Human skeletal remains found in November 2024 near the Henry Hudson Trail in Middletown have finally been identified. The Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office said in October they confirmed the remains were of a young man from Middletown who went missing 10 years ago.
John Paul Fernandez went missing in December 2015 from his family's home on Kentucky Avenue in Middletown. 22 years old at the time, he was last seen at 1:30 a.m. on December 13, 2015. Fernandez's mother told a Filipino-American news organization her son had left a six-page suicide letter hidden inside a toy in his bedroom the day he left. He had suffered from bullying at Middletown North, she said. On Nov. 4, 2024 human remains were found on the Henry Hudson Trail in the area of Willow Street, they were identified as Fernandez's on Oct. 14 of this year, said the prosecutor's office.