High School Student Left Home and Disappeared After Getting into Argument with His Dad

A New York City teenager has been missing for more than a week after leaving his home and never returning, his family and police say.

In an email sent on Thursday, Dec. 11, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) said that 15-year-old Jafet Jemmott was last seen leaving his home in the Rockaways on Nov. 28 at about 6 a.m. local time.

Jafet’s father, Federico Jemmott, said they argued the night before because Jafet wanted to go shopping at a thrift store in Brooklyn and then head to the Kings Plaza mall with friends, News 12 reported.

“The last conversation we had was me arguing with him about [how] he cannot go,” Federico told the outlet. “I don’t even want to think about it.”

According to News 12 and Gothamist, his parents believed that when Jafet left the house the next morning, he was going to follow through on those plans — but he never arrived at the mall.

Using a tracking app, they saw that his phone had only 5% battery remaining when he walked out the door. The last location they were able to see before the phone lost power was near the Cross Bay Bridge.

His family believes he boarded the Q52 bus shortly after leaving home.

“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,” Federico told Gothamist.

Speaking with News 12, Federico also shared that, according to the phone company, Jafet received messages on WhatsApp about two hours before he left home. However, the family has not been able to see what the messages said or who sent them.

“My theory is that maybe he was speaking to someone online,” Federico told the outlet. “They probably convinced him to leave the house that day and he left.”

Officials and family members say Jafet does not have a history of running away or leaving home without telling anyone.

“We are praying for him, not just me and my family but the entire community,” Federico told Gothamist.

According to the NYPD, Jafet is 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs about 140 lbs. He has a slim build, brown eyes and black hair, and was last seen wearing a black sweater, black pants and white sneakers.

Upon news of his disappearance, local activists formed a search team on Sunday, Dec. 7, to distribute flyers and search the Cross Bay area, The Rockaway Times reported.

Federico told News 12 that he can’t stop thinking about their last argument, adding, “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.”

Anyone with information about Jafet’s disappearance is urged to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), submit tips to the CrimeStoppers website, or contact the department on X @NYPDTips.