LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)— A 17-year-old has been missing from Wilkes-Barre since July 3.
And his mother is desperate to find out what happened to him.
"That's my first born, he's the reason I learned to be a mom," said Jazzmen Owens, mother, Nanticoke.
Owens, a mother of four doing her best to provide for her children.
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Last week, her oldest son, Mark Ward, didn't answer his phone after she dropped him off at Kirby Park in Wilkes-Barre.
Owens then went searching for Mark, following the phone's location.
"I then got in the car and I went to the location that the phone was sending me. As I was crossing the bridge, it told me I arrived to the location, and then I drove back and put on walking distance and his phone was on the bridge cracked into pieces," recalled Owens.
Owens contacted the police, and they are actively searching for him, but a close family friend says she still can't believe what happened.
"Honestly, I cried because it's just very sad to know that like you know, you see stuff like this on the news and in other places, but for it to happen to someone who's close to you and who you're close with, it's like I couldn't even imagine what his mother's going through," expressed Giavanna Twyman, family friend, Wilkes-Barre.
As more time passes without updates, Owens is holding on to her motherhood to keep her steady.
"I haven't always been the best in life, I've been through so much, but one thing I stand on is being a mom. I feel like I was put here to be a mom," said Owens.
Owens says she will be putting up posters around the community and urges people to help if they can.
"Please help me find my son, I love him, I miss him, I just want him to come home," pleaded Owens.
Anyone with information on Mark's whereabouts or what happened is urged to call 911 as the search continues.
