Memorial Service Saturday for Old Bridge Teen

OLD BRIDGE, NJ - A memorial service for Rachel Oakes, the 19-year-old Old Bridge young woman who had been missing for weeks and whose body was recovered last Sunday, will be Saturday, March 18.

A memorial service for Rachel will be Saturday, March 18, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., at Scalia's (Hegarty) funeral home, located on Rt. 9 north in Old Bridge. All are invited to stop by and pay respects.

"Rachel was a beautiful young woman who never had the chance to reach her full potential," her aunt, Carol Zawodniak, told Patch. "She was a kind and loving person. She was a star athlete who loved soccer. She was deeply loved and will be greatly missed by her family. There will forever be a missing part of our hearts. We will love her forever."

Oakes is a graduate of Old Bridge High School. She was last seen Tuesday, Jan. 10, when police found her car abandoned on the Driscoll Bridge. Her body was recovered Sunday, March 5 in the vicinity of the Raritan River in Edison.