Shortly before the school year was over, grandmother Clemestine Martin experienced one of the worst situations she could imagine.
Her granddaughter Jazmine James went missing for 4 1/2 hours on April 20.
Jazmine went to school as usual but when Martin’s son went to pick her up from the bus stop, she was not there. Worried, the grandmother called the school for answers.
Martin said she talked to Principal Beverly Jones of Oak Park Elementary School who believed that maybe the buses were running late, which was not uncommon. However, when Martin noticed children that rode on Jazmine’s bus coming home she knew something wasn’t right.
“I was having chest pains, leg pains, arm pains, I was just so terrified,” she said.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Jazmine, who is 11 years old, had never been one to forget to get on the bus. The night before, Martin said she had a very strange dream so she felt the need to remind Jazmine to go straight home after she got off the bus.
Martin called police as soon as possible and filed a police report. Officer Mar’Quii McLemore arrived at Martin’s house to take a statement. As Martin searched for answers, she said another student from Oak Park said that he had seen Jazmine get into a green car after school.
It was later determined that the green car belonged to Jazmine’s friend’s mother. Jazmine had wanted to attend a birthday party at her friend’s house. A police detective located Jazmine at the friend’s house and brought her back home.
Jazmine never told her grandmother she was going to the party and after finding out how upset she made everyone, Jazmine realized the mistake she had made, according to Martin.
“I am just so grateful and so blessed that she was OK,” Martin said, adding that she was also grateful for everyone who helped to find her granddaughter including Principal Beverly Jones, Pine Bluff Police Officers and the young boy who spotted the car Jazmine got into.
“It was such a blessing how it all worked out,” Jones said.