FREEHOLD, N.J. (1010 WINS) — Fifty years after her death, a New Jersey teenager’s remains have been identified, authorities announced Monday.
The 16-year-old girl, Nancy Fitzgerald, went missing in April 1972. She was last seen alive on Easter Sunday having dinner with her family in North Jersey before disappearing.
More than 25 years later, human remains were found near the Henry Hudson Bike trail in Atlantic Highlands during a community clean-up effort on Dec. 10, 1988.
While the remains were examined by a state anthropologist, who found them to be that of a young white female between the ages of 15 and 18, her identity would be not be verified for another three decades.
Years after the remains were found, in the 1990s, a DNA profile was able to be extracted from the bones, but even then the investigation into the identity was unsuccessful.
It wasn’t until 2020 when detectives working on the case contacted a Virginia-based DNA analysis firm to conduct a forensic genealogical review of the case using advanced technology previously unavailable. A distant relative of Fitzgerald’s was able to be located through the search.
From there, the relative was interviewed and agreed to upload DNA from her mother into a database which connected investigators to another woman living in Pennsylvania. That woman turned out to be Fitzgerald’s younger sister. A DNA test confirmed a 99.9997% probability of an immediate familial match to Fitzgerald leading to an official identification.
The missing woman’s known surviving relatives were notified and her remains transferred with burial now pending.
“Today’s announcement marks the culmination of decades of hard work by a network of individuals whose collective determination and ingenuity proved inexhaustible,” Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago said. “In addition to being a testament to their efforts, it’s also reflective of our firm commitment to uncover the truth and serve the interests of justice, regardless of how much time has passed or what investigative obstacles might ever stand in the way.”
Though Fitzgerald’s remains were identified, investigators are still trying to understand how and why she died.
“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, if possible, to hold any living person who may be responsible accountable for it,” Santiago said.
At the time of her death, Fitzgerald’s family was living in a home on Mohr Avenue in Bloomfield after moving there about three years prior from a home on Crown Street in Bloomfield. She attended Bloomfield’s Berkeley Elementary School and North Junior High School (today Bloomfield Middle School).
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.
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