BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — On Aug. 4, 2020, 12-year-old Jaylen Griffin left his home on Warren Avenue and, according to his family, told them that he was headed to a store on Broadway. He never returned.
In the three-and-a-half years since family and supporters have searched for him but have turned up no clues to his whereabouts.
"He went to the store and that's the last time I saw Jaylen," said his grandmother, Shirley Banks on Thursday.
Below is an age progression photo by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Now, Buffalo police are taking a new look at the missing person case.
Two detectives with the Buffalo police SVU Unit, have been assigned to try to solve the mystery of what happened to Jaylen.
Det. Joelle Bence said she and her partner Det. Jon Weber have devoted the last six months to the case, going through every lead that's come in since Jaylen went missing.
"We cannot allow a 12-year-old boy to go missing and have no resolution. We're very committed to working as hard as we can to continue to try to put the pieces together to find out what happened," she told 7 News outside Jaylen's old home on Warren, near the Central Terminal.
Weber said Jaylen's disappearance is unusual.
"Kids will run away for a short period of time and they'll end up turning up, you know, but cases like this are not common at all," he said.
Kareema Morris, founder of the organization Bury the Violence, has been an advocate for the family.
Jaylen's family has experienced many difficulties. Three months after he disappeared his brother, Jawaan Griffin, was fatally shot just across from the family's house. He was 18. And then last fall, Jaylen's mother, Joanne Ponzo, unexpectedly died.
"I think she died of a broken heart," Morris said.
Morris believes there are people out there who know what happened to Jaylen.
"Everyone's talking but no one's coming forth and that's a problem. They know something and they need to just give this family, you know, peace," she told 7 News.
Craig Macy, chief of detectives of the Buffalo Police Department, said investigators are turning to multiple avenues to try to uncover clues.
"We solve it by the way we solve other crimes. We enlist the help of community members, we enlist the help of other law enforcement. We try to entice or incentivize people to come forward," he said.
One of those incentives — Crime Stoppers is offering a $7,500 reward for information leading to the whereabouts or recovery of Jaylen.
Jaylen's grandmother had a message for anyone who knows what happened to her grandson.
"Please. If you don't contact me, contact somebody," Banks said. "Let this child come home. Get his family peace of mind."
Police and family asked anyone with information to call or text the Buffalo Police confidential tip line at 716-857-2255.
You can call Crime Stoppers WNY at 716-867-6161 or download the free Crime Stoppers mobile app called "Buffalo Tips" for Apple or Android to send a tip.
Bence added that Crime Stoppers accepts donations that can be added to the existing reward specifically for information related to Jaylen.
