Essex County prosecutors will lead probe of missing NJ teen, 14, who mysteriously vanished last month
Investigators are launching a social media blitz to help find the teen who disappeared after buying groceries at a deli
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Essex County Prosecutors are taking over the case of 14-year-old Jashyah Moore who went missing last month after picking up groceries at a New Jersey deli, according to media reports.
Acting Essex County Prosecutor Ted Stephens held a press conference Wednesday afternoon to make the announcement – nearly a month after the high school freshman vanished Oct. 14 after leaving Poppie's Deli, CBS New York reported.
Jashyah Moore/ Poppie's Deli Store (East Orange Police Department/ Google Maps)
"This occurrence is particularly troubling," Stephens told reporters, according to the news site. "Our society cannot ignore the fact that a 14-year-old girl, otherwise normal in all respects as far as we can tell, would disappear without a trace on a sunny day on a central thoroughfare in Essex County. This case cries out and demands our attention."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Stephens said investigators are launching an extensive social media campaign to solicit help from the public in tracking down the young girl.
The development comes one day after the young girl's family and friends gathered at the East Orange deli, armed with flashlights and flyers, and launched their own search party.
"I haven't slept, I haven't ate," the teen's grieving mom, Jamie Moore, told NBC New York. "Imagine if it was your child missing, how would you feel? She's 14. She has not lived."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}REWARD FOR MISSING TEEN REACHES $15,000
Authorities have offered a $15,000 reward for information on the teen's whereabouts.
East Orange Chief Phyllis Bindi previously said that surveillance video from inside the deli on Central Avenue showed the girl enter with an "older male" who paid for her items. Bindi said the man in the footage has cooperated fully with authorities, according to NBC New York.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jashyah Moore/ Jamie Moore (EOPD Facebook page)
The girl's mother pleaded with the public for help.
"I feel like somebody has her against her will," she said at a press conference Friday, the outlet reported. "You don't got to tell us who you are, just don't hurt my baby. Drop her off, drop her off at the police station."
Yolanda Johnson, who volunteered for Tuesday's search, said there was a double standard when it came to reporting on missing black teens, comparing the case of Jashyah Moore to Gabby Petito, whose disappearance received wall-to-wall coverage. She was later found dead.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We want that exposure for our babies that are going missing in our communities as well," she told NBC New York. We don't get that."
Jashyah Moore is 5'5", 135 pounds and was last seen wearing khaki pants and a black jacket, according to her mother.