Resources for Missing Persons

According to current statistics, 4,000 people in the United States go missing every day. Sometimes a child suddenly vanishes from the bus stop or the local park or even from their own yard or bedroom. Or a teenager doesn�t return home after a walk to the neighborhood grocery store or a bike ride or a party with friends. Other times, an adult is mysteriously absent from their job or neighbors haven�t seen them for several days, and family and friends haven�t heard from them either.

Missing Person Case Updates with Photos

Sarah L. Stern











Stern, date, approximate 2016; Liam McAtasney; Preston Taylor
Date Missing 12/02/2016
Missing From
Neptune, New Jersey
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 03/24/1997 (25)
Age 19 years old
Height and Weight 5'6, 130 pounds
Associated Vehicle(s) Silver four-door 1994 Oldsmobile 88, with the New Jersey license plate number WA337S (accounted for)
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, hazel eyes. Stern wears eyeglasses with black frames and silver accents on the sides. Her ears are pierced.
Details of Disappearance Stern was last seen in Neptune, New Jersey on the afternoon of December 2, 2016. She has never been heard from again. Her vehicle, a silver four-door 1994 Oldsmobile 88, with the New Jersey license plate number WA337S, was found abandoned on the Route 35 Bridge in Belmar, New Jersey at 2:45 a.m. on December 3. It was in working order and the keys were inside it.
In February 2017, Liam McAtasney and Preston Taylor were charged in Stern's . Photos of them are posted below this summary. Both of them had known Stern since childhood and were friends with her in high school; in fact, Taylor had been Stern's junior prom date. They both had participated in the search for her.
McAtasney told police that Stern was depressed and had planned to run away to Canada to get away from her father, but others who knew Stern said her relationship with her father was fine and she would not have run away without telling anyone. She did have plans to move to Canada in the future, but not until 2017, and she left behind her passport and a substantial amount of money in both U.S. and Canadian currency.
Authorities stated McAtasney strangled Stern during a robbery attempt. He told an acquaintance, Anthony Curry, about the murder, and Curry told the police.
At law enforcement's behest, Curry recorded a conversation with McAtasney where he described Stern's death in graphic detail. He said he choked her until she began convulsing, then he shoved a t-shirt down her throat and set the timer on his cellular phone to see how long it would take her to die.
Taylor confessed his crimes to police on February 1. According to him, McAstney asked him to help him dispose of the body. Taylor reportedly hid it in the bushes in Stern's backyard at first. Eight hours after the killing, Taylor put the body in the front seat of Stern's car and drove it to the Route 35 Bridge, where he met McAtasney. They threw the body over the side into the Shark River. They left her car on the bridge to make her disappearance look like a suicide.
McAtasney was charged with murder, robby, desecration of human remains, conspiracy to desecrate human remains, and hindering apprehension. Taylor was charged with desecration of human remains, conspiracy to desecrate human remains, hindering apprehension, and criminal contempt.
Police learned the two men buried two safes, one of which contained $9,390 in cash, and one of which contained some of Stern's clothing. Taylor lead authorities to where they were hidden. McAtasney had planned the attack for at least six months, after he found out Stern had been given money by her grandmother.
He thought he would get $50,000 to $100,000 in the robbery, but most of the money was in a safe deposit box at Stern's bank, and McAtasney found less than $10,000 in old, brittle bills at her home.
In April, Taylor pleaded guilty to robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, evidence tampering and hindering apprehension. He testified against McAtasney at the latter's trial in February 2019.
McAtasney maintained his innocence at trial. His defense suggested Stern was not dead or that she had taken her own life, and that his recorded statement to Curry, a filmmaker, was just an idea for a horror film. He was convicted of all charges against him.
In June 2019, McAtasney was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Taylor faces up to twenty years in prison for his role.
Stern graduated from Neptune High School, where she played softball and was on the swim team. She studied art and TV production at Brookdale Community College for two semesters, and was well known for her YouTube videos. She communicated regularly with well-known social media personalities, and attended digital media conferences.
Her body has never been found, in spite of extensive searches of the Shark River. An ocean engineer who testified at McAtasney's trial believes Stern's body was swept out to sea when the tide went out. Foul play is suspected in her due to the circumstances involved.
Investigating Agency
Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office
732-431-7160
Neptune Police Department
732-775-1615
Belmar Police Department
732-681-1700
Other
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Facebook Page for Sarah Stern
NJ.com
The New York Times
The Asbury Park Press
The Daily Beast

Missing Person Photos

A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are unknown. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2 to 5 percent of missing children in Europe. By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends. A number of organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and images of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.

Resources for Missing Persons

According to current statistics, 4,000 people in the United States go missing every day. Sometimes a child suddenly vanishes from the bus stop or the local park or even from their own yard or bedroom. Or a teenager doesn�t return home after a walk to the neighborhood grocery store or a bike ride or a party with friends. Other times, an adult is mysteriously absent from their job or neighbors haven�t seen them for several days, and family and friends haven�t heard from them either.

Missing Person Case Updates with Photos