Jashyah Moore, the 14-year-old New Jersey teenager missing since Oct. 14 after buying groceries at a grocery store, was found safe Thursday in New York City, authorities said.
Details surrounding her strange disappearance, including where and how she was found in the city, were not immediately shared. The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, which is leading the investigation, announced a press conference on the case at 11 a.m. Friday in Newark.
Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens III said in a press release that Jashyah is “currently safe and receiving all appropriate services,” and that she would be taken back to her home in New Jersey soon.
Stephens previously said that all possibilities were “on the table” when asked if investigators believed whether the East Orange girl had been abducted or escaped.
Moore, a high school freshman, disappeared Oct. 14 after buying some groceries from a local deli, authorities said.
Fifty investigators were deployed in the neighborhood following in the footsteps of the missing girl in recent days. The team set about reviewing the family’s cell phone records, speaking with potential witnesses, and looking for video evidence that could explain what happened.
Moore’s mother, Jamie Moore, said she hadn’t been able to sleep or eat well in weeks. The woman reported her daughter’s case as a possible escape, but later proclaimed that it could be a kidnapping.
“Jashyah is an intelligent girl, she would not leave, she would not go out or go with anyone. I feel that someone has her against her will. That is why she has not called me,” he said.
“You don’t have to tell us who you are, just don’t hurt my baby. Drop her, drop her at the police station.”
Surveillance video from Poppie’s Deli on Central Avenue shows Jashyah Moore on the morning of October 14 with an “older man” who paid for his items.
Police said the man in the video has fully cooperated with investigators.
Law enforcement officials on Wednesday offered $ 20,000 for leads on the case.
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