MISSING PERSON
CASE #: 2014-32
Jennifer Kabura Mbugua
Status:
Open
Date of Last Contact:
Date of Last Contact:
Jurisdiction:
Missing From:
Fall River, MA
Summary:
Jennifer Kabura Mbugua, 31, a licensed practical nurse from Fall River, Massachusetts, was last seen on May 27, 2014. Her gray Toyota Camry was found abandoned behind a Shell gas station in North Attleboro the next day, with her keys and one sandal beside a dumpster. She has never been found.
Vital Statistics
Circumstances of Disappearance:
Jennifer Kabura Mbugua was born in Nairobi, Kenya and moved to Massachusetts in 2001 on a student visa to join her oldest sister Lisa, who had arrived five years earlier. She settled in Fall River in 2011 and worked as a licensed practical nurse through a staffing agency, taking overnight shifts at hospitals and nursing homes across the region. In May 2014, Jennifer had recently moved to a new apartment in the 500 block of South Main Street in Fall River, having lived there only weeks before she disappeared. On May 27, 2014, a neighbor last saw Jennifer sitting in her gray Toyota Camry outside her apartment building, shuffling through papers. She was known for keeping in constant contact with her family. Her last recorded Facebook activity had been May 16, 2014. In the early morning hours of May 28, 2014, around 3:00 a.m., a manager at a Shell gas station at 890 South Washington Street in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, called 911 to report an abandoned gray Toyota Camry parked near the back dumpster. Officers responded and found the vehicle unlocked and operational. Beside a nearby dumpster, they found Jennifer's car keys and one sandal. Inside the vehicle were her wallet, driver's license, a gym membership card, and storage facility paperwork. Her phone and pocketbook were left at her apartment, which appeared occupied — lights and television had been left on. The gas station, located on Route 1 near Interstate 295, was roughly 30 miles from Jennifer's apartment in Fall River. Surveillance cameras at the station captured the vehicle arriving, but the images were not clear enough to identify the occupant of the driver's seat. A parking lot camera near the dumpster was non-functional that night. DNA swabs and fingerprints were collected and submitted to Massachusetts State Police labs for analysis. Jennifer's disappearance occurred on the same day that Aaron Hernandez, the former New England Patriots tight end, was arraigned on homicide charges in Boston. The intense regional media coverage of the Hernandez case has been cited by Jennifer's family as a factor that may have overshadowed early search efforts. Eight months later, Hernandez was tried in Fall River and convicted of murder. In 2018, Detective Luis Vertentes assumed the case. The family briefly retained a private investigator but discontinued due to cost. The landlord at Jennifer's apartment reportedly refused police and family access and removed her belongings the day after her disappearance. Jennifer's sister Lisa has stated her belief that Jennifer disappeared from Fall River — not North Attleboro — suggesting someone else drove or transported the vehicle to the gas station. The case is actively investigated by the Bristol County District Attorney's Office and Massachusetts State Police. Anyone with information is urged to contact Massachusetts State Police Lt. Ann Marie Robertson at 508-961-1918 or the tip line at 855-MA-SOLVE (855-627-6583).
Case Last Updated:
Timeline of Events
A vigil is held for Jennifer on what would have been her 32nd birthday.
A community search is conducted for Jennifer Mbugua.
A manager at a Shell gas station at 890 South Washington Street in North Attleboro calls 911 to report an abandoned gray Toyota Camry near the back dumpster. Officers find Jennifer's car keys and one sandal beside the dumpster, and her wallet, driver's license, and other belongings inside the vehicle. The car is operational. The station is approximately 30 miles from her Fall River apartment.
Jennifer Kabura Mbugua is last seen by a neighbor sitting in her gray Toyota Camry outside her apartment in the 500 block of South Main Street in Fall River, shuffling through papers. She is reported missing after failing to make contact with family.
Jennifer's last recorded Facebook activity. This is the last known digital trace before her disappearance.
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