Photographs of a missing New Jersey teen have begun appearing on sex trafficking websites. Authorities contacted the mother of the missing 17-year-old daughter Aviana Weaver, Angelica Scarlett, to inform her that her daughter’s pictures were on the sites, according to New Jersey 101.5.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children lists Weaver as having gone missing on September 12 in Mount Holly, New Jersey.
“We have pornography pictures and my daughter looked completely upset and unhappy in these photos,” Scarlett reportedly told the station.
She stated that those investigating the case , “believe she is in danger,” and “being held against her will.” Scarlett alerted those listening to how distressed her young daughter looked in the images.
“She’s 17 and she looks upset.”
Scarlett was given a tip that her daughter was possibly being held near Broad Street and Erie Avenue in the nearby city of Philadelphia. She said she frantically searched the area accompanied by police officers on bicycles. They looked until the wee hours of the night but were unable to find her baby.
“People think they saw her in the area on Wednesday,” Scarlett said. “We were there until 1 a.m. [Thursday], but no luck.”
Weaver’s phone last pinged at a cell tower in the vicinity of West Philadelphia. It has been shut off since her disappearance.
“That failed,” she said. “Her phone was there but they’re changing her number constantly. She doesn’t have her phone anymore. They’re using flip phones or burner phones or something.”
Weaver has no history of running away or other erratic behavior, according to her mother. Outside than receiving a text saying that her daughter would be home soon from school from a number she did not recognize she has heard nothing else.
“She’s never done this before,” Scarlett told New Jersey 101.5. “This is her senior year. She went to school for the first few days and then disappeared. She missed an eye doctor appointment. She doesn’t have any clothes. This is not like her. She hasn’t been known to be on any drugs. We don’t have family or friends in Philadelphia. It’s completely out of character and scary.”
We’re praying for the safe return of Aviana Weaver.