Identified! NJ - Atlantic Highlands, WhtFem 15-20, UP1458, Skeletal on hillside, Dec'88 - Nancy Carol Fitzgerald

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

Atlantic Highland Jane Doe was discovered 33 years ago today. Let's hope this marks her final year spent as a Jane Doe.

Called it! (but only barely!)

 

[chaddylex]

I just saw the Charley Project posted that she has been identified. So glad she has her name back and closure for her family.

Skeletal Remains Solve 50-Year-Old Mystery Of Missing NJ Teen

Human remains found in Atlantic Highlands have now been identified as a 16-year-old NJ teen girl who went missing in 1972.

patch.com

Skeletal Remains Solve 50-Year-Old Mystery Of Missing NJ Teen​

Human remains found in Atlantic Highlands have now been identified as a 16-year-old NJ teen girl who went missing in 1972.​

Carly Baldwin,Patch Staff

Posted Mon, Dec 5, 2022 at 12:42 pm ET|Updated Mon, Dec 5, 2022 at 1:44 pm ET

A stretch of the Henry Hudson Trail in Atlantic Highlands, in this photo from the Monmouth County Parks System. (Monmouth County Parks System)
MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Human remains found along the Henry Hudson Trail in Atlantic Highlands in 1988 have now been positively identified as a 16-year-old North Jersey girl who went missing in 1972.
The news was announced Monday morning by Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago, who said his team solved "a 50-year-old mystery."
After decades of DNA analysis — including using new scientific techniques that have only recently been made available — the skeletal remains found along the Henry Hudson Trail have been identified as Nancy Carol Fitzgerald, who disappeared when she was 16 years old and living in Bloomfield.
However, the prosecutor said they still have no idea how the teen girl died — or who was responsible for her death.

The teen girl was last seen by her family when she sat down with them for Easter Sunday dinner on April 2, 1972. She disappeared the next day, and was never seen or heard from again.

Fitzgerald’s known surviving relatives have been notified, and the remains have been sent to them so she can be buried.
At the time of her disappearance, the teen was living with her family on Mohr Avenue in Bloomfield (Essex County), having moved there from a home on Crown Street in Bloomfield about three years earlier. She attended Bloomfield’s Berkeley Elementary School and North Junior High School (today Bloomfield Middle School).
“While we are encouraged the identification was made, this is ultimately a puzzle that will remain unfinished until we locate the final missing piece: the circumstances behind Nancy’s death,” said Santiago. “We are urging anyone who may have any information whatsoever to come forward and tell us what they know. Ms. Fitzgerald’s peers would all likely be in their 60s today, so we firmly believe that it is not too late to determine what happened to her and why – and hold any living person accountable.”
Human remains found along Henry Hudson Trail in 1998
The skeletal remains were found near Bayside Drive in Atlantic Highlands on December 10, 1988. There was a community clean-up happening at the trail that day, and one of the volunteers found a gruesome discovery: Human bones.
The Henry Hudson Bike Trail is a popular biking and walking trail that winds through Monmouth County. However, long stretches of it are remote, and it winds through wooded and isolated areas.
Forensic anthropologist Donna Fontana, who works for the state, ultimately concluded that the remains belonged to a young white female, between the ages of 15 and 18, who had probably been dead since sometime around the mid-1970s.
In the 1990s, a DNA profile was obtained from the remains and used for comparison purposes, however that also remained unsuccessful in obtaining an identity. The remains were named "Jane Doe."
But detectives with the Monmouth County Prosecutor never forgot about the teenage girl, or her case.
It wasn't until 2020 that Lt. Andrea Tozzi and Detective Wayne Raynor contacted a Virginia-based DNA analysis firm, Bode Technology, in order to pursue a forensic genealogical review of the case using technology far more advanced than had been previously available.
That new testing matched the bones to a distant relative, a woman living in Georgia.
The relative agreed to an interview, and thereafter agreed to upload DNA from her own mother into a Bode database, which then led to the identification of a woman living in Pennsylvania, believed to be Jane Doe’s younger sister.
That woman was interviewed in August of this year and also agreed to provide a DNA sample. It was this past November that her DNA sample indicated a 99.9997-percent probability of an immediate familial match to Jane Doe.
Dr. Lauren Thoma, deputy medical examiner with the Middlesex Regional Medical Examiner’s Office, then reviewed the new information and made an official identification of the remains as belonging to Nancy Fitzgerald.
“Today’s announcement marks the culmination of decades of hard work by a network of individuals," said the prosecutor. “In addition to being a testament to their efforts, it’s also reflective of our commitment to uncover the truth and serve the interests of justice, regardless of how much time has passed."
Anyone with information about Fitzgerald is urged to contact MCPO Detective Raynor at 800-533-7443 or Atlantic Highlands Police Department Lt. Michael Zudonyi at 732-291-1212.
Anyone who feels the need to remain anonymous but has information about this or any crime can submit a tip to Monmouth County Crime Stoppers by calling their confidential telephone tip-line at 1-800-671-4400; by downloading and using the free P3 Tips mobile app (available on iOS and Android – Tip Form), by calling 800-671-4400, or by going to the website at www.monmouthcountycrimestopper...
The Monmouth County Prosecutor's office said it would like to sincerely thank the following for working on this case: NJ State Police Forensic Anthropology Unit, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Middlesex Regional Medical Examiner’s Office, Cobb County (Georgia) Sheriff’s Office, Atlantic Highlands Police Department, Bloomfield Police Department and Bode Technology.

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[YaYa_521]

You finally have your name back. May you now rest in peace, Nancy.

 

[HmmMysterious]

An article that has more details about Nancy's life and circumstances leading up to her disappearance.
She was troubled and was in the wrong crowd.

'I just want to hold her': Atlantic Highlands bones ID'd 50 years after NJ teen vanished

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

contacted a Virginia-based DNA analysis firm, Bode Technology, in order to pursue a forensic genealogical review of the case using technology far more advanced than had been previously available.

Hasn't most, if not all, forensic genealogy NJ cases been solved through Bode Technology (with assistance from Astrea Forensics every once in a while)?

 

[taramarie]

What a sad story. I hope her loved ones can eventually find peace.

RIP Nancy

 

[iamshadow21]

Sleep well, Nancy.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

An article that has more details about Nancy's life and circumstances leading up to her disappearance.
She was troubled and was in the wrong crowd.

'I just want to hold her': Atlantic Highlands bones ID'd 50 years after NJ teen vanished

Now, Unterberger has no photos of her sister. The ones she did have were given to the police or destroyed in a basement flood.

 

[theshadow45]

RIP Nancy.

 

[SimsGuy67]

I looked for a photo of Nancy Carol, but couldn't find one yet. May you rest easy now.

The photo wasn't her, The photo I found was a Nancy Marie Fitzgerald. Still looked very similar to the NCMEC reconstruction though. Rest in peace Nancy...

 

[phantomstrider]

RIP Nancy.

 

[HmmMysterious]

I believe I found the drug dealer who groomed Nancy and gave her drugs. He was sentenced to life in prison in the 80's for killing his cousin and 2 other women for cheating in their cocaine business. His name is Sebastian Montuori.

 

[HmmMysterious]

I believe I found the drug dealer who groomed Nancy and gave her drugs. He was sentenced to life in prison in the 80's for killing his cousin and 2 other women for cheating in their cocaine business. His name is Sebastian Montuori.

 

[HmmMysterious]

Now, Unterberger has no photos of her sister. The ones she did have were given to the police or destroyed in a basement flood.

Photo from New Jersey Channel 12

 

[iamshadow21]

View attachment 386022

Photo from New Jersey Channel 12

Oh, there you are, sweetheart! What a cutie. <3

 

[victoriarobinson642]

Perspective and color corrected.

 

[HmmMysterious]

View attachment 386033Perspective and color corrected.

Thank you so much for fixing it Victoria. @hoshiiiii can you make this the lead image for Nancy's article on Unidentified Wiki?

 

[hoshiiiii]

Done!

 

[HmmMysterious]

Done!

Thank you

 

[CCJD]

View attachment 386022

Photo from New Jersey Channel 12

Link?