A body found in a wooded area on Saturday is a 16-year-old New York girl who has been missing since August.
According to WHAM, Jakarah Lopez-Moore’s death has been ruled a homicide. Lopez-Moore, whose body was located off a parkway in Rochester, vanished after leaving her home on August 27.
Lopez-Moore’s family reported her missing two days later. The Democrat & Chronicle reported that the teen was initially believed to be staying over with a relative, but alarms were raised when it was discovered her phone was off.
Lopez-Moore’s mother told the news outlet that it took a week for Rochester police to contact the media regarding her daughter’s disappearance. Afterward, police allegedly informed the family that they believed the teen was endangered for reasons they could not reveal to the media.
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Despite this, an AMBER Alert was never issued. Amber Alerts are issued when it is believed an abduction took place.
Police said that Lopez-Moore briefly ran away at age 12 while in foster care. They also claimed the family had said they possibly saw her get into a car — willingly — on the night of her disappearance.
According to WHAM, police said Lopez-Moore’s body was “in a state of decomposition in which a scientific identification was required.” Her cause of death has not been disclosed.
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