Troubled Texas Teen Missing In Miami
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - A troubled teen from Texas is playing a game of 'cat and mouse' in Miami with a private security firm sent to bring her home.
Earlier this year, Jayden Henry, 14, was placed by her family in the Fort Lauderdale rehab facility Inspiration for Youth and Families.
Private investigator Steven Sarduy, with Indemnity Security & Investigations, said Henry escaped the facility on November 11th, along with several other girls.
On November 18th, Sarduy said, Jayden called her mother from a blocked number and mentioned she was heading to Miami and would eventually take a bus back to Texas. When her mother asked how she would pay for it, Jayden reportedly mentioned she "had her ways" and hung up the phone.
That was the last her family heard from her.
Her father drove to Miami to try and find her. He hasn't located her but did learn that she had been spotted in the Overtown area, drugged and used for prostitution, according to Sarduy.
James Henry, Hayden's father, told CBS4's Peter D'Oench, as he fought back tears, "She's out there on the street and this is not the place for her. She is my only daughter and my only child. It would mean the world to me to get her back. Please if anybody knows anything call us. She is my baby girl and if she sees this, please come home."
"She grew up in a city of barely 100,000 people and she has never experienced anything like this," he said.
Marisa Paul, Jayden's mother, told D'Oench, "She's 14 and she is out there in the street and she has never done anything like this before. I want to bring her home safe. I can' sleep and I can't eat."
On November 20th, the family hired the private investigation agency which has canvassed the Overtown, Brickell, and Wynwood areas.
Sanduy, the head of Indemnity Security and Investigations, said, "We have been canvassing this area for 48 hours. This is a dangerous city and no need for a 14 year old to be here. Time is critical in this case."
Family members learned that witnesses placed her at the Starlite Motel on 1st Avenue and SW 8th in the Brickell area. The motel's employees confirmed that Henry had been there with a male and another female.
She was also spotted in the Jackson Memorial Hospital area.
The investigations firm is working with Miami and Fort Lauderdale police on this case.
Anyone with information is urged to call Sarduy at (786) 486-1289.
They are also urged to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477) or Fort Lauderdale Police at (954) 828-5547.