ALEXANDRIA, Va. - After
police found 16-year-old Jholie Moussa dead in a Fairfax County park, her mother says her life's mission will be to make sure there are changes to the way law enforcement investigate certain missing persons cases.
Syreeta Steward-Hill says from the day she
reported her daughter missing on Jan. 13, she did not believe Moussa would willingly stay away from home. Yet Fairfax County Police classified Moussa as a runaway,
saying they did not believe she was in danger.
Two weeks later on Friday, investigators found Moussa dead under brush inside Woodlawn Park. The park sits less than a mile from Jholie's home where she was last seen on Jan. 12.
Steward-Hill is also asking for anyone with information about Moussa's death to come forward.
On Monday, a source with knowledge of the investigation told FOX 5 one of the last calls made to Moussa's cellphone came from the vicinity near the park where she was found dead. Family members had previously said an unidentified man borrowed a boy's phone and called Moussa. It is unclear if that man is a suspect of person of interest in the case.