A detective from North Carolina was looking for Mike McCarthy.

McCarthy’s wife, Nancy Stober-McCarthy, walked into their Hillsborough home last week to see their landline’s voicemail light blinking with an urgent message. She called the detective back.

Det. Matt Hefner worked in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s cold case unit. He had just a few questions for Nancy.

Is your husband missing a relative?

“Yes — his brother Ken.”

When did he last hear from him?

“2013.”

Where was Ken’s last place of residence?

“Charlotte, North Carolina.”

Silence on the other end of the line. Then: I think we found him.

It was the beginning of the end of a complex cold case that united a Central Jersey family — haunted by the disappearance of their relative more than a decade ago — and an out

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