*Jashyah Moore, the 14-year-old New Jersey teenager who went missing last month, has been found safe in New York City, officials said Thursday.
“Jashyah is currently safe and is being provided all appropriate services. She will be returned to New Jersey shortly,” Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens said in a news release, CNN reports.
The mother of the teenager previously spoke about her daughter’s possible abduction last month.
A reward of $20,000 had been offered for information about Moore, who had not been seen or heard from since October 14.
“She was abducted,” Jashyah’s mother, Jamie Moore, said during a press conference held Tuesday. “I don’t know who did it, but we’re looking for you.”
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BREAKING: Essex County Prosecutor: 14-Year-Old Jashyah Moore Of East Orange Found Safe In New York City.
CBS2 has learned a good Samaritan spotted and recognized the girl and called 911. She was alone near West 111th Street and Lenox Avenue.#jashyahmoore #eastorange #nyc pic.twitter.com/VENCdc7X1p
— CBS New York (@CBSNewYork) November 12, 2021
The East Orange teen was last seen inside Poppies Deli last month.
“We are investigating and looking at all avenues with regards to this case,” Mitchell McGuire, the chief investigator for the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, told reporters. “We are treating it and looking at every lead that could possibly come in.”
Here’s the backstory from PEOPLE:
Newly released surveillance video from the US Quick Food Mart in East Orange shows the teen entering the store that morning with an older man. The footage shows her placing several bottled beverages on the counter, which the man pays for before they both leave together. According to officials, the girl next stopped at Poppies Deli, where she was last seen. She was with that same older man, according to staff at the store. Police confirm that they have spoken to the man seen in the video, and that he is cooperating with their investigation.
Jashyah’s mother previously said when she last saw her daughter, the teenager left home at around 7:30 a.m. to pick up some groceries. When she returned home, she told her mother she lost the EBT card, so her mother told her to retrace her steps in an effort to find it.
The teen’s family finds the timing of her disappearance suspicious, as she was expected to testify before a grand jury against her estranged stepfather who is facing an assault charge stemming from a 2020 incident.
According to NBC News, police don’t believe the assault case is connected to Jashyah’s disappearance.
The police have released no additional details about Jashyah’s disappearance.
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