AZ AZ - Jarrett Brooks, 16, last seen near I-40, Joseph City area, 4 Jul 2023

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Jarrett's parents still had his phone, and his wallet - containing his license and cash - was found in the pocket of a pair of gym shorts in his car.

Was his car a different one from the one he messed up?
I ask that because if it was, why didn’t he just leave in his car instead of walking?

 
Jarrett's parents still had his phone, and his wallet - containing his license and cash - was found in the pocket of a pair of gym shorts in his car.

Was his car a different one from the one he messed up?
I ask that because if it was, why didn’t he just leave in his car instead of walking?

That's not clear and may be an error on the part of the reporter. But if I had to guess, the vehicle keys were likely taken by the parents and he had no access. Not a stretch to say, look what they do with the kids cell phones every night ...
 

Jarrett is believed to have been spotted by local rancher Joe Zabadal striding through his pasture about a mile from the house just after 7 am.

'I saw what I saw... He wasn't abducted, he walked away under his own power.

'I see somebody wandering across my pasture and I think "what the hell?" so I got in my side-by-side and I went back to my corral and I looked through my binoculars,' he said Zabadal told him.

He drove around and came back north along Lacy Lane while Tom went south, 'and when they met in the middle, there was no sign of Jarrett', Brooks said.

'Joe said it was probably 10 or 12 minutes from the time he left his corral that he got back around there - so in that time Jarrett was gone.

88826173-13765917-image-a-11_1724349126187.jpg
Zabadal saw Jarrett climb under the fence in this photo and pace back and forth along the road at this concrete water crossing

 
It’s good to finally get a first hand account of what he saw that day. So according to his account, Jarrett was almost certainly picked up by someone.
Or - and I can’t help but think this because of the recent Caleb Harris case and one that happened in my own area - could he have fallen in an old mine shaft or well?
 
This teen seemed to live under strict discipline at home.
Like phone taken in the evening and checked by parents.

I guess there was no excitement in the neighborhood also.
Only pastures and farms.

IMO
he just decided to escape and get lost in a big city.

I hope he is OK.
He should somehow let his parents know how he is.
They are suffering.

But what about his education?
He was only 16 when he vanished.

JMO
 
Jarrett is believed to have been spotted by local rancher Joe Zabadal striding through his pasture about a mile from the house just after 7 am.

'I saw what I saw... He wasn't abducted, he walked away under his own power.

'I see somebody wandering across my pasture and I think "what the hell?" so I got in my side-by-side and I went back to my corral and I looked through my binoculars,' he said Zabadal told him.

He drove around and came back north along Lacy Lane while Tom went south, 'and when they met in the middle, there was no sign of Jarrett', Brooks said.

'Joe said it was probably 10 or 12 minutes from the time he left his corral that he got back around there - so in that time Jarrett was gone.

88826173-13765917-image-a-11_1724349126187.jpg
Zabadal saw Jarrett climb under the fence in this photo and pace back and forth along the road at this concrete water crossing

These quotes below confirmed my suspicions. IMO he had a burner phone. I hope it's still possible to get cell tower ping info a YEAR after he disappeared.
And we should still search for "runaway" teens because they are minors in danger!

"But he admitted the teen may have had a burner phone they didn't know about - like some of the other youths in town

"He said he was frustrated the police, after 13 months, were yet to comb through phone and WiFi traffic to identify an unknown device that Jarrett could have used, and Geofence phones active near where he disappeared that morning"

"The Navajo County Sheriff's Office was notified at 12:28 pm, and Jarrett was initially treated as a teenage runaway."

"They also became increasingly frustrated with the slow pace of the investigation and Jarrett continuing to be treated as a runaway, not a juvenile in danger - which has only recently changed."

Emphasis mine.
 

However, Jarrett was grounded after taking his father’s off-roading vehicle without permission the night before and causing minor damage.



As Laura showered, she reconsidered Jarrett’s punishment, and was planning on discussing a compromise with him when she got out, but by then, Jarrett was already gone.



However, since it was confirmed that Jarrett took a gun before his disappearance, she said it has been more challenging to get agencies to treat it as a missing person’s case rather than a potential suicide.

“Initially, a lot of aspects of this case (were) mishandled by law enforcement and search and rescue teams and all of that,” she said. “There was a huge lack of communication between law enforcement and us as the family. I can say in the last six months that has changed dramatically and we now have a decent working relationship with the sheriff’s office.”

Another challenge has been dealing with rumors.



Currently, there is a $50,000 reward for information leading to Jarrett’s safe return and another $25,000 for the successful location and physical recovery of Jarrett. That reward expires on Dec. 7, which will be Jarrett’s 18th birthday.

Jarrett’s case remains open, but because of the lack of leads, it has been placed into inactive status as far as detectives working on it daily, Swanty said. Strategically, the office has to look at the case as a homicide now, he said.
 

However, Jarrett was grounded after taking his father’s off-roading vehicle without permission the night before and causing minor damage.



As Laura showered, she reconsidered Jarrett’s punishment, and was planning on discussing a compromise with him when she got out, but by then, Jarrett was already gone.



However, since it was confirmed that Jarrett took a gun before his disappearance, she said it has been more challenging to get agencies to treat it as a missing person’s case rather than a potential suicide.

“Initially, a lot of aspects of this case (were) mishandled by law enforcement and search and rescue teams and all of that,” she said. “There was a huge lack of communication between law enforcement and us as the family. I can say in the last six months that has changed dramatically and we now have a decent working relationship with the sheriff’s office.”

Another challenge has been dealing with rumors.



Currently, there is a $50,000 reward for information leading to Jarrett’s safe return and another $25,000 for the successful location and physical recovery of Jarrett. That reward expires on Dec. 7, which will be Jarrett’s 18th birthday.

Jarrett’s case remains open, but because of the lack of leads, it has been placed into inactive status as far as detectives working on it daily, Swanty said. Strategically, the office has to look at the case as a homicide now, he said.
Why... why would the reward expire?
I don't understand the strategy here.
 
Several posts mentioned that Jarrett's trail ended on a trail or in a field. Were there any horses in that field? Did somebody have a horse end up further away from their house than what would be normal? Just a wild thought on my part, but that would allow him to move out of the area much faster.
 
Last edited:
Something must have happened, his NCMC profile has been taken down
This NCMEC link is still active:

 
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