FBI Offers New $10K Reward For Student Missing From North Jersey

NORTH JERSEY — Five years ago, Mayushi Bhagat walked out of her apartment in Jersey City and pajama pants, and was never seen again.

Her family and friends started a fundraiser to find her soon after her disappearance, saying they'd exhausted all leads. But nearly five years later, they still have no answers.

Last month, the Newark Field Office of the FBI issued a new $10,000 reward for information about the student.

"The FBI Newark Field Office and the Jersey City Police Department are asking for the public’s help in solving the disappearance of a woman from Jersey City in 2019," they wrote on their webpage last month. "Mayushi was last seen the evening leaving her apartment in Jersey City on April 29, 2019. She was wearing colorful pajama pants and a black t-shirt. Her family reported her missing to police on May 1, 2019."

They added, "Mayushi was born in India on July 12, 1994. She was in the U.S. on an F1 student visa, studying at the New York Institute of Technology. She speaks English, Hindi, and Urdu.

"Detectives say she has friends in South Plainfield, New Jersey. She has brown eyes, black hair, 5’10”, and was around 155 lbs. at the time of her disappearance."

Personal Information

Friends started a fundraiser soon after Bhagat disappeared, saying, "The search for Mayushi has taken an emotional and financial toll on the family including substantial legal and investigative fees."

Bhagat came to the United States in 2016 and was enrolled in classes in the University of New Hampshire before transferring to the New York Institute of Technology, the FBI has said.

A story in 2019 in the Times of India gave more information. It said that the parents had been living in the United States for a few months when Bhagat disappeared, and her brother had recently arrived to study in the country.

The story said Bhagat had texted to her father via Whatsapp at 12:30 a.m. on May 1 that she was okay, but would not be returning until May 3.

However, her father told a different publication that he didn't believe she wrote the message, and that the language didn't sound like her.

Her parents tried to call her on May 1, but only got voicemail.

That's when her father contacted the Jersey City police asking for help.

The police have asked for anyone who'd been in contact with her to reach out to them.

“I just do not understand why she would not contact us at all after so many weeks," her dad told Hi India. in 2019. "She was very happy with her life. She had secured an excellent job in California with a company that had agreed to file her H1B visa."

A crime blogger posted these photos and some personal details.

You can see the GoFundMe here.

The FBI only added Bhagat to their missing persons list in 2022: READ MORE: FBI Adds Mayushi Bhagat To Missing Persons List

The missing person poster can be found at: https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/kidnap/mayushi-bhagat.

Anyone with information about Mayushi, her whereabouts or disappearance, is asked to call the FBI Newark at 973-792-3000, or the Jersey City Police Department at 855-JCP-TIPS (527-8477). They could receive a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to her location or recovery.