After conducting a recent random search for my missing grandmother's name, I discovered numerous sites and groups discussing Roberta. I am sharing detailed information to help others gain a better understanding:
For the initial 19 years of my life, my knowledge of my paternal line was limited, as my father, K.J., had been placed in foster care at the age of (about) eight, leaving us with scant information about his family, particularly his mother, Roberta Michels, my grandmother. Over those years, various speculations circulated among my grandmother and others who claimed to have seen her:
- “She committed s****** by jumping off a cliff into an ocean”
- “She died in a car accident”
- “I saw her on the streets of Camden with her daughter”
- “She left during a blizzard to pick up cigarettes and stamps, but never returned.”
I had no information about her appearance or even her last name. All we knew was that her name was Roberta and she had resided in Camden, NJ with my grandfather (Kumar Jagdeo) before vanishing when my dad was a baby.
In 2019, after taking the ancestryDNA test, my world changed. I discovered a connection to the Michels family tree, revealing Roberta’s relatives. Learning that she had two sisters and a brother, grew up in Pemberton/Brown Mills, and had a previous marriage, and daughter before meeting my grandfather, Kumar, and having my dad, K.J. This valuable information came from her sole living sister, Judy. The excitement of finding each other led to setting a meeting date, giving me hope to uncover the mystery of my missing grandmother...
To my surprise, Judy shared the same aspirations as I did.
The revelation? Roberta has been missing for 40 years without any resolution. During our encounter, Judy was astonished to discover that her missing sister had a granddaughter (me!), especially since she had barely met my dad (her nephew) before Roberta disappeared. I recounted the rumors that had surrounded me throughout my life, and she disclosed what information she had:
Roberta was enjoying a fulfilling life until things took a sudden turn for the worse. She was married to H.H. and had a daughter named J.H. Her life involved family activities, owning a home, and summer trips to Wildwood with her sister Judy. However, according to my aunt Judy, Roberta went through a divorce, lost custody of her daughter, and moved to Camden with my grandfather, Kumar Jagdeo, without much contact with the family. Judy, who had met Kumar and my dad in the past, was informed by Kumar that Roberta had gone missing after leaving for cigarettes and not returning. Despite reporting it to the police, little action was taken as Roberta was considered old enough to leave. Judy, preoccupied with her own family, heeded the station's advice and did not delve further into the matter.
After meeting Judy and acquiring new information, I began my quest to uncover more details. This led me to discover NAMUS.com, where I uploaded Roberta’s missing information. A team member then contacted me and linked our narrative to Cinnaminson PD, who have been actively investigating this case for several years. Although it has been a lengthy process, they are expected to officially file this missing persons case, which is over 40 years old, in the upcoming months. They have created a composite sketch depicting what she might look like today, which will soon be shared.
Here's where it gets more intriguing:
- Between meeting Judy and building the case, we discovered a letter from her with a licked stamp. The letter's final sentence read, “I will no longer bother anyone, anymore,” hinting at significant implications. The stamp, with its DNA scraped off, has been sent to NAMUS for analysis.
- Research on newspapers.com revealed that Roberta defaulted on her storage unit payments in 1981, leading to an auction of her belongings, indicating her disappearance between February and April of 1981.
- In 2001, a life insurance check was sent to her father without a death certificate or a filed missing persons report. The family attempted to utilize the insurance's resources and investigative procedures to locate her, but no information was provided. I currently possess the check and the insurance letter. Despite involving a family member in law enforcement for assistance, no additional information was uncovered.
I want to thank everyone who has sent prayers, good wishes, and shared information. After years of researching, the story has become so familiar to me that I almost forgot how strange it really is. I am optimistic that with this media, we can make progress in the right direction.
. She wasn't missing until after my dad's birth in 1981. Her daughter, Jennifer would've been very young at that time the article was published. This also occured in NJ. THANKS SOOO MUCH!
