ESTEPHANIE DE JESUS - 14 yo - Belmont/ Leominster MA

Missing girl last seen at mall

Posted: 08/15/2012 06:40:14 AM EDT
By Jack Minch


COURTESY PHOTO
Estephanie De Jesus, of Belmont, was last seen at the Mall at Whitney Field in Leominster about a week ago.

LEOMINSTER -- Estephanie De Jesus was last seen at The Mall at Whitney Field a week ago, but her family has no idea how the 14-year-old managed to get there or where she went afterward.

Estephanie lives in Belmont but attends the Devereux School in Rutland.

She was with a state social worker in Haymarket Court in Boston on her way to juvenile court when she ran away on Aug. 6, said her mother, Candy Quinones, of Belmont, and aunt, Johanna Del Valle, of Columbus, Ga.

Estephanie ran into a friend in downtown Boston that evening and said somebody from New York was going to pick her up the next day. But the family does not know who it was, Quinones and Del Valle said.

Estephanie apparently called her school the next day and said she was not ready to return but called again Aug. 8 from the mall saying she was ready to return.

By the time a school official arrived, Estephanie was gone, her mother said through a translator, Jenny Ortiz.

The only clue seems to be a surveillance video shot from the mall that shows Estephanie talking to an adult man. It's unclear whether Estephanie walked away with the man.

"There are a lot of sick guys outside and I don't think (police) are taking it seriously looking for her," Del Valle said on a conference call with Quinones and Ortiz. "We are the ones doing everything."

Her family does not believe Estephanie had money for train fare to get to Leominster so they do not know if somebody from New York did arrive and take her to Leominster or if she somehow used the train.

Estephanie ran away from the Devereux once before for an afternoon.

Quinones filed a missing person report with the Belmont Police Department. Detective William Reagan referred comment to the department's media relations officer, who could not be reached late Tuesday afternoon.

Leominster interim Police Chief Robert J. Healey said his department will offer what help it can.

"It's week-old information, but we will look into it and forward it to whoever is interested in it," Healey said.

Devereux Executive Director Steve Yerdon was not available for comment Tuesday evening.

A copy of the video was not available.

The mall's marketing director, Shelly Clark, referred comment to Leominster police.

Read more: http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/local/ci_21316771/missing-girl-last-seen-at-mall#ixzz23cZHODrG

Belmont girl is found safe after area search

Posted: 08/16/2012 07:34:54 AM EDT

By Michael Hartwell

mhartwell@sentinelandenterprise.com @sehartwell on Twitter

RUTLAND -- Estephanie de Jesus, the 14-year-old runaway who had been last seen at Leominster's Mall at Whitney Field on Aug. 8, was found unharmed at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Her aunt, Johanna Del Valle, of Columbus, Ga., said de Jesus showed up Wednesday at the Devereux School in Rutland, where she is a student. Details are scarce, but Del Valle said de Jesus' mother, Candy Quinones of Belmont, was relieved.

"She's really happy, but she still has a lot of questions," said Del Valle. She said the family has not heard a version of events from the school or the girl's social worker yet.

Devereux is a therapeutic boarding school that serves students with emotional, behavorial and mental issues.

On Aug. 6 de Jesus was with a state social worker in Haymarket Court in Boston on the way to juvenile court when she ran away. She is reported to have called the school the next day and told the staff she was not ready to return, but then called again on Aug. 8 from the Leominster mall saying she was ready to return.

Del Valle said de Jesus was spending Wednesday night at the Devereux School.

Read more: http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/local/ci_21326136/belmont-girl-is-found-safe-after-area-search#ixzz23nwlLMDL