N.J. Mom Reported Missing on Mother’s Day Is Found De@d on Roadside After ‘4 Days of Agony,’ Says Family

A New Jersey mom who was reported missing on Mother’s Day was found dead off a highway on Wednesday, authorities said. The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office announced Wednesday that the death of 32-year-old Norelis Mendoza, of Lindenwold, is being investigated as suspicious.

Mendoza’s body was found May 17 off Route 440 in Bayonne, near the Jersey City border, the prosecutor’s office said in a news release. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Her cause and manner of death are pending the findings of the regional medical examiner’s office.

“We’ve been searching the area looking for any signs anybody had seen her,” Mendoza’s cousin, Giovanni Molina, told NBC 10 Philadelphia. “She left her mom’s residence on Saturday, that was the last contact for family. She called her phone and it didn’t go through.” “It’s devastating because of the amount of time, especially…That gave four days of agony, meaning that we had no idea where Norelis could possibly be,” Molina added, per the outlet.Mendoza leaves behind two daughters, ages 1 and 3, according to a GoFundMe page created to help offset funeral costs.

“It is with a grieving heart that I announce to you that she is now with God,” the fundraiser reads. “She was a victim of a senseless [and] heartless tragedy.” “We are all beyond devastated and suffering,” the page continues. “Unity is everything and much needed. We will forever be in the worst pain on Mothers Day.”