By: Richard L. Smith
More than five decades after a Kearny man vanished without a trace, local investigators are once again asking the public for help in hopes of finally providing answers to a family that has waited more than 50 years.
According to a statement released by the Kearny Police Department, detectives have reopened efforts surrounding the disappearance of Nicholas James Maschuci, who was 60 years old when he was last seen on September 18, 1974.
Police said Maschuci left his Kearny home that day for what was believed to be a business meeting in Brooklyn, New York.
He was driving a white 1974 Mercury Grand Marquis but never returned, and no confirmed contact has been made with him since.
Although decades have passed, investigators believe someone may still hold information that could help solve the long-standing mystery.
“After more than five decades, Nicholas Maschuci’s family still does not have answers, and this Department has not closed the book on his case,” Sgt. John Fabula of the Kearny Police Department Detective Bureau said.
“We’ve been back through this case, and we believe there are people who remember more than they realize.”
At the time of his disappearance, Maschuci was described as a white male standing between 5 feet 8 inches and 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing about 210 pounds.
He had gray, balding hair, blue eyes, wore gold-rimmed bifocal eyeglasses, had an artificial right eye, and was also known by the nickname “Nicky.”
His disappearance remains an active unresolved case and is listed in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs).
Kearny detectives are encouraging anyone who may remember details from that time, even information that may have seemed insignificant decades ago, to come forward. Investigators say even the smallest piece of information could prove valuable as they continue to review the case.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Kearny Police Department Detective Bureau at 201-283-5656, email tips@kearnynjpd.org, or write to Kearny Police Department, Attn: Sgt. John Fabula.
Anonymous tips are welcomed, and those providing information are not required to identify themselves.