What to Know
- Jashyah Moore was found safe in New York City on Thursday after having been missing for nearly a month
- The 14-year-old from New Jersey vanished after going to pick up groceries at a local deli on Oct. 14 in East Orange
- Details surrounding her disappearance, or how she was found in the city, were not immediately shared
Jashyah Moore, a14-year-old New Jersey girl who had been missing for nearly a month, was found on Thursday in New York City , officials said.
Details surrounding her disappearance, including where and how she was found in the city, were not immediately shared. The Essex County Prosecutor's Office, which was leading the investigation, is scheduled to hold an 11 a.m. press conference Friday in Newark regarding the case.
Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens III said in a press release that Jashyah was "currently safe and being provided all appropriate services," and that she would be brought back to her home in New Jersey shortly.
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"The family and our community is grateful she is safe and alive. We are thankful to everybody who put in the work to help find her," a spokesperson for the Moore family said in a statement.
Stephens previously said that all possibilities were "on the table" when previously asked whether investigators believed if the East Orange girl had been kidnapped or run away. Moore, a high school freshman, vanished Oct. 14 after heading out to pick up some groceries from a local deli, officials have said.
Fifty investigators fanned out across the neighborhood retracing the missing girl's steps in recent days, going through the family's cellphone records, talking to potential witnesses and looking for video evidence that may explain what happened.
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Moore's mother, Jamie Moore, held steadfast to her commitment to find her daughter during a Tuesday night search party where, armed with flashlights and flyers, the desperate mother said aloud to her missing child, "I love you. I love you. If you see this, I'm looking for you, if I gotta die myself to find you."
Investigators said Jamie Moore reported her daughter as a possible runaway late the night she disappeared, the mother later insisted that likely wasn't the case.
"Jashyah is a smart girl, she would not stay out, she would not go out or go off with anyone. I feel like somebody has her against her will. That's why she hasn't called me," she said.
The chief investigator at the Essex County Prosecutor's Office said Wednesday officials have been combing through surveillance video but haven't yet released it. Police who had been leading the investigation up until this point said cops had obtained surveillance from within Poppie's Deli on Central Avenue, where Jashyah Moore was last seen. She entered with an "older male" who paid for her items.
The two didn't leave together, and police have said the male in the video has been fully cooperative with investigators. Still, Jamie Moore says she suspects foul play.
The reward for information that helps lead investigators to find Jashyah increased to $20,000 on Wednesday, as anonymous concerned business owners contributed to the amount, officials said.
Some who joined in the recent search efforts say they were upset by what they perceived to be a double standard in the exposure given to the New Jersey teen's disappearance compared with that given to Long Island's Gabby Petito.
"We want that exposure for our babies that are going missing in our communities as well. We don't get that," search volunteer Yolanda Johnson said.
Stephens has said his office acknowledges Petito's was a high-profile case that was constantly in the news -- and that it did yield "results and information."
The FBI, East Orange Police, Essex County Sheriff's Office, New Jersey State Police and Orange Police Department were all said to be involved in the search for Jashyah Moore.
Authorities have yet to identify any suspects in her disappearance, at least publicly. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Essex County Prosecutor's Office.
