🚨 Source Information
Source: Staten Island Advance
Publisher: https://www.silive.com
Published: March 30, 2026 at 8:47 PM
Article URL: Read Full Article
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A New Jersey family is growing increasingly concerned after a 16-year-old girl went missing. The girl’s relatives believe she may be on Staten Island.
Bella Caceres was last seen Thursday, March 12, at her home in Phillipsburg, N.J., according to family members.
Caceres is described as a white female, approximately 5 feet 2 inches tall and about 100 pounds. She has hazel eyes and black hair that may have been dyed red. She has no tattoos or piercings.
At the time of her disappearance, she was wearing a gray short-sleeve shirt with black stripes along both shoulders and either the number 95 or 98 on the back, blue jeans and black Crocs.
Her family believes she may have traveled to Staten Island to meet someone she connected with online. They said the NYPD used her phone signal to identify a possible location near the Mariners Harbor Houses.
According to the family, officers went to that location to conduct a wellness check, but no one answered the door. The family said they have not received any updates from police since that visit.
Family members said they are especially concerned because Caceres has special needs.
A spokesperson for the NYPD referred the Advance/SILive.com to the Phillipsburg Police Department, which confirmed the teen has been reported missing.
The family said they also filed a report with the NYPD, but described the response as slow, prompting them to travel to Staten Island to search for her themselves.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
The public can also submit tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, or on X @NYPDTips.
The Phillipsburg, N.J. Police Department can be reached at 908-454-5501.
