Community pitches in to help find missing Cape Coral mother

Wednesday marks two months since Cape Coral mother Lauren Dumolo went missing. Now, thanks to a kindhearted donor, there’s an $8,000 reward in exchange for information on her whereabouts.

For Lauren Dumolo’s family, the past two months have been hard. “Not knowing is horrible,” said Paul Dumolo, Lauren’s father.

Seeing Lauren’s father and the rest of her family plead for her safe return has inspired many. The community has organized search parties and held vigils. Now, one small business owner has decided to pledge $5,000 in addition to the $3,000 offered by Crime Stoppers.

James Edgar, owner of Sand Dollar Shelling, was touched by the Dumolo family’s story.

“I have three kids and I have a daughter around her age, and I just couldn’t imagine the pain and suffering that the family is going through,” Edgar said. “Our main intention was really to get other people to jump on the bandwagon and escalate that reward figure.”

Edgar’s idea of getting other people involved might just be working. Danielle Langevin is organizing an event called “We Ride for Lauren” to raise money for the reward as well.

“There will be food, a silent auction, raffles, so it’s going to be a really nice time, and the hope is that we are able to raise more money, keep her story out there,” Langevin said.

Lauren’s family and those who volunteer for search parties hope that more money will lead to more answers in her disappearance.

“We always hope that people will come forward and share information because it’s the right thing to do, but at the end of the day, we know that sometimes, money talks,” said Trish Routte with Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers.

As for Lauren’s father, he still hopes every day that she’s alive and safe. “I’ll never give up hope that she’s alive somewhere until I know otherwise.”