Local
Uncle's years-long search ends as niece is identified among Raymond Horsch's alleged victims
Lelia Mae Wright, who disappeared in 2016 after struggling with addiction in Kensington, has been identified as one of seven possible victims linked to Raymond 'R.C.' Horsch, whose Olney home is at the center of an investigation. Her uncle, who spent years trying to get her into treatment, only recently learned she had ended up at Horsch's house on West Chew Avenue.
PHILADELPHIA â For years, Lelia Mae Wright's uncle searched Kensington's streets for her, trying to pull her out of addiction and into treatment. He recently learned that she had ended up at the Olney home of Raymond "R.C." Horsch, where authorities say she became one of seven possible victims connected to the investigation centered on the house on West Chew Avenue.
Wright vanished in 2016. Her family's long effort to find her â including repeated trips to Kensington and attempts to get her into rehab â ended only recently when she was identified as one of the possible victims tied to Horsch, according to information confirmed this week.
The case has focused attention on the home shared by Raymond Horsch and his son, Eugene, on West Chew Avenue in Olney. Authorities have described seven possible victims in connection with the investigation, and Wright is now among them.
For Wright's uncle, the identification closes a painful chapter of searching that began when she disappeared eight years ago. He had spent years trying to get her off the streets of Kensington, a neighborhood long at the center of Philadelphia's opioid crisis, and had taken her to rehab in hopes of helping her recover.
The Horsch investigation has drawn scrutiny to the Olney property and to how vulnerable people â particularly those struggling with addiction â can end up in dangerous situations. Community advocates have long warned that people in active addiction are at heightened risk of exploitation and violence.
The identification of Wright as a possible victim adds a name and a family's story to a case that continues to develop. Authorities have not released further details about the circumstances of her death or how she came to be at the Horsch home.
For now, her uncle's years of searching have ended with a confirmation he had long feared. The investigation into Raymond Horsch and the seven possible victims remains ongoing.