Police Fear New Jersey Nurse Was Abducted

"Help me find my baby," said the missing woman's mother. "That's all I got. That's my life."

Authorities in New Jersey are searching for a 24-year-old woman who may have been abducted in her own vehicle.

According to New Jersey State Police, Shanaya Coley, of Paterson, was last seen shortly before 11 p.m. Tuesday outside of her Colonial Avenue apartment complex.

A witness who called police reported hearing a struggle and a woman screaming, NJ.com reported. The witness then reportedly saw someone armed with a knife push Coley into her car and drive off.

At the time of her alleged abduction, Coley, the mother of a 3-year-old boy, was heading to her nursing job at Eastern Christian Children’s Retreat in Wyckoff, police said.

Coley’s father, William, 62, was unavailable for comment Thursday. In a Wednesday interview with WNBC, he said police told him they found blood and his daughter’s glasses in the parking lot of her apartment complex.

“Right now, I’m just sitting here wondering where is my child, hoping she’s all right,” Coley’s father told PIX11. “She has a son to come home to.”

Coley’s vehicle, a silver 2013 Nissan Altima with New Jersey registration plate R74HRX, is still missing, police said.

It’s unclear if authorities suspect Coley was targeted. Her father told NBC New York that she’d recently taken out a restraining order against someone. That person’s identity is not yet known.

Rachel Martin, Coley’s mother, is pleading for information in the case.

“Help me find my baby,” she told News 12 New Jersey. “That’s all I got. That’s my life.”

Authorities have not released a description of Coley or the clothing she was last seen wearing.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Sergeant Marco Aliano of the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office at 862-849-6019 or the Paterson Police Department Major Crimes Division at 973-321-1120.

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