NEWPORT BEACH : Daughter Is Gone, Then Cancer Hits

Comforting each other during the hard times was a big part of mother and daughter Ione and Denise Huber’s lives.

Today, more than 16 months after Ione last saw her daughter, she longs for that support. Ione Huber, 49, underwent a mastectomy this week after developing a breast tumor. Doctors are conducting tests to make sure the cancer hasn’t spread.

Denise disappeared on June 3, 1991, on her way home from a concert. Her car was found on the Corona del Mar Freeway, just 2 1/2 miles from the Hubers’ Newport Beach home, with a flat tire.

Denise, who will turn 25 this month, still is missing and neither her family nor authorities have a clue as to what happened to her.

For Ione Huber, the mystery is tormenting.

“Whatever is going to happen to me is going to happen,” she said. The breast cancer, “in comparison to what we (Ione and her husband, Denise’s father, Dennis) have been through, is no major thing. But, it isn’t easy either. I wish Denise were here. She’d be a good support.”

But her daughter is not around and times have only become worse, Ione said.

Over the past year, Ione Huber has slipped in and out of depression. Now, holidays are approaching for the second time without Denise.

“This isn’t easy,” she said. “I miss Denise all the time. No one could fill this void.”

Police investigators offer no consolation. The police investigation, a private detective’s efforts, a host of psychics, an extensive ground search by family and friends, media coverage, and ongoing distribution of flyers and bumper stickers have failed to produce any information.

Bones matching Denise’s stature were found in Indio last year, but police say they don’t believe they were hers. But an out-of-state DNA specialist currently is trying to determine, in a time-consuming process, whether the bones’ genetic fingerprint matches Denise.

“As time goes on, I realize Denise is probably not alive,” Ione Huber said. “Just to know and not have to constantly wonder what happened would be easier to handle than this mystery.

“I know somebody somewhere knows something,” she added. “I just hope that their conscience will make them come forward with some information, even anonymously. We need to know. . . . This, by far, overshadows any other pain.”