Police in New York are searching for a doctor who has been missing for over a week.
According to SILive.com, Tamara Saukin, 44, was last seen on walk with her mother at Staten Island’s Cloves Lake Park on the morning of November 18. The mother reportedly told police that she had gone back to the car, but Tamara wanted to continue walking.
“She disappeared without a trace,” a law enforcement source told the news outlet.
According to the report, police have searched Cloves Lake Park extensively, including with dive teams. Police reportedly said last week that they had not found any evidence of foul play, but have released very few details about their investigation outside of search updates.
Missing S.I. doctor Tamara Saukin was walking with mom before she disappeared, source says https://t.co/AQziGpVD5c
— SIAdvance (@siadvance) November 24, 2020
According to a Twitter post from NYPD’s Special Ops team, multiple agencies were continuing the search in the park for the missing Staten Island woman as of November 24.
Saukin, a former competitive figure skater, was an M.D. family practitioner who appears to have a private practice until very recently: SILive.com obtained a letter Dr. Saukin sent to patients in October, saying that she was suspending her practice due to “unforseen circumstances.” According to the report, Dr. Saukin said in a social media post that she was temporarily withdrawing from medicine due to “family issues.”
Have anyone seen Tamara Saukin? She was last seen inside of Cloves Lakes Park on 11/18. Tamara is 5’10 130lbs with brown hair and brown eyes. If you see or have seen Tamara please call 911 or Missing Persons Squad 212-694-7781 @NYPDMissing pic.twitter.com/bUElYTviKL
— NYPD 120th Precinct (@NYPD120Pct) November 20, 2020
Multiple attempts to reach Dr. Saukin’s office went to voicemail.
“Due to unforeseen circumstances, Tamara has temporarily withdrawn from the practice of medicine,” the outgoing recording says. “You will need to make arrangements as soon as possible to be seen by a different medical provider.”
A link for her practice’s website is no longer active.
According to a 2015 report in SILive.com, Dr. Saukin was seriously injured in a freak accident in August of that year, when her Mercedes, parked in her Emerson Hill driveway with the engine running, somehow rolled out of park. Dr. Saukin was not in the vehicle at the time but was nearby, and attempted to stop the car as it was moving. The car reportedly rolled over her leg before crashing into a neighbor’s house.
A witness told SILive.com at the time that they could see a bone sticking out of Dr. Saukin’s leg. The doctor was taken to a hospital in critical but stable condition. It is not known if the injury caused any permanent damage.
Anyone with possible information is urged to call the NYPD’s Missing Person Squad at 212-694-7781.
CrimeOnline will provide further updates when more information is available.
