A New York family has been searching for their 15-year-old son for more than a week after he disappeared following an argument with his father.
Per News 12, Jafet Jemmott, whose friends also call him Elijah, attends Midwood High School, and he was last seen leaving his Rockaways home.
“I believe that someone has him,” Jafet’s father, Federico Jemmott, told the news outlet on Saturday, December 6.
The missing teen’s family said that the last time he was spotted was at 6 a.m., and that was when their home security cameras spotted him leaving the house.
Jemmott said that his son had wanted to go to a Brooklyn thrift store to shop before going to the Kings Plaza Mall with his friends. Jemmott said he and Jafet had argued about that the night prior.
After his parents noticed that teen had left home the following day, they initially thought he was making his way to the two places. They also noticed that Jafet’s phone battery was at 5% after they checked an app. That was at the time he had left the house. Efforts by Jafet’s parents to get in touch with him also proved futile.
His friends also said he never met up with them. “The last conversation we had was me arguing with him about he cannot go,” Jemmott recalled. “I don’t even want to think about it.”
Jafet’s family said that an individual who matched their son’s description was spotted by YMCA workers close to their home. The workers said it appeared that the individual was about to board a Q52 bus not too long after Jafet left their home, News 12 reported.
“We have no idea where he was going, because he doesn’t usually take the 52,” Jemmott said.
Jafet’s father stated that they later became aware their son had received some WhatsApp messages two hours before he made his way out of the house. They, however, could not get the complete number and what was communicated between Jafet and that number.
“My theory is that maybe he was speaking to someone online,” Jemmott said. “They probably convinced him to leave the house that day and he left.”
Jafet’s family ultimately searched for him on the Q52 route and shared his photos. “You keep going through thoughts of what might have happened to him – is he alive? Is he not?” Jemmott said, adding that he’s hoping someone can spot his son to enable them to focus their search on a specific area.
“Whatever argument I had with him about it, I want to ask him to forgive me for that, and I really want to tell him that I love him,” Jemmott said.
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