Body of man missing since 1982 found in NJ creek

☑️ Charles Murphy was 26 years old when he was last seen

☑️ An extensive forensic process identified the remains

☑️ The same organization identified a body found in the Cooper River

A man who went to a Yankees game 42 years ago and was never seen again, has finally come home.

Skeletal remains were found on May 3 in Overpeck Creek in Ridgefield Park by United Search Corps, a private, non-profit dive organization. The group notified law enforcement of its discovery, according to Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella.

Extensive forensic testing was required to identify the remains as Charles Murphy, a 26-year-old Maywood resident who went missing on April 28, 1982.

An investigation into the circumstances of Murphy's disappearance continues by the Prosecutor's Office, the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department and the Ridgefield Park Police Department.

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Second success in New Jersey for group

United Search Corps said that Murphy went to a Yankees game and then dropped a friend off in Ridgefield Park on April 28, 1982. Murphy and the 1974 Chevrolet Camaro he was driving were never seen again, according to the organization. The Camaro was detected by United Search Corps in the creek just a few blocks from where he was last seen.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with Chip’s family, friends, and the community, who have felt his absence for the past four decades," the group said in a statement.

United Search Corps Director Doug Bishop told NJ.com the Camaro fell into the water from a parking lot and was completely covered in mud. Murphy's body was still inside the car.

The same group identified the body found inside one of three cars pulled from the Cooper River in Camden County as Bernadine Gunner. She went missing in 2010 after telling relatives she was going to take her own life because of her unemployment, according to a missing persons page on the Camden Police Department’s website.

Previous reporting by Sergio Bichao was used in this report.

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