Susan Capino’s Homecoming, 24 Years Later
After 24 years, Susan Capino’s remains were quietly returned to her family in Harpers Ferry on Sept. 19, 2025. The service was private; the investigation into her 1997 death remains open, and police still seek tips.
Editor’s note: This post is adapted from previous reporting on this case and from interviews with Susan Capino’s family and the West Virginia State Police. Many of you have followed this case through my earlier piece, What Happened to Susan Capino? This is an update, along with ways the community can help.
On Sept. 19, 2025, in a quiet room at Eackles-Spencer & Norton Funeral Home in Harpers Ferry, Susan Capino finally came home. The service was brief and private by design, focused on her memory and the family’s need for a simple goodbye.
Attendance was intentionally small, limited to her mother, Joyce Lonas, and her sisters, Audrey Hess and Samanatha Austin. The pastor offered a short Christian reflection about salvation and the harm violence leaves behind. There was no music and no eulogies, only a blessing and time for the family to stand with the photographs. A family-made photo board stood at the front of the room, ordinary snapshots and school portraits gathered with care. After a short wait for a sibling who could not be present, the service opened with prayer. Cremation had been completed, and Susan’s remains were present in an urn. The meaning of the day was not in ceremony so much as in the homecoming itself, a step the family has awaited since 2001, when her remains were first recovered across the state line.
“We kept this one small because the community had its chance to say goodbye in 2001,” Hess said.
Susan vanished from her Jefferson County home in 1997. Four years later, cadets searching a ravine near Keys Gap, Virginia, discovered remains that were identified as hers. The cause was blunt force trauma. No arrest followed, and the remains stayed in West Virginia custody until their return in 2025.
In August, investigators told the family the return was imminent once final paperwork cleared. “This call felt more serious than past ones,” Hess said. She believes recent attention helped move things forward. The West Virginia State Police has not linked the decision to media coverage.
The family’s frustration stretches back decades. They describe what they saw as an early and sustained focus on Susan’s stepfather, Richard Lonas. Contemporary coverage at the time identified Lonas as the last person known to have seen her alive, based on his account and the lack of other reports then. The family now says several relatives also saw Susan that night. Her mother, Joyce Lonas, has consistently maintained his innocence, saying in a June 2025 interview that she would have called police herself if she believed he was involved. Richard Lonas died in June 2024 and was never charged. State police have not named a suspect and declined to discuss specific individuals.
According to Sgt. M. C. Morgan of the West Virginia State Police, a renewed review that began around 2023 reassessed whether holding Susan’s remains still served investigative needs. He said he inherited the matter as a cold case. Morgan said the remains were recovered in Loudoun County, Virginia, in 2001 and transferred to West Virginia that year, and that the case was presented to a grand jury years ago without an indictment. The investigation remains open, and the agency welcomes tips and may resubmit items for testing if newer forensic methods warrant it.
“I’m glad we were able to get Susan’s remains back to the family. I hope that brings them some closure,” Morgan said.
The family also wants clarity about who else has been seriously examined. They questioned how investigators determined that the deceased owner of the property where Susan was found was not involved, and whether that person’s associates were fully vetted. “We want to know who else they actually looked at,” Hess said. The state police say the investigation is active and would not discuss specific steps.
With Susan home, the family is still asking for answers. Even a small remembered detail can matter after so many years.
How to share information
- West Virginia State Police, Charles Town Detachment
304-725-9779 • [email protected] - Online tips: visit wvsp.gov and select “Submit Online Tip.” Please reference “Susan Capino.”
- Memories or photos: If you knew Susan and are willing to share memories or photographs for future coverage, contact me at the email on this site.
If you need background on the case timeline and prior reporting, see What Happened to Susan Capino?.