‘We are keeping hope alive’
Manchester High principal renews call for safe return of missing student
MANCHESTER, Jamaica— The leadership of the Mandeville-based Manchester High School has reiterated calls for the safe return of missing student Jayden Smith, who was reportedly last seen after leaving school on Friday.
“Much anxiety still hangs over our school community and indeed across Jamaica and the Diaspora as we continue to be so concerned about little Jayden Smith who has not reached home since leaving school [on] Friday evening,” Principal of Manchester High, Jasford Gabriel, said in an audio release on Sunday.
Police on Saturday activated a high alert, a day after the 12-year-old boy went missing.
In a release, police said Jayden is of dark complexion, slim build, and about 152 centimetres (5 feet) tall.
Reports from the Alligator Pond police indicate that he was last seen at home around 6:15 am on Friday, dressed in a khaki uniform and brown shoes. He has not been seen or heard from since.
However, Gabriel said Jayden was reportedly last seen on Friday evening.
“He left school after prayers Friday evening and was reportedly seen in Mandeville after 5:00 pm, that is a time when you would generally be home already, and he has not been seen since,” he said.
“The matter has been reported to the police and other relevant agencies and … we are seeking support all around,” he added.
The principal in pleading for Jayden’s safe return described him as a quiet student.
“We continue to pray and trust God that he is safe. We are seeking national and international support in trying to network, so that we can have safe return of Jayden to home and school we are keeping hope alive. Jayden is a first-form student from Wales in south Manchester, so he would have just started school less than a month ago,” he said.
“A quiet student with a brilliant mind. [He] was placed at Manchester High School with an [primary exit profile] average of over 90 per cent and of course he is eager to pursue him dreams,” added Gabriel.
Investigators are urging anyone with information on Jayden’s whereabouts to contact the Alligator Pond police at 876-224-3113, the police emergency number 119, or the nearest police station.
-Kasey Williams
