A family in two states is desperate for answers. A West Hartford boy disappeared in West Virginia, and loved ones just want him home.
Fourteen-year-old Johnathan Benjamin-Adams, like many his age, loves sports and video games.
“Johnny is an incredible guy, huge smile, and well-liked by everybody,” said his dad, Angel Jaquez.
When COVID-19 hit and Johnny’s school was shut down, he headed more than 400 miles away to the family farm in West Virginia where the virus was less prevalent and he could hang out with cousins while finishing school online. His family thought he’d be safer there.
He was set to come back this weekend but then the phone rang Sunday morning.
“They couldn’t find Johnny, and he’s been missing since,” said Jaquez.
Jaquez says family reported seeing him head to bed late Saturday night but that the next morning his PJs were folded on his made bed and he was gone from the Augusta home.
“There’s no trace of him taking anything. He didn’t take anything. He doesn’t have a phone,” said Jaquez. “He didn’t take any clothes, no backpack.”
Jaquez says his son has never run away and that he’s terrified of the dark. He thinks something terrible must have happened.
“His personality is not such that he would get out of the house in the dark. He would not run away,” said Jaquez.
Down in West Virginia, the Hampshire County Sheriff’s Office has listed Johnny as missing endangered. The 14-year-old is 5’2” and weighs 96 pounds. Authorities, including the FBI, are investigating, and they’ve searched more than 100 acres and a nearby lake.
Anyone with information can contact the Hampshire County Sheriff’s office at 304-822-3894. Anonymous tips can be made online at www.hampshirecountysheriffwv.com.
Jaquez says his wife and other son are there with dozens of family members helping with the search. In West Hartford, Jaquez waits for news. He plans to put flyers around town and is asking everyone to keep an eye out just in case.
“I am his confidant, and he is my confidant. We’re very close, and I’d like him back. I’d like him back. That’s the message: that the family is waiting. We have a trip planned, and we want him back,” said Jaquez.
The family is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the whereabouts of Johnathan Benjamin-Adams.
