The Mysterious Disappearance of Bill and Lorraine Currier

Bill and Lorraine Currier appear to have vanished, their car found abandoned.

June 14, 2011— -- It's been nearly a week since Bill and Lorraine Currier mysteriously vanished from their small town in Vermont.

"The fact that they've completely disappeared, none of it seems to make any sense," Essex police Lt. Robin Hollwedell told ABCNews.com. "When two good people disappear from town with seemingly no explanation, that's a concern for us."

The couple was last seen by coworkers on Wednesday, June 8, around 5 p.m. They were reported missing by Bill Currier's sister, Diana Smith, the following day.

Smith told ABCNews.com today, "We're praying for their safe return."

The Curriers live in Essex, Vt., a fairly tight community with a population just over 19,000 and their absence was noticed immediately.

When Lorraine didn't show up for work on Thursday, Hollwedell said the people she worked with were concerned. Police contacted Bill's employer and found he wasn't at work either.

Bill Currier, 49, is an animal care technician at the University of Vermont, and Lorraine Currier, 55, works at Fletcher Allen Health Care.

Hollwedell said they weren't the kind of people who didn't call in if they were going to miss work.

"They were very good about being at work, didn't take a lot of time off," he said.

On Friday police found the Curriers' car abandoned in an apartment building's parking lot, about a mile from their home.

They consider the couple's disappearance suspicious, in part because police say they appear to have left behind their daily medication.

Police told the Associated Press the bank accounts of the couple, as well as the mobile phones registered to William and Lorraine Currier, have gone unused.

Neighbors Perplexed By Vermont Couple's Disappearance

Diana Smith declined today to discuss the case of her missing brother and his wife in detail, but shortly after they disappeared she read a statement imploring anyone with information about them to come forward.

"Bill and Lorraine Currier are kind and caring people, beloved members of our families. We are heartbroken by their disappearance and at a loss to explain or understand it," she said. "Bill and Lorraine, if you can hear this, know that we love you and that we're doing everything we know how to do to find you and bring you home."

Neighbor Edwin Shipley, 72, who lives two houses down from the Curriers, said the couple moved into the neighborhood about five years ago. Occasionally he exchanged small talk with Bill Currier, describing him as "a quiet kind of guy, but friendly enough."

"We're all pretty perplexed about it," he said.

Shipley added he saw relatives visit the Curriers "all the time."

"I know they would always have company. Sometimes there would be a small bus on Sunday mornings," he said, speculating that it might have been for a religious service.

Wendy James, 57, a high school teacher who lives near the Curriers said the couple's disappearance has been upsetting. She remembered they always celebrated the holidays with a lot of decorations, particularly at Christmas.

"It's disconcerting and troubling because it's a pretty quiet, friendly neighborhood," she said.

Anyone with information about the couple, especially in relation to their travels on Wednesday, should call the Essex, Vt. Police Department at 802-878-8331.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.