Missing couple found dead in Wayne garage:Melissa Pereira and Jorge Rodriguez found in garage in Wayne
Melissa A. Pereira, 25 of Wayne, and boyfriend Jorge E. Rodriguez, 24 of Garfield, were last seen on Dec. 27 leaving Pereira's home. The couple had reservations at a bed and breakfast in Pennsylvania on Dec. 31 but never checked in. Police in Wayne and Garfield are urging anyone with information regarding their disappearance to contact authorities.James Kleimann/NJ.com
WAYNE - Passaic County prosecutors are now confirming that a couple missing for three weeks has been found dead in a garage in Wayne.
Melissa Pereira and Jorge Rodriguez, both in their mid-20s, were last seen on Dec. 27, leaving Pereira's home in Wayne. They had reservations at a resort in Pennsylvania for over New Year's Eve, but police say they never made it.
The couple's bodies were found Sunday morning at 10:30 in a garage behind the apartment complex where Pereira lived with her mother. Two weeks ago, they were entered into the National Missing Persons Database and state police had put out an alert about them just this week.
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Statements from police say there were no reasons to believe the two were victims of a crime. The Passaic County Assistant Prosecutor says they are waiting on autopsies to determine the manner and cause of death.WAYNE — A young couple who went missing late last month were found dead in a garage at a home in Wayne this morning, prosecutors said.
Jorge Rodriguez and his girlfriend Melissa Pereira were last seen leaving Pereira's home in Wayne on Dec. 27, supposedly headed for a Pennsylvania bed and breakfast where they made New Year's Eve reservations.
But Pereira, a 25-year-old Wayne resident, and Rodriguez, of Garfield, were found dead around 11:15 a.m. today, said Passaic County Assistant Prosecutor Michael DeMarco.
DeMarco said investigators are awaiting the results of an autopsy to determine a cause and manner of death, and declined to comment further. The couple was reported missing on Dec. 30, according to DeMarco, and both were registered in the national missing person's database.
While he would not disclose their manner of death, DeMarco said there was "no reason for the public to be concerned." He would not say where the bodies were found.
A man who identified himself as Pereira's uncle told the Record the bodies were found in a Lancaster Court garage behind the apartment Pereira and her mother shared.
Earlier this month, Garfield Police Captain Darren Sucorowski said there was no reason to believe Rodriguez and Pereira were victims of a crime. Calls to Wayne and Garfield Police seeking comment today were not immediately returned.
Pereira worked on several shows for the Fox News Channel, including "Your World" with Neil Cavuto, and had also worked as a photographer, according to her profile on LinkedIn.
Attempts to contact the Rodriguez family were unsuccessful. A man who answered the phone at Pereira's home and identified himself as the victim's uncle said right now, the family is simply waiting for answers.
"At this point we're just still in shock and we're just trying to wait for what the medical examiners are going to say," he said. "Just in shock."
NJ.com reporter Myles Ma contributed to this report.
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