MANDEVILLE, Manchester — As the search for 12-year-old Manchester High student Jayden Smith entered its sixth day more than 100 of his classmates, teachers and administrators of the school, joined the police in combing through the Wesley Road area, after reported sightings of the child there on Wednesday.

But the search party left empty-handed as the hours-long hunt, which was aided by a drone, ended without any sign of the boy.

Karcia Beezer, a sixth-form student at Manchester High, told journalists that she is saddened by the disappearance of her young schoolmate.

“I joined this search because I believe that we have to find Jayden. He is very important to our school body. He is in the cadets and I think he is a very good young man. He served very well at his previous school and I believe that he will excel at Manchester High School,” said Beezer.

“Today we are saddened… it is not a good feeling for us and we all are searching for him earnestly, because he needs to come back home,” Beezer added.

Amid the reported sightings of a child believed to be Jayden, the sixth-form student is hoping for his safe return.

“Jayden, come back. We need you; it is important for you to come back. I know that you are probably scared, but we will comfort you and cause you no harm, it is okay,” Beezer said.

On Wednesday evening police swarmed Wesley Road after they were alerted by citizens that a child matching Jayden’ description eluded passers-by who tried to approach him.

One eyewitness claimed the child ran off when people tried to approach him.

“I was driving when I saw him and a man was calling out to people for help. [The boy] was running. There was a taxi that was passing at that time too, but [the boy] ran off by the time I turned my car around,” she said.

Manchester High School Principal Jasford Gabriel said 102 students and 15 members of staff joined the search for Jayden on Thursday.

“The entire school population wanted to come out today, but the protocols that we would have to engage with parents would not have allowed us to get everybody, but we believe the more the number of eyes that we can get on the road the greater the possibilities,” said Gabriel.

“As it relates to the sightings conclusively based on who I spoke with, Jayden was seen along this Wesley Road area last night. When they raised the alarm he started to run. One of my staff workers at school saw him and she said if she had gotten some help from one of the males on the road that was going in the other direction they could have held onto him, but by the time they could have done anything he disappeared somewhere in the area,” added Gabriel.

The concerned principal, who has been keeping hope alive for Jayden’s safe return, said the account of the staff member gives optimism.

“The positive we take from that is that he is alive. We are happy about that and we think we are getting closer and closer to having a breakthrough and so we are combing the area with a number of eyes and the expectation is that we will find him,” he said.

“We want to see him and [hold him] and we will take it from there. As you can imagine, the school community is quite uneasy. We are not so happy when one member suffers and the entire community feels it.

“We had a prayer meeting this morning (Thursday), praying about the whole thing as a school community, and then following up with the search and we believe that we are nearing to getting a breakthrough in this matter,” added Gabriel.

(Video: Kasey Williams)

Principal at Manchester High School Jasford Gabriel speaking to journalists on Thursday. (Photo: Kasey Williams)

Students and police personnel walk up a hill on Wesley Road in Mandeville on Thursday as the search for missing Manchester High schoolboy Jayden Smith continues. (Photo: Kasey Williams)

An undated photo of missing Manchester High schoolboy Jayden Smith, 12.