Star College Student's Purse, Keys Found at George Washington Bridge
Star college student may have committed suicide in New York.
April 12, 2013— -- A New Jersey college senior weeks away from graduation who disappeared on Tuesday may have jumped from the George Washington Bridge in New York, according to authorities.
New Jersey resident Paige Aiello, who was a student at the College of New Jersey, has been missing since Tuesday afternoon.
Late Tuesday night, Aiello's cell phone, purse, and keys were found on the pedestrian ramp of the GW Bridge, which spans the Hudson River, according to the Somerset County Sheriff's Department. It was found on the south walkway of the upper level of the bridge.
Aiello, 21, was captain of the women's tennis team at TCNJ and was preparing to attend Rutgers Law School in the fall, her family told ABC News station WPVI. She had a 3.8 grade point average, her father said.
According to authorities, Aiello left her parents' home in Hillsborough, N.J., between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. that day in her mother's car.
Her mother noticed that the car had been taken without permission and that her daughter was missing around 3 p.m., according to cops. Aiello's parents finally reported her missing to police around 7:45 p.m.
Later that night, a pedestrian walking across the George Washington Bridge found Aiello's purse, cell phone, and car keys, police said.
Police and rescue crews searched the Hudson River for signs of Aiello throughout Tuesday night, but found nothing. No body has washed up from the Hudson River below the bridge.
The silver Audi sedan Aiello took from her mother was found in New Brunswick, N.J., near the town's train station. The train runs into New York City.
Aiello's father, Chris, said his daughter was a high-achiever who had been under intense stress recently.
"Parents have to be aware, even when they have children that excel in sports and school and so forth, that these kids have to be watched even more," Chris Aiello told WPVI.
Aiello would have turned 22 on Thursday.
Further effort was made to contact Paige's known friends, teammates, and other acquaintances in order to gather information and offer counseling and support services during this stressful time.
In 2010, Rutgers student Tyler Clementi jumped from the same bridge, committing suicide just hours after he had been caught having a gay sexual liaison in his dorm room by a classmate secretly watching on a web cam.