LOCAL

Police assist families' search for missing NJ's

Suzanne Russell
Courier News and Home News Tribune
Amanda Carroll

Amanda Rae Carroll, 20, was last seen at her Raritan Township home on May 1, 2000.

The next morning, Carroll, the mother of two young girls, spent time on the internet talking to friends and called a friend in Canada as she was preparing to relocate to Arizona to live with her father and daughters.

She hasn't been seen or heard from in the 17 years since. There has been no activity involving her bank account or Social Security number, according to police.

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Her husband, Matthew Carroll, a Marine sergeant who worked as a recruiter in Somerville and the Iselin section of Woodbridge, reported her missing after returning from a trip to his parents' home in New York with the couple's children.

Carroll, described as 5-foot-6, about 145 to 150 pounds with red hair, brown hazel eyes, a tattoo of a sun and moon on her right ankle, floral pattern tattoo on the back of her neck, pierced ears, wearing a white shirt and jeans and gold rings, is one of many people missing in New Jersey.

According to the New Jersey State Police, between 14,000 and 16,000 people are reported missing in New Jersey every year. Since 1969, there are more than 1,100 unsolved missing persons cases statewide and more than 300 investigations of unidentified human remains.

On Saturday, the New Jersey State Police will host a free event geared to help police identify the missing and bring them home.

The event, called Missing in New Jersey, will be from 1 to 5 p..m. at the Rutgers University College Avenue Student Center, 126 College Ave., New Brunswick.

Families, friends, communities and organizations working to locate those missing in New Jersey are invited to attend and pre-register to ensure their loved ones are commemorated in a candlelight vigil and slideshow, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey and Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police Col. Joseph R. Fuentes.

Those interested in attending are asked to bring two biological relatives — one male and one female — of the missing person, along with any identifying documents such as police reports, dental and body X-rays, doctor and dental information and photographs.

The event will give families and friends of missing people a place to gather to heal, network, learn and keep their hope alive. Families will be able to provide biometric dates, which are used to help solve missing persons cases and unidentified human remains.

 Those unsure about their own origins and background can submit DNA that could be linked to an unidentified child abduction case, according to the New Jersey State Police.

Raritan Township Police Lt. Ben Donaruma said he has spent about seven to 10 years looking for Carroll, a search that has taken him as far as Michigan.

He said no suspect has been identified, no arrest made and no body found. He said every lead has been investigated to the fullest extent.

"We left no stone unturned," said Donaruma, the lead detective in the case. "We exhausted all means."

News reports at the time of Carroll's disappearance indicated that police did not think it was an act of random foul play. Her husband was considered a key suspect, but there was not enough evidence to charge him.

According to Donaruma, at the time of Carroll's disappearance, she was in divorce proceedings and planning to move to Arizona with her daughters. Her father, who lived in Arizona, has since died, and her daughters, now young adults, live in Pennsylvania.

Donaruma said the older daughter contacted him when she turned 18 to inquire about her mother's disappearance.

"We'd like to get closure on this case and for the family, as well," Donaruma said.

According to the New Jersey State Police Missing Persons Unit website, besides Carroll, there are 15 other missing Central Jersey residents.

In Middlesex County:

  • Demetrius Brian Branham, 46, was last seen on June 22, 2015. The website include no other information about his disappearance;
  • Emely Yolibeth Gamez Lopez, 15, was last seen May 13, 2011 at her Piscataway home;
  • Vishwaram Suntharesan, 9, was last seen at his Piscataway home. He is believed to have been taken to India by his noncustodial mother;
  • Hazura Singh, 31, was last seen Jan. 18, 2010 in Old Bridge;
  • Identical twins Albert and Alfred Jacob, 9, were last seen in Plainsboro on April 10, 2009. They are believed to have been taken to India by their noncustodial father;
  • Beata Rembisz, 38, was last seen Nov. 27, 2005 at her Woodbridge home;
  • William L. Meehan, 32, was last seen April 28, 2000 driving north on Route 35 in Belmar leaving MacLearie Park;
  • Maryanne Ruffini, 27, was last seen Jan. 28, 1996 at her home in Edison.

In Somerset County:

  • Margaret Haddicon-McEnroe, 29, of Warren was last seen Oct. 9, 2006;
  • Thomas E. Hazen, 62, was last seen Feb. 9, 2003 at his Bridgewater home.

In Union County:

  • Aaron Watkins, 18, was last seen Nov. 11, 2007 in Plainfield;
  • Jilardo Rojas-Rivera, 37, was last seen Jan. 13, 2007 at his home in Rahway;
  • Wayne Bacon, 46, was last seen March 15, 2006 in Plainfield;
  • William Jamison, 33, who was last seen March 27, 1981 in Linden.

Additional infomation about the missing Central Jersey residents is available here.

Anyone with information about the missing persons should call the New Jersey State Police Missing Persons Unit at 609-882-2000, ext. 2554, or email missingp@gw.njsp.org.  

For additional information about Missing in New Jersey and to register, contact Sgt. Joel Trella at 609-882-2000, ext. 2554, or email NJMissing@gw.njsp.org.

Staff Writer Suzanne Russell: 732-565-7335; srussell@mycentraljersey.com