Tina Tekirian was last seen at 3 a.m. on Aug. 8 in the parking lot of St. Anthony of Padua Church in North Caldwell, praying in her car.
Two police officers rapped on the window, asked her what she was doing there, and did a medical check on her, authorities said. Tekirian, a 41-year-old former Alzheimer’s researcher at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, answered the questions. Then she drove away into the dark early morning.
But just a few hours later, her mother reported her missing. A few days later, her pocketbook with all her identification documents turned up at a postal-processing center in Teterboro, police said.
Her car was found in Caldwell on Aug. 13. The New Jersey State Police has now issued a statewide alert for the woman – with a special notice that the former scientist and especially devout woman might be found at Catholic churches somewhere in the area, said Det. Greg Drucks of the Livingston Police Department.
“There’s no indication that foul play’s involved,” Drucks said.
It’s not the first time the Harvard-educated doctor has gone missing, her family said. About two years ago, she disappeared for two months and was found in a church in North Carolina, said her sister, Nellie Westpy, of Randolph.
Tekirian had read a new story about the church’s good deeds – and was inspired to travel there, the sister said.
But the pocketbook and car left behind this time have given the family pause, Westpy added.
“That’s what’s scaring me this time,” the sister said.
Tekirian was most recently employed by the University of Maryland School of Medicine, according to online school records. She had received her doctorate from Harvard, her sister said.
She published several papers on neuroscience – including one in the London-based Expert Review of Proteomics in 2007, which was an analysis of how changes in proteins could help diagnose and even treat diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Tekirian was a scientist and a skeptic – nearly even an atheist – for much of her academic career, her sister said. She found religion over the last decade, Westpy said. In 2007, she spoke to a reporter for The Catholic Review, the newspaper of the Roman Catholic Baltimore Archdiocese, in a Maryland church during a break from her laboratory.
"This is the most important part of my day," the then-34-year-old Tikirian reportedly said. "Prayer is the very center of my life. It's the part of my rhythm that allows me to focus the rest of the day."
In the years since that interview, Tekirian returned back home to Livingston to live with her parents, her sister said. The day before the disappearance, Westpy said she knew something was wrong with her sister. Tekirian didn’t appear responsive to even the simplest questions, she said.
“She looked foggy – she didn’t seem aware of anyone or anything around her,” she said.
Police are hoping someone will recognize Tekirian from her picture, and get in contact. She is described as standing 5-feet 5-inches tall, weighing 140 pounds, with brown hair. She is in need of medications, authorities add.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Livingston Police Department at (973) 992-3000 or the New Jersey State Police's Missing Persons Unit at (800) 709-7090.
Westpy said she’s concerned that her sister is not able to take care of herself, especially if she has no documents - and without her medications.
“She’s really trying to find peace,” Westpy said. “But we’re worried.”
Respectfully,
Amy Kinney,
Distribution List Manager
LostNMissing, Inc.
Phone: 603.965.4621
Cell: 603.548.6548
LostNMissing, Inc. is an all volunteer state and federally recognized 501c(3) Non-Profit charitable organization to assist law enforcement and the families of missing. We never charge a fee for our services. All Support Members, Board of Directors, Officers and Owner are Volunteers.
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