Albuquerque couple pleads for help finding teenage daughter
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – An Albuquerque couple has a plea Thursday night as they’re desperate to find their teenage daughter and keep her off a destructive path.
They want lawmakers to change the Children’s Code, so more minors are held accountable, including their 15-year-old Jada Ortega.
“She’s a sweet girl, she means well. She’s struggling with fitting in and finding her place like all kids her age,” Jada’s mom, Cecily Gonzalez Burchard said.
Burchard said those teenage struggles have led her daughter to make some dangerous decisions, including leaving their Albuquerque home last week and not coming back.
Burchard went into Jada’s room to check in on her Friday. Jada was there, but so was someone else, hiding in the bathroom.
“There’s a boy standing there about 16 years of age, and he had a gallon of vodka in one hand and you could tell he was pretty intoxicated,” Burchard said. “He had his hand on his gun, flashing it kind of ready to pull it out.”
She knew she had to stay calm.
“I said, ‘You have five minutes for somebody to come and pick you up, somebody that knows you and cares about you and can get you home safe,’” she said.
She got her husband and the two of them returned to the bedroom. Jada and the boy were gone. A familiar panic set in. They said Jada was arrested for DWI and assaulting an officer in October. They were out of town when police called.
“They said ‘We have your daughter, she did XYZ’ and I said, ‘OK she’s going to detention, right?’” Cecily said.
Instead, officers took Jada to her dad’s house, frustrating the Burchard’s.
“Had there been a lot more intervention with previous instances before, from local law enforcement, juvenile justice, I feel like this could have been prevented,” stepfather Michael Burchard said.
Now they’re worried. Not only about getting her home but getting her help. Something they feel like they’re facing alone. They’ve tried to get Jada into a treatment center in Santa Theresa. Burchard said the process has taken a year.
“There’s a lot of gaps for sure in the juvenile justice system that are completely overlooked,” Burchard said. “And this is where we’re seeing it.”
If you’ve seen Jada or know where she is, call (505)-242-2677.
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