KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Under Sunday's sun, about 50 volunteers passed out flyers and asked for the community’s help in an effort to locate missing 13-year-old Jayden Robker.
"Is he in the woods? Is he hurt somewhere? Is he at a friend's house, walking the street?" said Jayden's aunt Susan Deedon. "I just want to drive up and down the streets looking for him."
Volunteers split up to search three areas near the Robker home where Jayden's mother, Heather, says he left on Feb. 2 with Pokémon cards and his skateboard.
“I want him to know that he is not in trouble, that we dearly miss him — his brothers and sisters constantly as about him, where he’s at — [and] that if he needs help to call out for help or get in contact with someone to let us know that he is okay," she said.
Many of the community members who came to canvass were strangers to Jayden's family.
"I don't know what his circumstances are, and I don't care. I want him to know that there are people who will be more than happy to talk to him, come pick him up, give him a phone to use, just to make sure that he has contact with his family who desperately need him," said volunteer Shell Campbell.
The community's willingness to act with empathy and support the Robker family left Deedon feeling like she had found a sense of direction.
"It was great to see so many people that have no idea who we are, who Jayden is but just want to do anything to help," she said.
But despite a successful canvas, Jayden remains missing.
“As a mother, getting tips, I felt very hopeful," Robker said. "But then when you find out it’s not him, it’s like bringing you back down to where you were. I am very hopeful that we will find him. I feel like we’re getting close.”
Some community members have put candles in their windows as a show of support for the family. Robker encourages others to send her photos of their candles to light the way for her son.
Anyone who may have seen Jayden or knows where he is staying is urged to contact the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department Juvenile Section at 816-234-5150.
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