Missing Middletown Man a Victim of Bullying, His Family Says

Middletown, NJ - A 22-year-old Middletown man who has been missing since Dec. 13, and who left behind a suicide note in his bedroom, had been bullied for years, his family told a Filipino- American news organization this week.

John Fernandez had been a victim of bullying at Middletown High School North, where he would come home from school with his shirt torn and spat on, his mother Ninia Fernandez told The FilAm.

But the bullying started even before MHSN, said Nancy Schaefer, founder of Missing in America, who is helping the family look for John. John was bullied in middle school and continued to have issues at Seton Hall, where he was majoring in accounting and was set to graduate this May, she told Patch Tuesday.

Ninia said her son “has an identity crisis,” and was isolated and lonely, according to the report.

He was last seen at 1:30 a.m. on Sunday, December 13 at his home on Kentucky Avenue. On the day of his disappearance, his family found a six-page suicide letter hidden inside a toy in his bedroom.

In the letter, John wrote he wanted to end his life because he feels “inadequate with amazing people.”

His cell phone was later found, carefully placed inside a Ziploc bag, on the side of Rt. 36 near The Gramercy Lakeside Manor in Hazlet.

Middletown schools superintendent Dr. Bill George declined to comment Tuesday, citing the active police investigation.

Group searching Allaire State Park

Schaefer is the founder of a volunteer group of searchers called Central NJ Search and Recovery Rapid Response Team, which has been working closely with the family to help locate John. The group created a Facebook page for his case.

They most recently searched Allaire State Park on Sunday, and will return there soon to do more searches, she said.

John had an internship in Allaire State Park last summer, Schaefer said, leading her to suspect that’s where he might be.

“My son left everything behind. He said he would end his life in a high place somewhere in the woods,” Ninia told The FilAm. “The police did not find any body in the woods.”

In addition to searches by the Middletown police, the group has conducted more than 30 searches for John, said Schaefer, who is based in Bridgewater. Schaefer’s team conducts immediate searches for individuals considered “at risk or endangered” due to their mental and/or physical health. The individuals generally have a history of domestic violence, health issues, or are military members and adults at risk of suicide, she said.

Schaefer said she formed the group because she has “a personal experience with suicide,” and also because she wants to change the way law enforcement responds to missing person reports.

“It should be treated like a fire. The minute we know someone goes missing, it should be an all-hands-on-deck situation to find the person, instead of, ‘Oh, let’s wait and see if he turns up,’” she told Patch Monday.

Schaefer personally put up a $500 cash reward for anyone who has any information leading to the discovery of John.

Were you here?

Schaefer wants to know if any of the following applies to you, because you may have unknowingly seen Fernandez:

Were you traveling on Rt. 36 in Keyport- Hazlet-Middletown around 5-6:30 a.m. on December 13, 2015?

Were you on the the Henry Hudson Trail in Keyport-Hazlet-Middletown around 5-6:30 a.m. on December 13, 2015?

Did you ride NJ Transit between 5 and 11 a.m. on Dec. 13, making stops in the towns of:

• Aberdeen-Matawan
• Middletown
• Little Silver
• Long Branch
• Allenhurst
• Bradley Beach
• Belmar
• Spring Lake Heights
• Manasquan

Were you on the Edgar Felix Memorial Bikeway or the Freehold and Jamesburg Rail Trail on December 13, 2015 walking your dog or riding your bike?

Were you at Allaire State Park on December 13, 2015 walking your dog, hiking the trails or riding your bike?

Anyone with any information is asked to call Detective Kelly Godley of the Middletown Police Department at 732-615-2120.