New Castle County Police have been trying to find out what happened to Nefertiri Trader for almost a year now. Tuesday, it announced the FBI is joining its effort to find Trader - who was abducted from her home in the Saddlebrook neighborhood of New Castle on June 30th, 2014.
Both agencies are offering reward money, totaling $30,000, for information leading to the arrest of anyone responsible for Trader’s abduction. The FBI is also launching a media campaign along the I-95 corridor with billboards from Maryland up to Connecticut.
New Castle County Police Chief Elmer Setting said the investigation has been hindered by a widespread culture of not talking to the police.
"We suffer, as an agency, with this code of silence -- 'do not come forward, it's a big mistake to tell the police anything.' It’s a big mistake not to tell the police something," said Setting.
Trader’s mother Denise said tearfully that she just wants the closure of knowing what happened to her daughter. Trader’s cousin Corey said that going a year not knowing what happened to Nefertiri has been deeply trying.
"We need to know if Nefe’s alive, we need to know if she’s gone. It’s just hard to have that lingering over your head. It’s been a year. You know, Nefe done missed her birthday, her kids’ birthdays," said Corey Trader.
The FBI has asked that anyone with information about the abduction call 1-800-CALL-FBI and that members of the public share Trader’s image and story widely on social media.