Human Remains Found In NJ Are Identified As Missing Mom By Bergen County Students

MAHWAH, NJ — Human remains found in North Jersey eight years ago have been confirmed as those of a missing woman who walked out of her home near the Lehigh River in 2014 and hadn't been heard from since.

Students working for a genealogy program at a Bergen County-based college have identified the remains as those of Maria Quinones Garcia of Pennsylvania, who was reported missing in 2014, a college spokesperson said Tuesday.

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On May 21, 2017, a foot with a sock and shoe were discovered by a resident in Pohatcong Township, in Warren County, N.J., the spokesperson said. But no other remains were found, so investigators had little to go on.

In 2023, the New Jersey State Police (NJSP) partnered with the Ramapo College Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG) Center after years of not being able to identify the remains, a spokesperson for the program said Tuesday.

Then, bone remains were sent to Astrea Forensics in Santa Cruz, Calif. to develop a genotype profile. In March of 2024, the profile was uploaded to two DNA databases.

Students in the the Ramapo College Investigative Genetic Genealogy Certificate Program spent a semester investigating.

The students suggested Garcia as a candidate. She was 54 when she went missing in 2014. She was last seen walking away from her home in Allentown, Pa., near the Lehigh River.

The river flows into the Delaware River close to where the foot remains were recovered, the college noted.

Garcia's children had their DNA tested, allowing her identity to be confirmed.

'Identification Brings Answers To Her Loved Ones'

"Although the outcome for the Quinones family is tragic, we hope that Maria's identification brings answers to her loved ones," said Dr. David Gurney, director of the Ramapo College IGG Center. "We are grateful for the opportunity to have made an impact here in New Jersey."

This was the first collaboration between the New Jersey State Police and the IGG program, but the program has worked with law enforcement in other state to help solve 22 cases in the last few years.

They are working on 58 active cases, staff said.

"Thanks to the dedication of our detectives and the groundbreaking work of the students at the Ramapo College Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center, a decade-old mystery has been solved, bringing long-awaited answers to Maria's family," said Col. Patrick Callahan, superintendent of the New Jersey State Police.

"Our students performed outstanding research in this case, not only related to the genetic genealogy [but also] origins of her footwear, geography, and river drainage patterns," said Cairenn Binder, director of the IGG Certificate Program. "This case is an example of how our students' love of difficult research can make a difference."

Other Cases Solved

Read about the other cases:

• Female Artist Was Killed 50 Years Ago. NJ Students Cracked The Case.
• Jawbone In Boy's Rock Collection ID's As That Of Dead Marine By NJ Students