EXCLUSIVE: I just want to bury my daughter - Father of missing teenager tells of agony as her prom date and a family friend are charged with murdering her and throwing her body from 50ft bridge

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The devastated father of missing teen Sarah Stern is clinging to the hope that the body of his only daughter will be found after two childhood friends were charged in connection with her murder.

The 19-year-old college student has not been seen since December 2 when her car was found abandoned with the keys still in the ignition on the Route 35 Bridge over Shark River in Belmar, New Jersey.

There were suspicions that she had committed suicide or run away from home but following a tip-off, police charged classmate Liam McAtasney, 19, with first-degree felony murder and robbery last Thursday.

He allegedly strangled Stern at her home in the course of robbing her of thousands of dollars.

Preston Taylor, who took Sarah to junior prom, has been charged with desecration of human remains and hindering apprehension after he allegedly helped McAtasney by taking Stern's body from her home and driving in her car to throw her into the water.

Michael Stern, the devastated father of missing New Jersey teen Sarah Stern, is clinging to the bleak hope that the body of his only daughter will be found after two childhood friends were charged in connection with her murder

The 19-year-old college student, pictured left as a child in a photo provided by her father, has not been seen since December 2 when her car was found abandoned with the keys still in the ignition on the Route 35 Bridge over Shark River in Belmar, New Jersey

'I just love Sarah so much and I'm doing this for her,' Michael said. Pictured, a memorial to Sarah on the Belmar Bridge

There were suspicions that she had committed suicide or run away from home but following a tip-off, police charged classmate Liam McAtasney (left) with first-degree felony murder and robbery last Thursday, and Preston Taylor (right) with dumping her body

Sarah's father, Michael Stern, who works in construction, exclusively told DailyMail.com that he was informed of the arrests last Wednesday.

'That's my whole life - you see a flash. It's a horror. And for it to be somebody you know?' he said.

'Sarah was my only child. My wife Carla passed away from cancer four years ago, almost to the day.'

The 61-year-old said that he drove McAtasney and his twin brother Seamus to school with his daughter.

'They made their Confirmation together five years ago. We're in the same parish. Liam and Seamus were on the volunteer fire department in Bradley Beach with Sarah as a cadet about three years ago.

'The other boy took Sarah to the junior prom. They were friends. Apparently he helped Liam with her body.'

Liam McAtasney stopped by Stern's home in December to offer him support after Sarah went missing, he said.

McAtasney and Taylor also reportedly took part in a search for the missing girl on December 10, according to NJ.com.

Stern, a lifelong resident of the Jersey Shore, said that he didn't know Taylor's parents but knew the McAtasney family well.

The families live close to each other in the small community of Neptune City.

At Stern's home, he proudly shows off his daughter's artwork which is propped amid a sea of photographs of Sarah, posing for a school portrait and grinning in her cap and gown while hugging her dad at high school graduation. Christmas decorations remain on display.

Last Christmas, Sarah Stern surprised her father by presenting him with a drawing of a much-loved movie.

'Sarah didn't know what to get me as a gift, so she drew me the lamp from A Christmas Story. Jean Shepherd who wrote it had once came to a book store I had back in 1971 and signed some books. That story was always kind of neat to me and Sarah knew that,' he said. 'It probably took her two or three hours to do the drawing. She's a good kid.'

Preston Taylor, who took Sarah to junior prom in 2014, has been charged with desecration of human remains and hindering apprehension after he allegedly helped classmate Laim McAtasney by taking Stern's body from her home and driving in her car to throw her into the river

Sarah's father said that he drove McAtasney (left) and his twin brother Seamus to school with his daughter. 'The other boy took Sarah to the junior prom. They were friends. Apparently he helped Liam with her body,' he said

The teenager was studying art and video production at Brookdale community college and dreamed of working in Toronto.

She was active in the YouTube community of vloggers and had attended VidCon in California with her father in 2015.

'She loved Toronto and California, she liked to travel. She was out to California for VidCon a couple of times. I had gone out with her in 2015 and she went by herself last year, she was old enough. That was her passion.

'She had friends in Canada and that was some of the rumors that she had gone up there. But the thing is, she wouldn't have run away. We talked about her going to Canada.

'She wanted to do video production and she loved the YouTube stars Grace Helbig and Hannah Hart. She did some drawings for them. She was so impressed by it and she really enjoyed that.

'In the last few years, she became a fantastic artist in all kinds of medium - sculpting, pencil drawing, watercolor. She had talent that I just couldn't believe.

'If she was impressed by you, she would take a picture, draw you and send you the picture. That's the kind of thing she liked to do. She would tell people, "If you'd like me to draw something for you, just let me know and I can do that.' She just did her own thing.'

Her father did not believe the theory that his daughter had committed suicide.

'Nobody really knew what had happened, there was nothing concrete, but Sarah was a good kid,' he said. 'She was well grounded, people loved her and she had friends all over the place.'

He last saw his daughter on November 28. They had spent Thanksgiving with family in Florida and Sarah returned home ahead of her father.

He had been in constant contact with her with phone calls and text messages. Sarah had also seen her grandmother and her aunt during the week and nothing seemed amiss.

Sarah was last seen at her home during the afternoon of December 2, but her 88 Oldsmobile was found on the side of a bridge a few miles away at 2:45 AM the following morning

On the afternoon of December 2, Sarah's father was unable to reach her by cell phone or on their house landline, and she stopped responding to text messages. Pictured, Taylor in Superior Court in Monmouth County last Thursday

Police officers found her car on the southbound shoulder of the bridge shortly before 3 AM on December 3. The following day, divers searched the water but she was not found

On the afternoon of December 2, he was unable to reach her by cell phone or on their house landline, and she stopped responding to text messages.

'I wasn't too concerned as she sometimes slept late when she had been up late working on her drawing. Then I thought she might have been out with her cousins. Sometimes they went over to Applebee's,' Stern said.

Police officers found her car on the southbound shoulder of the bridge shortly before 3 AM on December 3.

The following day, divers searched the water but she was not found. Family and friends organized search parties and appealed for information across social media.

'I had been talking to the police frequently and if there was any developments, they would let me know. They were monitoring phones and credit card accounts,' Stern said.

'The only activity was an automatic subscription to iTunes. That created an alert but police said other than that, everything stopped on that Friday.'

A tip to the Crime Stoppers hotline led police to McAtasney.

Authorities believe Sarah withdrew a large amount of money, in the thousands of dollars, from her bank account and McAtasney was aware of this and came to her home on December 2 to rob her.

Her father does not know the reason his daughter would have taken out a large amount of money. She was focused on college and last had a job during the summer when she worked checking passes to get onto the local beach.

'It's a big question, it's definitely out of character,' Stern said.

On Monday, official sources claimed that two safe deposit boxes containing valuables which were taken from the Stern home had been found after one was hidden in Sandy Hook and the other in Shark River Park, according to News12. 

It is believed that McAtasney quit his job as a waiter at a local restaurant around December 5.

McAtasney allegedly strangled Stern at her home in the course of robbing her of thousands of dollars. Officer believe her body then may have been thrown over the bridge on Shark River by the two boys

The State Police searching the inlet area around the bridge for Sarah's body but came up with nothing

McAtasney and Taylor appeared in court on Thursday and are being held at the Monmouth County Correctional Institute in Freehold. Taylor is scheduled for a hearing on Tuesday and McAtasney's court date is scheduled for next week.

When contacted at their home, Taylor's parents gave no comment and threatened to call the police. The McAtasney family could not be reached at their home.

On Friday, authorities resumed the search for Stern's body, focusing on the Shark River inlet near the ocean. The search continued throughout the weekend but nothing has been found. 

Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni said on Friday he was hoping for a miracle but that they were battling the ocean current.

'I freely admit it's going to be difficult but we have some of the best and most dedicated law enforcement officers working on this. We'll hope for the best,' he said.

Michael Stern was at the waterfront on Sunday until they called off the search. 'It's nerve-wracking and I'm tired but there's nothing they could tell me,' he said.

A steady stream of family and friends have been visiting his home to offer support.

On Friday, as he walked his dog, Buddy, several neighbors came out to hug him. 'It's a small, close community,' Stern said. 'Sarah grew up here.

'She used to walk Buddy two or three times a day. They were close, he slept up in the bedroom with her. At night, when Sarah went upstairs, he would go up with her and stay there for the night.'

The father appealed to anyone who may have any information to come forward.

'Sarah is still missing,' he said. 'I would ask people if they have any information, even if it seems insignificant, to please speak to the police in Belmar or Neptune City or the Monmouth County Prosecutors. They can also give information anonymously to Crimestoppers.

'Any information, the authorities will look at. We welcome the public's help. Please let us know.

'I just love Sarah so much and I'm doing this for her.'

Anyone with information about Sarah Stern's case is urged to contact Detective Brian Weisbrot of the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office at 732-431-7160 or Belmar Police Detective John Mahoney at 732-681-1700.

For anonymous tips, call the Monmouth County Crime Stoppers tip line at 800-671-4400 or text 'MONMOUTH' and the tip to 274637 (CRIMES).