Family & friends ask for help in search for missing Wilmington woman UPDATE

UPDATE (12/27, 5 P.M.): A Wilmington Police spokesman says Karen Ottenburg has been found dead at her residence on Harrison Street. There is NO foul play suspected.

Original post follows:

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — It has been several days since a Wilmington woman was last seen as the search for her continued on Thursday.

49-year-old Karin Rochelle Ottenberg was last seen on Sunday at her home in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Wilmington.

Her mother Anita Morgan said several of Karin’s items, like her phone and purse, were still in the house when she went there later that day.

A Hoggard alum, Ottenberg is a horticulturist at a nursery and has two children, ages 15 and 11.

Shelly Wilkie, a high school friend of Karin’s, said Karin would never have left her kids for any reason.

“It’s not like Karin to leave her children, especially at Christmas,” Wilkie said. “I don’t feel like it would matter if it was a holiday or not, Karin would not leave her children. She is a good mother, she is a daughter, she’s a friend.”

Titus Laney, another long-time friend of Karin’s, said she is a fighter.

“She’s not gonna go with anybody that she doesn’t know without putting up a fight and they’re going to get a heck of a fight,” Laney said. “That’s just not going to happen.”

Wilkie added that she appreciates all of the support people are showing Karin’s family and friends during the search.

“For this community of Sunset Park to kind of come together, it really shows a lot of love for her and every second that goes by that she’s not found is excruciating.”

The Wilmington Police Department is investigating.