By Michael V. Cusenza
Seemingly steady and unflappable, like that of a U.S. Army sergeant who survived two deployments, Sean McCabe’s voice is at once fatigued and determined, forever forging forward, his cadence drenched in hope.
He needs it—hope. His siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles do these days. Because the McCabe clan, from Ozone Park, is staring down the most daunting task any family will ever have to face: the battle for the soul of Sean’s sister, Audrey, 41, who has been missing for several weeks.
“It’s been a downward spiral for a number of years now,” Sean sighed in a Tuesday evening telephone interview with The Forum. He’s referring to Audrey’s increasingly self-destructive behavior, replete with a number of run-ins with the law stemming from heavy drinking and drug use.
Four years ago, Audrey—who along with Sean and Patrick comprise the McCabe triplets—decided to leave the cacophony of chaos that is South Queens for the quieter confines of Suffolk County. She moved in with their aunt Ginger in Wading River, N.Y.
“But it was the same old song-and-dance out there,” Sean said. The self-medicating continued, and Audrey was arrested again.
On Tuesday, March 4, Sean received a call from Aunt Ginger informing him that she hadn’t seen or heard from Audrey in days. The Riverhead Police Department established an active missing person investigation.
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Audrey McCabe was last seen on Sunday, March 16, inside Penn Station.
The last time Audrey communicated with Sean was via text message on March 2.
“She [wrote] ‘Hey, just checking in,’” Sean said. The last time he heard her voice was on Feb. 26.
Until this past Sunday, Audrey was last seen around 9 a.m. on Friday, March 7, in Jamaica at a friend’s house. On Sunday night, Audrey was spotted in Penn Station by another friend.
“I can only figure she’s feeling more and more isolated,” he posited.
According to Riverhead cops, the last signal activity that emanated from Audrey’s phone occurred at 1 a.m. on March 13 in Harlem.
Still, the flame of hope has not been extinguished.
“The Penn Station thing—that’s the best piece of hope I’ve had in weeks,” Sean said. “Before Penn I was worried sick: Is she being taken advantage of? Is she in the hospital? Is she in the morgue?”
Asked why he and his family have decided to go public, Sean doesn’t hesitate with his answer.
“I hope she sees this,” he said. “No matter what the problem is, we’ll fix it together.”
Audrey Catherine McCabe is described as 41 years old, 4-feet-10-inches, 110 pounds with dirty blonde hair and blue-green eyes; she was last seen wearing a black leather jacket, dark leggings or sweatpants, a black knit hat and aviator sunglasses.
Anyone with information on Audrey’s whereabouts, or if you see her, call 911 or Det. Matthew Sgambati at (917) 885-7603.
