Debra Feldman, a 48-year-old woman from Hackensack, New Jersey, was last seen at her residence on April 8, 2009. Following her disappearance, there was no activity on her bank accounts, and she has not been heard from since. Feldman was a mother who had experienced a troubled life, including struggles with drug addiction. Her son, Matthew, recalled the difficult relationship he had with his mother due to her addiction, stating that in their last conversation he told her, 'If you're
not going to get clean, you have no room in my life.' He also recounted a desperate plea for money from his mother not long before she vanished, where she threatened to harm herself if he didn't give her $400 for what she claimed was rent. He gave her the money, a decision that has likely stayed with him since.
The investigation into Debra Feldman's disappearance took a significant turn with the arrest of serial killer Israel Keyes in March 2012 for the murder of Samantha Koenig in Alaska. While in custody, Keyes admitted to a string of kidnappings and murders across the United States that began in 2001. Keyes revealed to investigators that on April 9, 2009, just one day after Feldman was last seen, he had abducted a woman from an East Coast state. He confessed to transporting her across state lines to upstate New York, where he murdered her and buried her body near the Tupper Lake area. Keyes's victims were often chosen at random from remote locations like parks and campgrounds, and he was also known to frequent prostitutes.
The FBI has strong reasons to believe that Debra Feldman was the victim Keyes abducted on April 9th. When investigators showed Keyes photos of various missing persons, he would typically deny involvement. However, when he saw the photo of Debra Feldman, he paused and said, 'I don't want to talk about her yet.' It was also discovered that Keyes had used his computer to search for information about her disappearance. Despite these compelling indications, Keyes never officially identified Feldman as his victim. Before more information could be gleaned, Israel Keyes committed suicide in his jail cell in December 2012, taking the secrets of his many crimes with him to the grave. The case of Debra Feldman remains unsolved, and her body has never been recovered. The investigation has left her family, particularly her son, with the torment of believing she was a victim of a prolific serial killer, yet without the definitive answers or closure that a confession or the recovery of her remains would bring.Last Seen: Apr 8, 2009
