LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — Officials in Luzerne County are trying to solve a decades-old cold case.
Ilonka Cann, 20, disappeared in 1970.
Her husband, Charles Cann, said he last saw her on May 26 at their home in Huntington Township. Her body was never found.
State police believe Charles Cann may have traveled to the area of Hackettstown, New Jersey, where his parents lived, around the time of his wife's disappearance.
The state police said the circumstances surrounding her disappearance are suspicious, and they are treating the investigation as a homicide.
In October, a court declared Ilonka Cann legally dead as of May 25, 1977.
Next month, there will be a coroner's inquest in Luzerne County to try and determine how Cann may have died. A jury will be empaneled and the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office will be presenting witnesses and evidence on behalf of the Commonwealth.
In July 2022, the state police drained two ponds and excavated an island on the Cann's property. It was not clear if they found anything. Divers searched the ponds decades earlier and found no sign of her.