Multiple teenagers from across the Bronx are missing in an alarming trend that has plagued the borough in recent weeks, according to police.
There are currently at least six Bronx teenagers — in separate cases — who are missing, according to the NYPD. Several other teenagers were reported missing earlier in the month but have since been found.
The latest teenager to go missing is 16-year-old Keon McCullough, a resident of Unionport, who was last seen on Jan. 22. He is currently among the six missing along with Brithany Yanchapanta, Jasmelyn Ferreir, Jose Ovalie Vasquez, Moises Perez and Javin Rodriguez, who has been missing since Friday, Dec. 22, as previously reported by the Bronx Times.
Yanchapanta, 15, a Quimby Avenue resident within the Castle Hill section of the borough, was last seen on Friday, Jan. 12, at approximately 7 p.m. at her residence. She is described as being approximately 5 feet tall and 110 pounds with a light complexion, brown eyes, long black hair and a slim build.
Additionally, 15-year-old Aytch-Epps and 13-year-old Jasmelyn Ferreire were separately reported missing on Jan. 19.
Aytch-Epps and Ferreire, both Parkchester residents, were reported missing within an hour of each other. Aytch-Epps was last seen leaving her residence at 9 a.m. on Jan. 19.
Ferreire is approximately 5 feet 6 inches tall and was last seen wearing a beige sweater, black pants and black slippers while carrying a brown bag. She was last seen leaving her residence at 10 a.m. on Jan. 19.
The cops have had some success in tracking down missing teens this month, with five of the 13 Bronx teens reported missing this year having been found.
For instance, police said that 15-year-old Joshua Volquez, who resides in the University Heights neighborhood, has since been located and returned home after being reported missing on Jan. 18
Additionally, 16-year-old Jayden Holt was found and returned home after he went missing on Jan. 11. According to police, Holt was missing for a week, after it was reported that he had gone missing from his residence at Washington Avenue. He was safely located on Jan. 19, according to the NYPD.
Earlier this month, the Bronx Times reported that one 12-year-old and three teenagers, all separate cases, were unaccounted for.
At that time, the missing included 12-year-old Jaylin Colon, 17-year-old Jose Ovalie Vasquez, 14-year-old Isaiah Lewis and 15-year-old Moises Perez, with Lewis and Perez both residing within the confines of the 43rd Precinct. Lewis and Perez also disappeared on the same day, on Friday, Jan. 12.
Colon and Lewis have since been found safely and returned to their residences following their disappearances, according to the NYPD.
An NYPD spokesperson told the Bronx Times that authorities don’t believe there is evidence suggesting that the recent string of incidents involving missing teens in the borough are connected. A spokesperson was unable to provide information regarding why the youth were missing or the circumstances regarding how they returned back to their residences.
“We are urging our neighbors to come forward and share any information with the NYPD that could help us find our missing youth,” Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson said in a statement to the Bronx Times. “Let us also send prayers of healing and strength to the families and pray for their safe return.”
On Sunday, Jan. 21 and Monday, Jan. 22, the NYPD confirmed that another two missing teens, 17-year-old Mariyah Sargeant — who had been reported missing since Dec. 30 — and 16-year-old Treasure Wilson, who was reported missing on Jan. 4, along with 15-year-old Volquez, had both returned home safely.
On Tuesday, Jan. 23, police confirmed another three teens who had been located and were safe — 13-year old Angelina Guerrero, Aytch-Epps along with 16-year old Nassim Minor, who had been last seen two weeks earlier on Jan. 8.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Bronx Times was also contacted by one of the parents of Daquan Myers, who confirmed that he was also home.
Myers, a 13-year old Clason Point resident, had been missing since Tuesday, Jan. 16.
The NYPD provided the Bronx Times with an updated list of individuals who are still missing as well as those who have since been returned home safely, as of Monday evening, Jan. 22.
In total, the NYPD has been responsible for bringing nine Bronx teens and one 12-year old home safely in the past two weeks.
Anyone with information in regard to any of these incidents is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 888-57-PISTA (74782). The public is also able to submit tips online by logging onto CrimeStoppers or on X (formerly known as Twitter) @NYPDTips.
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 1 p.m. on Jan. 24 with information regarding Guerrero, Aytch-Epps, Minor and Myers’ return home following their disappearances.
Reach Steven Goodstein at sgoodstein@schnepsmedia.com or (718) 260–8326. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
