Reward increased in search for missing N.J. teen JaShyah Moore
The reward for info leading to the location and safe return of 14-year-old JaShyah went from $10,000 to $15,000.
Police, community members and concerned family members continue to search for a missing 14-year-old girl in East Orange, New Jersey.
A reward for information leading to the location and safe return of JaShyah Moore, offered by the Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura’s Crime Stoppers Program, has been increased from $10,000 to $15,000 after a donation from a local business owner.
According to a recent report from ABC7, the teen was last seen heading to a deli on Central Avenue on Thursday, Oct. 14. She was wearing a black jacket, khaki pants and black boots.
Her mother, Jamie Moore, is pleading for her child’s return.
“Please, my daughter is 14 years old. She does not deserve this. She did not run away,” Moore said. “I love you, JaShyah. If you see this, don’t be scared. Mommy is going to find you.”
“I feel like somebody may have her against her will and that’s why she hasn’t called me,” she said. “That’s why she hasn’t reached out.”
JaShyah had gone to Poppie’s Deli to buy some things, but reportedly left her mother’s payment card at the store. She went back to retrieve it and has yet to return home.
Search parties have been looking for the teen since her Oct. 14 disappearance, and the FBI has joined the investigation as community members noted that probes into missing Black and brown girls often go underreported in the media.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children recently added more information about JaShyah to its database. It notes that the girl is 5’5” and weighs 135 lbs.
“She is only 14 years old, and we know she needs our help,” said Ted Green, mayor of East Orange, where a candlelight vigil is planned for Friday. “And what we’re doing, we are asking this community, as we have been asking since Day One, to help us in locating this young lady.”
As previously reported in May, the Center for Missing and Exploited Children claimed that over 50 Black girls from New York and New Jersey were missing at the time of publication. There are also 64,000 Black women missing in the U.S., according to FBI data gathered by the Black and Missing Foundation.
“We’re seeing more and more young girls and boys lured into sex trafficking or meeting someone online,” said Natalie Wilson, co-founder of the Black and Missing Foundation. “These predators know how to navigate social media, and they’re interacting with our children. Sadly, we’re seeing an uptick in kids who are going missing.”
“We are asking for the public’s assistance, said East Orange Police Chief Phyllis Bindi, “and we urge anyone with information to contact our Tips Hotline at 973.266.5041. All tips may be reported anonymously.”
“If I gotta die myself to find you, we’re gonna find you,” says Jamie Moore. “We’re doing everything we can, JaShyah. I love you.”
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