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Remains of teen Fil-Am found dead in New Jersey to be brought back to PH

Article (news)

Don Tagala

ABS-CBN News

<p>The remains of the missing Filipino-American teen found dead in Newark Bay, New Jersey will be brought back home to the Philippines, her family said.</p><p>The body of 18-year-old Hayley Erin “Lee” Avestruz Alvarado was pulled out of Newark Bay in Bayonne, New Jersey on March 5.  </p><p>According to her father Stephen, they will hold a wake for Hayley on March 18, while funeral services and cremation will be held on March 19 in Jersey City.</p><p>The Alvarado family will then bring Hayley&#x27;s remains back home to their loved ones in the Philippines.</p><p>In an earlier interview with ABS-CBN News, Stephen said on December 17, Hayley was seen in their security camera recording leaving their home past midnight, wearing her back pack. That was the last time they saw her alive.  </p><p>Hayley was a freshman at Montclair University studying language engineering, majoring in linguistics. She graduated summa cum laude in high school.  </p><p>“Si Haley, talagang matalino siya sa school, focused talaga siya sa pag-aaral, nakikita ko sa kanya yung mga achievements niya gusto niya talaga palagi number one siya sa klase,” Stephen said.</p><p>He also admitted he was so busy at work that he wished he had spent more time with his daughter.  </p><p>“Ang nangyayayri sa amin dito, Trabaho, trabaho, trabaho -- I can say na may pagkukulang ako na, hindi ko sila mabigyan ng oras,” he said, &quot;Kung ibabalik ulit, gusto kong yakapin siya araw araw,” Stephen said.</p><p>He also told ABS-CBN News that based on Hayley’s search history on her computer about bus routes, she may have taken the bus after leaving their home on December 17.  </p><p>Stephen said that according to investigators, Hayley was last seen in security cameras in South Kearny, near the Hackensack River -- just 17 minutes away from their Jersey City home, if she took the NJ Transit bus number 1.    </p><p>The part of Hackensack River where she was last seen is about 4.6 miles away upstream from Newark Bay -- where her body was recently found.  </p><p>Authorities said there were no visible signs of trauma on her body.  </p><p>The cause of death is still pending, as the family is still waiting for the autopsy report from the medical examiner.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/3/13/missing-18-year-old-filam-found-dead-in-nj-bay-753">Missing 18-year-old FilAm found dead in NJ bay</a></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_PB4SpUAx_g?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>The remains of the missing Filipino-American teen found dead in Newark Bay, New Jersey will be brought back home to the Philippines, her family said.</p>

The remains of the missing Filipino-American teen found dead in Newark Bay, New Jersey will be brought back home to the Philippines, her family said.