Jayden Robker disappeared on Feb. 2 from Kansas City, Missouri, police said. He was found dead on March 10 in the nearby city of Gladstone. (Image: Kansas City Police Department)
Authorities confirmed the worst in the search for Jayden Robker, 13. He was found dead Friday in Gladstone, Missouri.
The teen disappeared from his hometown of Kansas City, Missouri, back on Feb. 2. He was last seen around 3 p.m. on a black skateboard and wearing a green camouflage hoodie, gray sweatpants, and black tennis shoes, officers said during the search.
“Family is concerned for his welfare,” officers wrote at the time.
#NEW – The FBI has announced a $5k reward for information regarding the whereabouts of missing juvenile Jayden Robker. Anyone with information on Jayden’s whereabouts is encouraged to call law enforcement immediately. pic.twitter.com/EEIvoHaie2
— FBI Kansas City (@FBIKansasCity) March 8, 2023
Gladstone police conducting a death investigation said in a press release that “Preliminary autopsy results indicate no obvious evidence of foul play.” It is unclear how he wound up in Gladstone, specifically near Englewood Road and North Broadway, which is approximately a 17-minute drive from Kansas City.
Authorities confirmed Robker’s identity on Sunday.
“I kept telling my brother; I need to search those ponds,” Jayden’s aunt, Susan Deedon, told WDAF in a Friday report. “I just didn’t know there was another pond over there, or I would have gone and looked. Even if he ran away, he ran away for a reason.”
“All we got is they’re 99% sure they believe it’s Jayden and that we’ll find out more after the autopsy tomorrow morning,” the teenager’s uncle, Derek Robker, said at the time. “This isn’t the outcome we were really hoping for. We were hoping we’d find some answers, but not these ones.”
“He had a lot more life to live, to graduate, go to college, get married and have kids. That won’t ever happen with Jayden now,” his grandmother, Kitty Robker said. “It’s hurting very bad and I know the community and everyone who helped us, they’re crying too. We believe somebody put him there. There’s some questions that need to be answered in this case. We hope it can come to closure for us, especially, but also for Jayden.”
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