Authorities widened the search for 10-year-old Jalayesiah Alford on Wednesday, moving investigators into Cobb Creek Park in West Philadelphia as the missing-child case continued to pull in the FBI, local homicide investigators and the Crime Scene Unit. Police and prosecutors were seen near the park area, while family members kept handing out flyers and asking for help finding the girl who was last seen near the 500 block of North Simpson Street.
That search matters now because Alford has been missing since Monday, October 26, and the case has already drawn a broad law enforcement response. She lived with her foster mother on North Simpson Street, and law enforcement sources said she went to school on Thursday, October 22, was seen coming home that day and then did not attend school on Friday, October 23. When she was reported missing, investigators were pushed into a case with a narrow timeline and a child last seen close to home.
Yolanda Brown said the family has been hanging hundreds of flyers across Delaware County and West Philadelphia while trying to sort out what happened. Brown said she was first told Alford had left to be with her biological mother, but that changed after she spoke with her sister and learned that was not true. She said the mixed messages may be part of why the search has taken so long, even as relatives keep pressing for answers.
Investigators searched Cobb Creek Park at the intersection of Vine Street and Daggett Street, and prosecutors from the District Attorney's Office gathered at a senior bocce club nearby. Police later cleared the area after dog remains were found there Wednesday night, but they did not say whether that discovery moved the missing-child investigation forward. That leaves the public with a search area that was opened, examined and then shut down, without any clear answer about what the remains meant for the case.
For now, the most urgent step is still the same one police gave to the public: call the Southwest Detective Division at 215-686-3183 or 215-686-3184 with any information. Brown said the family is still searching, and Cianey Brown described Alford as intelligent, sweet, kind, caring and empathetic, saying she does not believe running away fits her nature.
