MIDDLESEX, N.J. — Authorities discovered the body of a missing woman in Haverstick Park on Saturday, a day after she was reported missing, officials said.
Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Middlesex Police Chief Matthew Geist announced that Jennifer Panek, 38, of Middlesex, was found unresponsive in the park at approximately 2:23 p.m. after a citizen reported suspicious items and called 911. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Panek was first reported missing on Friday, February 7, at around 3:22 p.m., prompting a search by the Middlesex Police Department and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office. Authorities were unable to locate her that evening.
The cause of death remains undetermined pending an autopsy by the Middlesex County Regional Medical Examiner’s Office.
Authorities are asking anyone with information or surveillance footage from the area to contact Detective Paul Cerreto of the Middlesex Police Department at 732-356-1900 ext. 366 or Detective Ryan Kirsh of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-745-3711.