NEW JERSEY – Police arrested the mother of a 14-year-old New Jersey girl who had been missing for a month on charges related to allegations of physical abuse and neglect.
Authorities say Jamie Moore, 39, was arrested on two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Her two children, the 14-year-old and her 3-year-old brother, have been placed in the custody of child protective services.
It is unknown if Jamie Moore obtained an attorney who could comment on the charges he faces.
The 14-year-old East Orange girl disappeared on October 14 after going out to buy some groceries from a local deli. Police safely located her Thursday, exactly four weeks later, in New York City.
Investigators revealed at a news conference Friday morning that the teenager decided to flee her home. Many questions remain about the circumstances of her disappearance, including how she managed on her own for nearly a month and what triggered charges against her mother.
Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens III said in a press release Thursday that the girl was “currently safe and receiving all appropriate services,” and that she would soon be taken back to her home in New Jersey.
At a press conference the next morning, Stephens and other top law enforcement officials revealed that their investigation points to the young woman spending a significant portion of the past month in New Jersey before traveling to New York City. How it moved and who, if anyone, may have supported its efforts is something researchers are still trying to piece together.
According to Stephens, the 14-year-old girl had last stayed in a shelter in Brooklyn before the New York City police located her in Harlem. Investigators are also looking at the young woman’s efforts to conceal her identity, possibly by cutting her hair, in addition to initially denying who she was to the officers.
“This is an ongoing investigation. We are pursuing certain leads that we believe may lead to some charges,” Stephens said Friday.
At the time of her disappearance, the young woman was not enrolled in any school, the prosecutor revealed.
The first sign of possible criminal charges also came during the press conference, when Stephens said the leads under investigation “may lead to some charges.” He said he and other officials had planned to meet with the mother later that day.
“The family and our community are grateful that she is safe and alive. We are grateful to all who went out of their way to help find her,” a spokesperson for the Moore family said in a statement.
Her family had said that she had not escaped, even though that was what the mother initially reported that first night, insisting that she must have been held against her will.
Some of those who joined the recent search efforts said they were upset by what they perceived to be a double standard in the care given to the disappearance of the New Jersey teenager compared to that given to Gabby Petito of Long Island.
“We want the same care for our babies,” a volunteer said recently.
Officials said they were watching from all angles as they investigated the girl’s disappearance. The FBI was also said to have been involved, and a $ 20,000 reward was offered for information that could help bring the girl home.
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