The Missing Maria Reyes

The Missing
Maria Aravena Reyes
Pompton Lakes, New Jersey

Maria Aravena Reyes was 48 or 49 years old when she vanished from her home on Ringwood Avenue in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey between March 19th, and March 22nd of 1976. A close friend was the one to report her missing on March 22nd after she had missed a follow-up doctor’s appointment. She was also scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Paterson in a divorce proceeding that same weekend.
Maria and her husband Hernan Reyes got married in 1963 and were going through a bitter divorce and at the same time. Maria was also undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Maria’s husband stated she “packed her bags and left.” he claims he saw her “walking away with a friend carrying two suitcases.”
However, Maria had her left breast removed at Chilton Hospital on March 16th, just days before, and she was extremely weak as a result. Investigators claim Maria could barely walk. They believe Hernan had something to do with Maria’s disappearance. He is still the main suspect but is now deceased.
Maria is listed as a white/Hispanic female, standing at 4’10” and weighing around 85 lbs at the time. She had strawberry blonde hair and brown eyes. She was born in Chile around 1927.
In December of 1974, Maria left her husband and returned to Chile, but moved back to their home in the early months of 1976. According to Chilean authorities, Maria has not reentered the country during any point after that time.
In 1989, law enforcement officials dug up the Reyes property searching for remains for two days, but nothing of value was found.
In 2017, detectives interviewed Hernan’s girlfriend at the time, she was in her 20’s at the time, and claimed to know nothing about Maria’s disappearance.
Maria’s body has never been located and her case remains unsolved.

If you have any further information, please contact the Pompton Lakes Police Department at 973-835-0400.

Sources:

https://namus.nij.ojp.gov/case/MP13012

https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/513dfnj.html

https://uncovered.com/cases/maria-reyes-pompton-lakes-nj

https://int-missing.fandom.com/wiki/Maria_Reyes