‘Keeping the hope alive’: Dozens gather to canvass for missing Kansas City teen

About 50 people spread across the Lakeview Terrace neighborhood in the Northland to raise awareness about a teenager who has been missing for more than a month.

Jayden Robker, 13, was last seen the afternoon of Thursday, Feb. 2 at N.W. Plaza Drive and N.W. Plaza Avenue.

The canvass on Sunday was organized by the Ad Hoc Group Against Crime.

Dozens of people gathered at the former Hy-Vee parking lot on Englewood Road. Ad Hoc president Damon Daniel gave safety tips to the crowd and asked them to report any information they received. Volunteers divided into teams and distributed fliers outside businesses and throughout nearby residential areas.

“Every piece of information matters,” Daniel said. “It’s like pieces of a puzzle.”

The teen’s mom said the past few weeks have been overwhelming. Seeing how many people showed up to help during the canvass, Heather Robker said, “I feel a lot of love with the community.”

She said she is “keeping the hope alive that my son will return home.”

Maureen Reintjes with the nonprofit Missouri Missing said she had a loved one go missing.

“I know how much of an emotional boost this is,” she said of the canvassing event.

The organization was founded in 2007 by the mother of a missing woman and aims to give resources and support to families of the missing.

Shell Campbell-Yslas is part of Corey’s Network, a Kansas City organization that provides support to loved ones of homicide victims. She saw a post about Jayden Robker on Facebook and got in touch with his family.

“We want him found, we want leads,” she said, adding that she does not want his family to become part of Corey’s Network.

She also said she thought the school should organize an assembly to see if any students would come forward with information.

Kansas City Police Department Capt. Corey Carlisle said detectives are following up on information they have received. He urged the public to report any information they may have, regardless of how insignificant it may seem. Sunday’s turnout, he said, showed “the solidarity of the community.”

Robker stands 5-foot-7 and weighs about 127 pounds, family said. He left home wearing a green hooded sweatshirt with a camouflage pattern, gray sweatpants and black tennis shoes. He was also seen on a black skateboard.

Anyone with information may call the police department’s juvenile unit at 816-234-5150.