‘Light the way for Jayden to come home’: KC mom searches for son, 13, missing for a month

Jayden Robker rushed off the school bus the afternoon of Feb. 2, the 13-year-old’s family said.

The middle schooler flipped through a stack of Pokémon cards and pulled out a few he hoped to sell to make some money to help start his own car wash business, his mother, Heather Robker, said.

Robker was at work when Jayden hurried into their Northland home, but her husband recalled urging Jayden to slow down and eat something before heading out. Jayden insisted the weather was too nice to stay inside. He wanted to seize the chance to ride his RazorX DLX electric skateboard after days of sub-freezing weather, Robker said.

Jayden put a sandwich in the microwave promising to be back soon, then dashed out the door, family said.

No one in her family has seen Jayden since, Robker said.

Searching for Jayden

Jayden has three younger brothers and two younger sisters. He’s often there to greet his siblings as they get off the school bus, then play hide and seek and watch movies on their tablets at home, Heather Robker, 35, told The Star on Thursday.

Robker’s eldest loves to spend his time playing Pokémon and skateboarding, and lately, her husband has been teaching him to box.

Recently, Jayden conjured up the idea to start his own car washing business, in the hopes of making and saving his own money, said Robker, who describes her son as ambitious, energetic, bubbly and funny. He saw his valuable Pokémon cards as an opportunity to kick-start his savings account.

On Feb. 2, Robker came home to squeeze in a nap between her day job and her night job. Her husband told her that Jayden was off riding his black skateboard. When she woke up for her night shift, Robker was alarmed to see Jayden hadn’t returned to their home near the intersection of Northwest Plaza Drive and Northwest Plaza Avenue.

She called police.

A media release on Jayden’s disappearance wasn’t posted until Monday, four days after he went missing. Robker and a spokesperson with KCPD said the reason it wasn’t posted immediately, in part, was because they couldn’t find a current photo of him right away.

Capt. Corey Carlisle, a spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department, said despite the “delay in information exchange” in getting the press release out, detectives immediately began investigating the case that Thursday night when he was reported missing.

But a month later, he has yet to be found.

Robker said she wishes police would have put out a public release sooner because she doesn’t believe her son ran away.

“I’ve already contacted my family. I’ve talked to his friends,” she said. “No one has seen Jay.”

The only person she’s found who has seen him since he left the house that Thursday afternoon is someone at the QuickTrip across the highway from their home. Robker called them the day after Jayden went missing, and a worker told her there is surveillance footage of Jayden using the bathroom at about 3:30 p.m. Thursday before heading east past the Family Dollar.

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.

“Did something happen to him? Does somebody know something and they’re too afraid to come forward?” Robker asked. “Just not knowing where he’s at, not knowing how to protect him, it’s just ....” she said, trailing off.

Police ask that anyone with information concerning Robker’s whereabouts call the department’s juvenile section at 816-234-5150.

“We are praying and hoping for a positive resolution in this,” Carlisle said.

Public search, vigil

Robker is inviting community members to join in the search for her son this weekend.

On Saturday, she is organizing a prayer vigil that begins with a large prayer group at 8 a.m. The candle vigil will last through 9 p.m. at Good Shepherd in Gladstone, off Antioch Road, where the family attends church.

“Light the way for Jayden to come home,” she said.

A large search is being organized to begin at 2 p.m. Sunday. Those who want to help canvass the area where Jayden went missing are asked to gather near the Old HyVee parking lot off Northwest Englewood Road. Ad Hoc Group Against Crime is assisting. Carlisle said members of KCPD will also participate in the community canvass.

Robker made a GoFundMe to help offset the costs associated with the on-going search, including making posters and t-shirts. As of Friday morning, a little more than $800 had been donated.

“I just need people to keep a lookout,” Robker said.