NEED TO KNOW

John Paul Fernandez, a Seton Hall University student, went missing in New Jersey in December 2015

Nearly nine years later, in November 2024, human remains were found near a bike trail

On Nov. 1, 2025, John Paul's mother, Ninia Fernandez, shared on Facebook that DNA testing had confirmed that the remains were those of her missing son

A grieving mother said her family finally has "closure" after officials confirmed that human remains found last year belong to her son, who had been missing for nearly a decade.

John Paul Fernandez went missing from his Middletown, N.J., home on Dec. 13, 2015. According to a missing person poster released by the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, he was 23 when he was last seen at Natco Lake on Route 36 South in Hazlet, N.J.

Nearly nine yea

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