NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – A desperate search is underway for a Staten Island mother and teacher who has been missing since the weekend. Police said Jeanine Cammarata was last seen on Saturday night by her boyfriend when she dropped him off at his apartment on McVeigh Avenue in Heartland Village. He reported her missing Tuesday. On Wednesday, he estranged husband was arrested and charged with assault. The 37-year-old mother of three is a teacher at P.S. 29 in Castleton Corners. She hasn’t been seen in four days. He mother is trying hard not to think the worst has happened. “I miss her and I love her. Jeanine, please let us know where you are. I’ve been up all night worrying,” she told CBS2’s Hazel Sanchez. Her sister told CBS2 she also worked at a local Dollar Store to make ends meet. She hasn’t shown up for either since last week. Her worried loved ones want her safe return. She dropped her boyfriend at his McVeigh Avenue apartment on Staten Island Saturday night. Most surprisingly, she didn’t show up for a Monday morning custody hearing for her kids. “I understand that she’s going through a very bad divorce. I don’t know if she’s afraid, she’s afraid to come out,” her mother said. Police brough Cammarata’s estranged husband Michael Cammarata in for questioning and charged him with assault after he admitted hitting her. He’s not been charged in her disappearance. Longtime friend Jessica Pobega told CBS2’s Jenna DeAngelis she messaged Cammarata on Facebook Monday afternoon, but she’s convinced it wasn’t her friend responding. “This is not her. I know her well enough to know that her disappearing like this is not normal,” she said. Pobega begged the person on the other end to call her immediately. “I was like, ‘Call me right now, you need to call me right now, I need to hear your voice, I don’t believe you, I don’t believe it’s you,'” she said. “I even asked when’s the last time I saw you, and the person couldn’t respond to it. They didn’t answer, they just kept saying, ‘I’m OK, I’ll call you soon. '” Pobega wrote “You need to contact someone now because we are going to the police station.” The writer on the other end claiming to be Cammarata said she couldn’t call because she was with her estranged husband Mike and their kids. Pobega, still unconvinced it’s Cammarata writing, “I will never ever speak to you again if you don’t call me right now.” Cammarata’s landlord, Jose Perez, said her white Chevy hasn’t been parked outside her apartment on Cassidy Place since last week. The NYPD tweeted Wednesday, saying the vehicle has a license plate No. HSK8417. “She works two jobs to support her family, she’s always trying to provide for her kids, you know, she’s a hard worker,” said Perez. Add'l Info: Jeanine Cammarata, 37, missing from Staten Island since 3-30, drives a white, 2017 Chevy Cruz, NY Plate #HSK8417, similar to the photo shown. If you see her or the car, call 911; if you have info regarding her disappearance, call CrimeStoppers 800-577-TIPS @NYPDTips pic.twitter.com/PMDRYvgsaV — Chief Dermot F. Shea (@NYPDDetectives) April 3, 2019 Police said her roommate also received a text message from Cammarata on Monday saying she’s OK, but her roommate does not believe Cammarata wrote the text. “She told me that the way it was worded it was not Jeanine, because she would have known right away the way they speak,” Perez said. Perez is hoping Cammarata just needed some time away and is OK. “Jeanine come home, come home. There’s a lot of people that care about you, just come home,” Perez said. On Tuesday, CBS2 spoke with her sister in Florida who said Cammarata has been fighting for custody of her kids, who currently live with their father, her ex-husband. “She was supposed to have an appearance Monday and she never showed,” Christine Ross told CBS2 over the phone. Her sister also said Cammarata hasn’t shown up for either of her jobs. “She loves her job. She’s been a teacher for a very long time,” she said. “She’s pretty much always working.” Ross said she, too, has not heard from her sister in a few days. “The last I talked to her was Friday morning. We were talking about her coming to visit me,” she said. Cammarata is 4 feet 11 inches tall, about 120 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. Police said they spoke with her boyfriend and he is not considered a suspect. Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to call NYPD’s Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) for Spanish. You can also submit a tip via the Crime Stoppers website, by Tweeting @NYPDTips or by texting a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) and then entering TIP577.<doc-sep>EMBED >More News Videos Kemberly Richardson has the latest on the body found in the serach for a missing Staten Island mother of 3. NEW SPRINGVILLE, Staten Island (WABC) -- A body was found early Thursday morning as police searched for a missing mother of three from Staten Island, and the woman's estranged husband is facing charges in the case.Jeanine Cammarata, 37, was last seen near Denker Place and McVeigh Avenue around 9 p.m. Saturday when she left her current boyfriend's house.The remains were found inside a storage facility in the Arden Heights section Thursday morning, and investigators were working to positively identify the remains. "The human remains are unrecognizable," said Chief William Aubry of the NYPD Citywide Investigations Division. "Charred and unrecognizable. "The NYPD has surveillance video purportedly showing her estranged husband, 42-year-old Michael Cammarata, leaving his Far Rockaway, Queens, apartment building with a bag. Authorities say surveillance video at the storage facility shows what appears to be the same man entering with the same bag.The NYPD obtained a search warrant and found the yet-to-be-identified body. "If in fact, the father did something nefarious, then the children may have lost both a mother and a father," Jeanine Cammarat's attorney, Eric Gansberg, said. "And the trauma to them is going to be tremendous. "Michael Cammarata has been in custody since Tuesday and is currently charged with assault , allegedly for hitting Jeanine in the past, which police say he admitted during questioning.The two reportedly have a tumultuous relationship with prior domestic incident reports filed, and they were said to be in the process of divorce with an ongoing child custody battle in the court. Friends say Jeanine was terrified of Michael. "Harassment, following her in the car," landlord and former co-worker Jose Perez said. "She even escalated it because she was concerned about her safety. And I mentioned it to her, I said to her, 'You better get this thing straightened out because you don't want any problems' ... She always texted me where she's at or if something's happening to her. But she has not. "At Jeanine's apartment Thursday night, friends lit candles, held each other and tried not to think about the man police suspect killed her. "Only because to be honest he doesn't deserve my breath to talk about what a monster he is," said one friend.The body was reportedly found in a bin, with a bag wrapped around it, inside the storage facility. "The medical examiner had to go through that bag," said Aubry. "The investigation has taken a turn into a murder investigation. "Detectives have also recovered the van believed used by the estranged husband to drive the bag from his Queens home to Staten Island. They are still searching for Jeanine Cammarata's white 2017 Chevrolet Cruze with NY license plate HSK8417.The Medical Examiners Office has not yet positively identified the remains, but the investigative assumption is it is Jeanine Cammarata.Jeanine Cammarata did not show up to work Monday or Tuesday at PS 29 on Staten Island, where she was working as a substitute teacher. She also had a second job at a Dollar Tree on Staten Island. "She let me know Friday she was going to go pick up her children Saturday," said Elizabeth Torres, who also works at the Dollar Tree.The boyfriend called 911 Saturday and said Cammarata was gone, last seen leaving his New Springville apartment to meet her estranged husband and see their kids. "That's the last anybody actually saw her," said Jessica Pobega, Cammarata's best friend.Authorities are looking into text messages received by Pobega from someone claiming to be Cammarata the day after she disappeared.Pobega wrote in the texts that she was calling the police. "I don't want that," the reply read. "I have the kids ... I apologize. I have to do this for the children. "Cammarata also did not show up for a custody hearing in court this week.Police say another friend got a text allegedly from Cammarata, saying she just wanted to get away. "She didn't see the children this weekend, so I don't know who that was and what they were covering for," Pobega said. "She's my oldest friend. My mother is distraught. Something happened. Something bad happened. And I don't know what it is, and I really hope I'm wrong. "Anyone with additional information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).----------<doc-sep>
NEW SPRINGVILLE, Staten Island (WABC) -- A search is underway for a New York City public school teacher and mother of three who has been missing since this past weekend, and now, her estranged husband is charged with assault.Jeanine Cammarata, 37, was last seen near Denker Place and McVeigh Avenue around 9 p.m. Saturday, when she left her current boyfriend's house.Her estranged husband, 42-year-old Michael Cammarata, has been in custody since Tuesday and is currently charged with assault. The charge is for allegedly hitting Jeanine in the past.The two reportedly have a tumultuous relationship with prior domestic incident reports filed, and they are said to be in the process of divorce with an ongoing child custody battle in the court. Friends say Jeanine was terrified of Michael. "Harassment, following her in the car," landlord Jose Perez said. "She even escalated it because she was concerned about her safety. And I mentioned it to her, I said to her, 'You better get this thing straightened out, because you don't want any problems. '...She always texted me where she's at or if something's happening to her. But she has not. "Michael Cammarata is charged with assault as the investigation continues into his wife's disappearance.Wednesday night, detectives returned to Jeanine Cammarata's apartment in New Brighton.Perez, her landlord and former co-worker, has known the couple for years. He last saw Jeanine two weeks ago. "He wasn't giving her her kids, she wasn't able to see her kids, and that's when she said okay, I had enough. I'm gonna go get a lawyer, I'm gonna get divorced, and I'm gonna get custody of my kids," said Perez. "And now she's gone. "Cammarata was charged after he allegedly confessed to hitting Jeanine in the past, but detectives have not connected him to her disappearance, at least not publicly.Eric Gansberg is representing Jeanine in the divorce. "I've been doing this for over 35 years, nothing would surprise me," said Gansberg. "This does not sound like it's going to end well. "She did not show up to work Monday or Tuesday at PS 29 on Staten Island. She also has a second job at a Dollar Tree on Staten Island. "She let me know Friday she was going to go pick up her children Saturday," said Elizabeth Torres, who works at the Dollar Tree.The boyfriend called 911 Saturday and said Cammarata was gone, last seen leaving his New Springville apartment to meet her estranged husband and see their kids. "That's the last anybody actually saw her," Cammarata's best friend Jessica Pobega said.Authorities are looking into text messages received by Pobega from someone claiming to be Cammarata the day after she disappeared.Jessica wrote in the texts that she was calling police. "I don't want that," the reply read. "I have the kids...I apologize. I have to do this for the children. "Cammarata also did not show up for a custody hearing in court this week.Police say another friend got a text allegedly from Cammarata, saying she just wanted to get away. "She didn't see the children this weekend, so I don't know who that was and what they were covering for," Pobega said. "She's my oldest friend. My mother is distraught. Something happened. Something bad happened. And I don't know what it is, and I really hope I'm wrong. "Jeanine Cammarata is described as being 4-foot-11 and 120 pounds with brown eyes, blonde hair and a medium build.Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).----------