A Queens family is still looking for their teenage son after he went missing at the end of last month, according to authorities.
Police said Jafet Jemmott, 15, was last seen leaving his home on Burchell Avenue in Arverne around 6 a.m. on Nov. 28. He’d had an argument with his father about wanting money to go shopping, according to NYPD officials. His family said they later heard from his friends that he was supposed to meet them at the Kings Plaza Mall on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn that morning.
Jemmott’s parents said he never made it to the mall, and they tracked his phone over the Cross Bay Bridge until it lost battery. They believe he boarded the Q52 bus in his neighborhood.
“We are basically assuming that he went to meet someone at that time, because there's nowhere else someone could be leaving to go at six o'clock in the morning — no mall, no stores are open,” Jemmott’s father Federico Jemmott told Gothamist on Wednesday.
Federico said his son has “excellent grades in almost every subject” at Midwood High School and enjoys playing video games. He has never disappeared from home before, according to his family and law enforcement officials.
“If he's not being held by someone that’s not allowing him to speak, then he should reach out to his family and know that his family miss him and that they love him and that we all love him,” his father said. “We are praying for him, not just me and my family but the entire community.”
Jafet Jemmott, 15
Jemmott was last seen wearing a black sweater, black pants and white sneakers, officials said. Police said he is about 5’6” and 140 pounds with brown eyes and black hair.
The NYPD is asking anyone with information on Jemmott’s whereabouts to call the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or, for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). People can also submit their tips on the Crime Stoppers website.
This is a developing story based on preliminary information from police and has been updated with additional details.
