New Jersey Teen, 14, Goes Missing After Going on Trip to Pick Up Groceries

An East Orange, New Jersey mother is looking for answers after her teen daughter disappeared last month.

The last time 14-year-old Jashyah Moore was seen was on Oct. 14, after the girl visited a deli called Poppies Deli. PEOPLE reports the teen left her home around 7:30 a.m. to get some groceries for her mother. At some point, Jashyah lost the EBT card she was going to use to make the purchase. When Jashyah told her mother, Jamie Moore, that she’d lost the card, Moore told her to retrace her steps.

During an interview with WPIX-TV, Moore told the news outlet that she waited for an hour for her daughter to come before going out to look for her. After no luck in finding Jashyah, she asked police officers driving by to assist with her search. A person who works at the store says Jashyah walked into the store with a man who appeared to be in his 30s. The unidentified man paid for Jashyah’s items, PEOPLE reports.

There are no details regarding if Jashyah knew the man. Jashyah was wearing khaki pants, a black jacket and black boots at the time of her disappearance. Moore says Jashyah is “such a smart girl.” “She would not stay out overnight,” says Moore.