More than six years after she disappeared, the search for Mayushi Bhagat is still on. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for any information that could help find her or uncover what happened. The 24-year-old Indian student went missing in 2019 under circumstances that investigators still consider suspicious.
Who is Mayushi Bhagat?
Born on July 12, 1994, in India, Mayushi moved to the United States in 2016 on an F-1 student visa. She first studied at the University of New Hampshire before later moving to the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) in New York City for her graduate studies.
At the time, she was living with her parents at 35 Vroom Street in Jersey City, and had friends in South Plainfield, New Jersey. She is described as about 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighing between 150 and 160 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, and is fluent in English, Hindi, and Urdu.
Mayushi Bhagat was last seen on the evening of April 29, 2019. She was leaving her family’s apartment in Jersey City, New Jersey. Her family reported her missing on May 1, 2019, after they could not reach her.
What happened after she went missing
According to several reports, her father, Vikas Bhagat, exchanged WhatsApp messages with her around 1 am on May 1, 2019. In those messages, she said she was fine, did not want to be disturbed, and would return home on May 3.
But she never came back. Her family has said they do not believe those messages were actually written by her. They pointed out that the English used in the texts was broken and did not match her usual fluency.
Investigators have since treated the case as suspicious, with the possibility of foul play. There has been no confirmed contact with her since those messages.
Investigation still active
The FBI has listed her case under its “Kidnappings & Missing Persons” section and continues to investigate. So far, no suspects have been publicly identified. The case is being handled jointly by the FBI’s Newark Field Office, the Jersey City Police Department, and the New Jersey State Police.
In July 2022, the FBI’s Newark Division added Mayushi Bhagat’s case to its public missing persons webpage to draw more attention. In a post on X, the agency said, “The #FBI offers a reward of up to $10,000 for info leading to the location or recovery of Mayushi Bhagat, and the identification, arrest, and conviction of those responsible. She was last seen in the evening hours of April 29, 2019, leaving her Jersey City, NJ apartment.”
As of 2026, she would be 31 years old. Despite years of searches and appeals, she has not been found.