Missing New Jersey Teen Update: Police Search Grows After Pictures Appear On Sex Trafficking Websites

Police in New Jersey have intensified the search for a missing teen whose pictures have started appearing on sex trafficking websites.

According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Aviana Weaver, 17, was last seen near Mount Holly, New Jersey, on Sept. 12. She was reported missing for two days when her mother, Angelica Scarlett, received a text message from her daughter’s phone saying she was being held against her will. The search for Weaver intensified over the weekend after police discovered pictures on sex trafficking websites that resembled the missing teen.

“We have pornography pictures and my daughter looked completely upset and unhappy in these photos,” Scarlett told radio station NJ101.5. “They believe she is in danger and being held against her will. She's 17 and she looks upset.”

It was also reported her phone was last active in the Philadelphia area though it has been shut off since.

“People think they saw her in the area on Wednesday,” Scarlett said. “We were there until 1 a.m. but no luck. That failed. 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.”

Scarlett also shared an emotional post on Facebook, pleading for any information that leads to her daughter’s safe return.

Weaver is described as being 5-foot-4, weighing 200 pounds, and has brown hair and brown eyes.