East Orange, NJ teen vanishes ‘without trace’ as police tackle rumors

EAST ORANGE — The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office has taken over the search for a police officer's 14-year-old stepdaughter who has been missing for nearly a month.

Jashyah Moore was last seen the morning of Oct. 14 at Poppie's Deli on Central Avenue in East Orange, as her mother has said that she was retracing her steps to find a lost payment card.

In addition to East Orange Police, the FBI and State Police have joined the investigation and would continue to support the efforts, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens said at a Wednesday briefing.

Police have not at any point suspected foul play, Mayor Ted Green said at the same briefing, repeating what city police said at a briefing a day earlier from the steps of East Orange City Hall.

A relative had previously told reporters that the teen was set to testify in a domestic violence case, involving her stepfather, who was an East Orange Police Officer.

Stephens said they have questioned "that officer and other individuals," when asked on Wednesday about the reported incident.

He said they are “not at liberty to speak on any persons of interest” at this time.

Jashyah has been described as 5 feet, 5 inches and 135 pounds. She was last seen wearing khakis, black boots and a black jacket.

A reward of up to $20,000 has been offered by the Essex County Crime Stoppers Program, with contributions from "concerned" local business people, who wish to remain anonymous, added to the amount on Wednesday.

Anyone with information can contact 1-877-847-7432 or 973-266-5041. Calls will be kept confidential.

Police also were asked to clarify when the teen was first reported missing, which authorities said was close to midnight on Oct. 14.

A GoFundMe campaign started by the teen’s mother, Jamie Moore, had raised more than $7,000 to help with the community’s search efforts, as of Wednesday.

The teen's disappearance was covered by New Jersey native, Whoopi Goldberg, and the rest of the talk panel on The View earlier Wednesday.

"Somebody saw something. You may not realize that you've seen it, but someone saw something," Goldberg said, urging anyone with information to contact law enforcement.