GoFundMe Set For Beloved South Jersey Mom Found Dead Near Jersey City Border

HUDSON COUNTY, NJ — After relatives expressed concerns over a beloved family member who was last seen in downtown Jersey City on Saturday, Norelis "Nora" Mendoza, 32, was found dead in Bayonne Wednesday morning, near the Jersey City border.

[UPDATE: Mendoza's ex-boyfriend has been charged with her murder; read more here.]

A GoFundMe set up for Mendoza, a mother of two toddlers, on Thursday.

Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez's office said that the Homicide Unit and the Jersey City Police Department are investigating Mendoza's death, which is considered suspicious.

Mendoza, a resident of Lindenwold in Camden County, was found near Route 440, prosecutors said.

On the GoFundMe, organizers wrote, "Norelis left her mother's home In Jersey City expressing her love and that she would see her soon. That was the last time that she was seen by a loved one.

"Norelis never returned home and was reported missing the very next day on Sunday, May 14th which was Mother’s Day. The authorities got involved but more importantly it was the help from social media to make our political leaders aware that she was not just a picture of a missing person but she was a real person. A mother, daughter, sister, aunt, niece, cousin, and friend. On Tuesday, May 16th they were able to get a break in her case to find camera footage of where she was during the time of telling her mother bye for the last time and also the person she was with during her last hours and minutes."

Family members and friends had posted on social media about their search for their loved one earlier in the week.

"Please god please return my sister home safe. We are falling apart sis," wrote a family member. "We need you. If anyone knows anything please speak up. I’m begging."

"It’s been 4 long sleepless nights. We just need my lil cousin back home safe & sound," posted a relative early Wednesday.

"You never think anything like this will happen to your family," wrote another.

A nonprofit organization asked people to respect the family's privacy while they grieve.

A police poster and posts on social media said Mendoza had been last seen at her mother's residence in downtown Jersey City on Saturday evening.

The GoFundMe can be found here.

Was A Mom Of 2

News outlets reported that Mendoza was a mom of a 3- and a 1-year-old. They also reported that family members are concerned that she was a victim of domestic violence.

If so, she would be the fifth woman killed in Hudson County in a domestic violence incident so far this year. Read more about domestic violence in New Jersey this year here.

The Hudson County Prosecutor's Office said Wednesday, "On Sunday, May 14, 2023, the Jersey City Police Department received a missing person report for a 32-year-old Lindenwold woman who was last seen in Jersey City on Saturday, May 13, 2023. During the course of the investigation, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit – with assistance from the Jersey City Police Department, Bayonne Police Department, and New Jersey State Police – located the lifeless body of a female off of Route 440 near the Jersey City border on Thursday, May 17, 2023."

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Office of the Hudson County Prosecutor at 201-915-1345 or to leave an anonymous tip at:
http://www.hudsoncountyprosecutorsofficenj.org/homicide-tip/. All information will be kept
confidential.