Middlesex Police Department said they located the body of a missing Middlesex County mother, 38-year-old Jennifer Panek, after “a citizen discovered suspicious items” on Saturday afternoon in Haverstick Park, and called 911.
On Friday, February 7, 2025, at approximately 3:22 P.M., authorities were alerted that Panek was missing. The Middlesex police searched for her but could not locate her on Friday evening.
“Today, February 8, 2025, at approximately 2:23 P.M., a citizen discovered suspicious items in Haverstick Park and called 911,” said Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone. “Upon the authorities arrival, they discovered Ms. Panek unresponsive. Ms. Panek was pronounced deceased at the scene.”
Ciccone said the cause of death remains undetermined pending the completion of an autopsy by the Middlesex County Regional Medical Examiner’s Office.
“After the birth of my niece in August 2024, Jennifer has suffered tremendously with Postpartum anxiety and depression,” said Angelique Panek Martinez, the woman’s sister-in-law. “This is a medical condition that does not get spoken about enough! Unfortunately, it’s also a disease that has left her family now grieving.”
The family is asking for donations to help cover the cost of the funeral and to offset the financial burden her husband, Justin Panek, 41, and the couple’s two children will be incurring as they take the time to grieve the loss of the wife and mother.
Anyone with information or surveillance footage of the area is asked to call Detective Paul Cerreto, of the Middlesex Police Department at 732-356-1900 x 366 or Detective Ryan Kirsh of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-745-3711.