Missing 14-year-old New Jersey girl Jashyah Moore is found safe – NBC News

Jashyah Moore, the 14-year-old New Jersey girl who was the subject of a monthlong search involving the FBI and local and state police, ran away from home, officials said Friday.

She spent the past month in locations throughout New Jersey and New York City and was recently staying at a shelter in Brooklyn, according to Theodore N. Stephens II, the acting Essex County, New Jersey, prosecutor.

“The young lady appears to have run away,” he said during a news conference Friday morning. “And she did not want to make herself known to anyone as to where she was. She seemed to be … more so at ease where she was.”

Stephens added that Jashyah “was ultimately met with police uptown, I believe in Harlem.”

He said the case of the teen’s disappearance remained under investigation. While no charges have been brought against anyone, that could change, according to Stephens.

Prosecutors in his office planned to meet with Jashyah’s mother later Friday to determine if the girl will be released to her custody.

East Orange Police Chief Phyllis Bindi said Friday during the media briefing that her department and the community were elated Jashyah was found safe.

“This is a perfect example for the potential to have positive outcomes when we come together and work as a whole community,” Bindi said.

Authorities on Thursday announced Jashyah was safe, but provided no other details.

She had last been seen at a deli on Oct. 14 in East Orange, and police in that town, New Jersey state police and the FBI have been among the agencies involved in the search for her.

People in the community conducted searches as well, and her mother pleaded for any information to find the teen.

A reward of up to $20,000 was offered in the search.

Stephens on Wednesday said that more than 50 members of law enforcement were in East Orange and Orange retracing the teen’s known steps and following up on leads in the search.

East Orange is a city of almost 70,000 in the New York City region, around 10 miles west of Manhattan.

“The family and our community is grateful she is safe and alive,” a family spokesperson said in a statement. “We are thankful to everybody who put in the work to help find her.”