A New Jersey mother is pleading for help after her 14-year-old daughter vanished from the corner store more than 14 days ago.
Jashyah Moore was last seen on October 14 around 10 p.m. at the Poppies Deli in East Orange wearing khaki pants, a black jacket and black boots, a press release by East Orange City Hall says.
Jashyah’s mother, Jamie Moore told WPIX the teen had gone to the corner store around 7:30 a.m. to buy juice and paper towels. Moore said Jashyah returned home and said she’d lost the card used to buy the groceries.
“I just said, ‘Backtrack your steps,'” Moore told the WPIX. Nearly an hour went by and Jashyah hadn’t come back. Moore set out to look for her daughter with no luck. She eventually found a police officer and reported her daughter missing.
On the morning Jashyah went missing, she’d also gone to another store, where, according to a store employee, a man came in with the teen and bought her items, WPIX reported.
“He talked with her; he pay and go,” the employee, Bassan Awaldi said, adding that he was wearing a baseball cap and mask.
Moore said Jashyah’s disappearance is not like her, because she wouldn’t stay somewhere overnight without letting her family know where she is.
“Nothing would keep her away from me,” Jamie Moore told the news outlet. “Nothing would keep her away from her little brother. And she’s such a smart girl. She would not stay out overnight. She would not want me to worry.”
Some relatives are also concerned because she was reportedly set to testify before a grand jury. According to WPIX, there is a pending domestic violence case against her mother’s estranged husband who is an East Orange police officer.
According to a relative, Yolanda Moore, the husband allegedly struck Jashyah last year and the teen’s mother received a letter stating Jashyah would be testifying in the case, per WPIX.
The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office told the news station that they don’t think Jashyah’s disappearance is related to the pending domestic violence case, but “it is being monitored by law enforcement.”
Federal agents from the FBI joined the East Orange Police Department and New Jersey State Police in searching for Jashyah.
Reading about Black trauma can have an impact on your mental health. If you or someone you know need immediate mental health help, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
Get the latest news 24/7 on The Black Information Network. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app or click HERE to tune in live.
