fender. It was parked outside of her house on Wednesday night, her family said, until police showed up to investigate.

"The car was right out front. I told the officer, I said 'I have a bad feeling. Every time I go by this car I have a bad feeling she is in the trunk and can you check it?" said Kellam. She indicated police told her they were waiting for a search warrant.

Erica and Kyle got married last summer. Her friends and family say they later found out he had just recently gotten out of jail.

Court records show Kyle Crosby has a lengthy rap sheet for drug offense and aggravated assault.

At 10:30 p.m. on the night she was last seen, Erica updated her Facebook page, but there have been no postings since then. Previously she had posted on Facebook almost every day.

Her husband's last post was on January 2nd with the message: "I need a babysitter for the girls! Does anyone know a reliable one? Please let me know."

The victim's family fears that she's dead.

"If you killed my sister, let me bury my sister, let me do that at least. You can run, I don't care if you get away, I want to bury my sister, I want her home," said Janiya Crippen, sister.

Erica is described as 5'3", 105 pounds, with brown eyes and sometimes gray colored contacts. She has straight black hair with red highlighted tips.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Mt. Laurel Police at 856-234-1414.