Mom texted 'I love you' to son, then he disappeared and was later found dead

Emilia Gomez said she spoke with her 37-year-old son, Samuel Nunez, around 7 p.m. the day he went missing, asking him if he was coming over.

He told her he wouldn't be able to because he had a night class.

The last thing Nunez's mother texted him was the words "I love you" after she spoke to him. She didn't know anything was wrong until Passaic County Community College President Steven Rose showed up at their home to tell her that her son was missing.

"I was going crazy," Gomez said. "I couldn't believe him."

But the two-day search for Nunez came to an end after his body was found in Barbour Pond at Garret Mountain Reservation on Wednesday, recovered by divers from the Passaic County Sheriff's Office.

Nunez was an adjunct professor in the computer science department of the school and coordinator of information technology services, having a bachelor's degree from William Paterson University and a master's degree from Rutgers University. He spent the last 15 years working at the college and was dedicated to his job, Gomez said.

"He never took a vacation in all the time he was there," she said. "I think he wanted to be dedicated to his work."

But his dedication was taking a bit of a toll on him. Gomez said he was "really stressed out" about work and it wasn't uncommon for Nunez to come home at 9 p.m. and have to rush back out to address a problem after receiving a call from work.

"He always tried to resolve everything, but it reached a point," Gomez said. "My son was very educated from a young age. He was an example. He was sweet and educated."

Nunez's cousin, Jose Mora, said losing his cousin was "surprising."

"It's big for everyone," Mora said.

Mora said Nunez enjoyed role-playing games, watching movies and learning new software, and said that he was straight-laced — no drinking or smoking.

Rose described Nunez as a "very valuable member" of the Passaic County Community College family.

"He was one of the friendliest, outgoing and helpful employees we had at the college," Rose said. "We're all devastated."

Rose, who saw Nunez on Monday, said what happened was tragic and that the news of his death was a shock. Nunez was teaching a class at the college, and Rose said a full-time professor will take over until the end of the semester.

"This is all very new, and we have a lot of devastated employees," Rose said. "We will make counseling available to our employees through our employee assistance program, and we'll deal day by day."

Professor Merille Siegel, chairwoman of computer and information systems at the college, said she didn't know anything about his long work hours before he died, but that she and the rest of the school are very upset.

"The college community is devastated by the loss,” she said. “He was a cherished friend and employee of the college, and we’re devastated by the loss. He’ll be really missed tremendously."

For former co-worker Ulises Hernandez, it is the loss of a mentor. Hernandez, who is also a former student of Nunez, worked under him for two years.

"Knowing he's not here anymore, it's crushing," Hernandez said.

Hernandez described his former colleague as a great person who took his profession very seriously, saying he was well-educated and very professional and went out of his way to teach and explain things to his students.

"With technology, it's easy to find the questions fast in the book and type into Google," Hernandez said. "He would alter the question so you can dig into it more and explain in more detail."

After Hernandez was hired by the college, he said, Nunez would take the time to continue to teach him, showing him a technology he was unfamiliar with.

He recalled a story that he said showed Nunez's kindness and compassion. They were at the Wendy's restaurant across the street from the college and a homeless man asked them for some change.

"He took out whatever bill he had, and it wasn't a dollar," Hernandez said. "That's just the kind of person he was. You want more people like that in the world. You don't see a lot of people like that."

A memorial for Nunez has not been planned as of yet.

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Members of the Passaic County Sheriff's Office, Paterson Police Department, Paterson Fire Department and neighboring fire departments conducted a two-day search for Nunez after he was reported missing Tuesday.

On the first day of the search, search crews scoured the grounds and the surface of Barbour's Pond. Searchers found some of Nunez's clothes close to a rock ledge near the pond, prompting them to call in the Paterson Fire Department's fire rescue water team. Passaic County Sheriff Richard Berdnik requested the assistance of the state police, who provided a helicopter for an aerial search and a cadaver dog, said Bill Maer, Sheriff's Office spokesman. The Sheriff's Office dive team recovered Nunez's body from the pond.

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Before the prosecutor confirmed that a body had been found, a medical examiner arrived at the search site and a gurney was seen being wheeled toward the tent sheltering some of the searchers.

The Passaic County Prosecutor's Office is investigating Nunez's death but said no suspects are being sought and there is no danger to the public.

Anyone with any information on Nunez's death is asked to contact the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office at 1-877-370-PCPO or tips@passaiccountynj.org or contact the Sheriff's Office at 973-720-7101.

Staff Writer Rodrigo Torrejon contributed to this article.