BOSTON — A Dorchester woman is desperately trying to find the family of her longtime roommate after the 68-year-old suddenly died outside their home.
Kim Bamberg died on November 7 after returning home from running errands, according to her roommate, Concepcion Garcia.
Garcia said it had been an ordinary morning. Bamberg came home, sat down on the porch, and a short time later, a downstairs neighbor called Garcia with devastating news.
“The neighbor downstairs called me on my phone and says there’s somebody who looks like they died downstairs, and I was like, ‘What? No.’”
Garcia rushed downstairs and immediately called for help.
“As soon as I go downstairs and I see her eyes open and, you know, she’s leaning back, I called the ambulance real quick.”
Garcia said she wasn’t aware of Bamberg having any medical issues that could explain what happened. Now, as she goes through her longtime friend’s belongings, she’s struggling to understand how Bamberg could be gone so suddenly.
“She was only 68. She just retired, you know. I don’t understand what happened. I don’t know what happened.”
Garcia, says she worked in retail for a number of years and then started to work remotely.
The two had lived together for nine years, and Garcia said their relationship became much more than simply roommates.
“I feel like she’s my family because she lived with me, you know, for all those many years and we became a good bond.”
But they were not related by blood, and that has created another painful challenge.
Garcia said Boston Medical Center told her Bamberg’s body cannot be released to her because she is not next of kin. Garcia is now desperately trying to locate one of Bamberg’s surviving relatives.
“I’ve tried everything. I been trying to go here, there. I’ve called numbers. I have her phone. I’m waiting ’til somebody calls. It’s locked.”
She says she’d see Bamberg talking with family but it was mostly through text message. Messages, she can’t open.
Garcia said Bamberg did not have children, but she believes she has nieces, nephews and cousins.
She has been trying to piece together what she knows about Bamberg’s family and where they may have lived over the years.
“I know her mom had a house in Mattapan. They sold it, then she lived in Adams Street and then Brockton, Providence.”
Bamberg’s room is also filled with family photographs, but Garcia does not know the people in them or how to reach them.
She’s also tried to posting about the situation on social media, including both Facebook and Instagram.
Among Bamberg’s belongings are two sets of ashes that Garcia believes belong to members of her family.
“I know one is her mom, and I don’t know if the other one is the dad or the brother. I don’t know.”
Now, Garcia is hoping someone who sees Bamberg’s picture or recognizes someone in the family photographs will come forward and help connect her with Bamberg’s relatives.
For Garcia, it’s about making sure the woman she considered family is not left behind.
“She was a very sweet and nice lady, and I don’t want to leave her stranded like this.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW