BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — An emotional prayer vigil was held for Jaylen Griffin on Friday. Jaylen, who was 12 years old at the time, left his home in Buffalo but never returned home.
Jaylen's mother, Joann Ponzo is still grieving for him.
"Look at my baby. This is the last time I’ve seen my baby right here on this shirt," she said. "This is the only picture I remember my son looking like."
The morning of August 4, 2020, is the last time she saw Jaylen.
"He told me I'm about to go to the store. Do you need anything?" she explained. "I said no, son I'm good. I haven't seen my son since 11 o’clock this morning. Three years ago."
The founder of Bury the Violence, Kareema Morris, has been in touch with this case since the beginning.
Morris tells 7 News reporter Yoselin Person that in October of last year, several law enforcement agencies took action to try to find Jaylen.
"They looked around the house. They looked at the neighborhood. They looked in the body of water that was said that he could've possibly been in," Morris said. "So they have literally exhausted every tip that there was."
The founder says Jaylen was near Broadway when he went to the store.
"Broadway is a very busy area," she said. "Everybody is outside. Somebody has seen. Someone heard. Someone knows where Jaylen Griffin is."
Morris says that even Jaylen's social media has been deactivated.
"When they did look for those types of answers through his social media pages and anything else he had up, they were gone," she shared.
Darius Pridgen awarded Bury the Violence $5,000 to support efforts in finding missing children in the Buffalo community.
"We need to unite and make sure we have every effort to get Jaylen home," Morris said.
This image created by a forensic artist at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children shows what Jaylen may look like today at 15 years old.
If you have any information about Jaylen or his disappearance please contact 1-800-THE-LOST or the Buffalo Police Department at (716) 853-2222.
