One morning in 2024, an outdoor enthusiast posted a video of his trip on YouTube. He got on his bike, turned on his camera, and took viewers through a popular forest in New Jersey.
He wants potential visitors to appreciate the tranquil scenery of Brendan T. Byrne State Forest, a sprawling park that spans parts of Burlington and Ocean counties and is popular with campers.
Nearly two years later, he realizes the video recorded that day could provide clues to the mystery of a woman who disappeared days later during a camping trip.
Danielle Lopez of Willingboro was reported missing in April 2024, when she was 37 years old. She told her mother she was camping in a state forest with her boyfriend.
Her disappearance attracted widespread media attention and recently prompted the YouTuber to review his videos from the time. Last month, he realized he might have recorded video of Lopez at her campground three days before she disappeared.
“While clearing the footage, I noticed that both campsites were occupied. For a few seconds, you could see two people in her campsite,” he said in a new video released on Sunday. “As I rode by, I realized I might have captured her on camera without knowing it, and that gave me pause.”
The creator of the @FireandTrails YouTube channel, dedicated to camping and hiking, has included footage from his 2024 ride in a new video, along with commentary describing the discovery.
Lopez’s mother, Sue Quackenbush, said she was convinced the video showed her daughter’s campsite. But she wasn’t sure if the figure seen in the video was the missing woman.
She hopes the video will inspire others to look for possible clues and provide her family with some answers.
“Danielle is loved and missed by so many people every moment of every day,” Quackenbush said.
When contacted for comment on the new video, a New Jersey State Police spokesman said only that “the case remains an active investigation.”
Danielle Lopez is missing
Quackenbush said she last spoke to her daughter on the phone on April 12, 2024. According to Lopez’s mother, she was camping and sounded happy.
The last known sighting of Lopez was a video image recorded the next day.
On the morning of April 13, she was seen leaving a Wawa after buying a cup of coffee on Route 72 in the Vincenttown section of Southampton Township, Burlington County.
According to police, Lopez was spotted by a couple driving on Lost Lane in Woodland Township in southern Burlington County around 6 p.m.
She was walking alone on a road in Pennsylvania State Forest Park, about 12 miles from the campground where she was staying. Police said last year that the couple had a brief conversation with her before driving away and then found her car stuck in a large puddle.
The interaction was recorded on the couple’s GoPro camera, which they shared with police.
Investigators interviewed Lopez’s boyfriend, who said he last saw her on the morning of April 13, police said.
He is currently in state prison on charges unrelated to the missing persons case, according to jail records.
Multiple people who were with Lopez in the days before she disappeared were also interviewed, authorities said.
After watching the new video, Quackenbush said she was convinced it was her daughter’s campground based on the vehicle she recognized.
“Her car was obviously her boyfriend’s, and the motorcycle was definitely her boyfriend’s,” Quackenbush said.
She wasn’t sure what she described as a dark-haired figure wearing pink pants who appeared to be hanging something from a makeshift clothesline at the campsite.
“The photo doesn’t really make it clear that it’s Danielle,” she said.
She spotted a second figure at the campsite but wasn’t sure if it was her daughter’s boyfriend.
“Someone. I don’t know if it was him,” Quackenbush said.
The man who posted the new video footage said he traveled to the Brendan T. Byrne State Forest on April 10, 2024, to document the area for viewers.
“I went through each camping loop, slowly riding my bike past occupied and mostly vacant sites, just trying to capture the feel of the campground for future campers,” he said in the video. “From memory, I don’t recall seeing Danielle that day, or having a clear impression of being at her site or next to anyone.”
He later posted a video of the campground visit, which he didn’t think about until February of this year when he was researching the Lopez case. It took him back to videos from that period.
He declined to be interviewed by NJ.com or use his name, but said he contacted Quackenbush and got her permission to post his new video online. He also shared the video with police and said he hoped it would help with the investigation.
He encouraged others to check their devices for possible clues.
“The Pine Barrens is vast, but the digital footprint is everywhere,” he says in the video. “I ask anyone who was in the area between April 7, 2024 and April 13, 2024 to please check your mobile phones, dash cams and cameras.”
Quackenbush continues to conduct his own detective work on the case, trying to find others who may have footage or photos from the period.
“I contacted other outdoor clubs to ask them to be aware and ask their members to be aware that there were reports of two other individuals posting near Lost Lane and near the campground that day and the day after,” Quackenbush said. “So there’s a lot that police are investigating right now.”
She hopes others can provide helpful information.
“I’m grateful that this video was discovered and I’m grateful to the creator of the YouTube channel that provided it,” she said. “I hope it helps others recall similar encounters and provides more information to get the answers needed to find Danielle.”
Danielle Lopez and siblings
Last November, Quackenbush announced a $25,000 reward for information leading to the “direct or safe finding” of her daughter.
Lopez is described as white, 5 feet 3 inches tall, weighing 125 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair. According to her mother, she had a slight scar on her upper lip.
Anyone with information about Lopez is asked to call the New Jersey State Police at 609-882-2000, extension 175. 2554, or email missingpinformation@njsp.gov.
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