A Jersey City teen has been missing for 10 days, despite his family’s arduous efforts to locate him.
Matthew Fernandez, a 16-year-old sophomore at Dickinson High School, was last seen by his family May 8, his mom, Cynthia Amaya, told The Jersey Journal.
She and her husband, Gianni Fernandez have notified the police, checked the local hospitals and placed fliers across the area. But they haven’t heard a word about their son.
“He could be anywhere, I just don’t know,” Amaya said. “Police are looking for him. Detectives came to the house. They went to the school to talk to the teachers. But nothing so far.”
Jersey City officials did not respond to a request for more information on the investigation. School district officials could not be reached for comment.
Amaya said her son suffers from ADHD (attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder) and has trouble learning and staying focused. When Matthew’s uncle went to Dickinson High to tell them Matthew was missing, they told him Matthew had missed many days of school this year.
“He was many days absent from school, but I was never notified,” Amaya said. “I think it’s the people he was hanging out with. ... I think he has gotten involved with the wrong crowd.
Amaya’s and Fernandez’s older son is an NJIT graduate and their daughter attends Rutgers University, “so it’s not like my kids are street kids. My kids are very smart, intelligent, very good students. I don’t know what happened with (Matthew).
“I just want him home.”
Amaya is hoping Matthew will walk through the door, or at the least someone will provide information on his whereabouts and if he’s OK — “He’s never done this before.”
“(Police) tried to ping him through his cell phone, but they couldn’t; and they tried to call his cell phone; and they have been checking the ‘what’s app” communications app,” Amaya said.
