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A plea for help in solving woman's mystery death

Carol Reiff once ran two half-marathons within a month. On her lunch breaks, she routinely pounded out more miles with coworkers.

Dawn Centanni, sitting next to her husband Louis Centanni, reacts on Monday afternoon after telling about the passing of her mother, Carol Reiff. Reiff, 59, was reported missing June 21 and found June 24. Her body was badly decomposed and identified through dental records. (LUKE RAFFERTY/Staff Photographer).
Dawn Centanni, sitting next to her husband Louis Centanni, reacts on Monday afternoon after telling about the passing of her mother, Carol Reiff. Reiff, 59, was reported missing June 21 and found June 24. Her body was badly decomposed and identified through dental records. (LUKE RAFFERTY/Staff Photographer).Read more
    by By Darran Simon, Inquirer Staff Writer
    Published 

Carol Reiff once ran two half-marathons within a month. On her lunch breaks, she routinely pounded out more miles with coworkers.

And Reiff, 59, talked to her daughter as often as she ran. So when Dawn Centanni could not reach her mother one day last month, she quickly got worried.

Centanni's worst fears were realized. On June 24, Reiff's decomposed body was found in a wooded area near her home in the Lakeview Apartments on Lower Landing Road in Gloucester Township. She had been reported missing on June 21 after she did not show up for a planned visit to her daughter's home in Manahawkin.

The case has not been ruled a homicide, but it is being treated as a criminal investigation.

On Monday, Centanni, 38, pleaded for anyone with information to come forward to solve the mystery of her mother's death.

Family and friends quickly raised $4,150. The money will be added to a $1,000 reward already offered by the Citizens' Crime Commission.

"We know there is somebody out there who has information," she told reporters at the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.

"She was a great woman and a great mom," Centanni said.

Centanni said her family was grateful for the donations. "We fully expect that this is just the beginning," she said.

The prosecutor's office and Gloucester Township Police are investigating. Authorities identified Reiff's remains through dental records, but could not immediately determine the cause of death because of the body's poor condition.

Reiff, a Norristown native who grew up in Conshohocken, had last talked to her family on June 20. On June 21, she had planned to travel to Centanni's home in Manahawkin to go to the beach, Centanni said.

When she could not reach her mother that day, Centanni said she got an odd feeling.

"We were so very close. It was not like her to not respond to messages. Even though it was a very small amount of time, she would have contacted me probably several times in that small period," Centanni said.

She said she and her husband called authorities "within a half-an-hour or her not being where she was supposed to be."

Reiff worked in the finance department at Admiral Insurance Company in Cherry Hill.

Cindy Spallina, president of the Southern Ocean Ladies Running Club, said Reiff and Centanni were members. Club members meet monthly in Manahawkin.

She said it was impressive that Reiff ran two half-marathons within a month. "A lot of people don't . . . even dream of it," Spallina said.

Authorities encourage anyone with information to contact Chuck Farrell, an investigator with the prosecutor's office at 856-225-8653, or Gloucester Township Police Detective Bill Westphal at 856-228-4500.

Information can also be sent anonymously to the GTPD Anonymous Crime Tip Line: 856-842-5560.

Contributions to the Carol Reiff Reward Fund may be made by check to the Camden County Prosecutor's Office, 25 North Fifth St., Camden, N.J. 08102. Donors should write the fund' s name on the check.