Parents Plead for Return of Son

SAN DIEGO — The mother and stepfather of a 2-year-old boy missing since last week issued a plaintive plea Tuesday for the boy’s kidnapper to let him go.

Police say they believe the boy was abducted. They said they have no suspects or leads in the case. On Tuesday, however, they were searching the Miramar landfill where city garbage is taken.

“Whoever may have taken Jahi, we don’t care who you are,” said Tameka Jones, 18, standing beside her husband, Tieray, 23.

“We just want you to return him to his family. Drop him off in a safe place so that someone can find him and bring him to us.”

After making their first appearance before the media, the couple abruptly turned and left as reporters shouted questions about whether the stepfather feels responsible for the boy’s disappearance because he left him alone in a public park while he went for a soda.

Tieray Jones has told police that he took Jahi to a public park Thursday, but left him alone for 15 minutes while he walked 150 yards to a vending machine. When he returned, Jones said, the boy was gone.

The boy’s parents were accompanied by Brenda van Dam, whose 7-year-old daughter, Danielle, was kidnapped from the family home in February and later found dead. A neighbor has been charged with kidnapping and murder.

The park, next to a golf course, is an annex of Balboa Park. It has become a makeshift memorial with stuffed animals, flowers and messages of condolence. “We’ve got to keep focused on bringing that baby home,” said Dorothy Williams, who visited the park Tuesday. “We’ve just got to stay involved, searching and praying for Jahi.”

Dozens of volunteers have come to the Moose Lodge in the adjacent neighborhood of Golden Hill to be part of the search effort. On Tuesday, police on horseback searched Florida Canyon, about half a mile from the park. Among the searchers have been sailors from the amphibious transport ship Rushmore, based in San Diego. Tameka Jones is a Navy sailor assigned to the Rushmore and was at sea when her husband reported Jahi missing.

“We were all in tears when we heard that Jahi was missing,” said Rushmore sailor Vanessa Brooks.

Brenda van Dam announced a Web site dedicated to the case: www.jahimissing.com.